We were so excited with the success of the Polaroid Project in Japan.
We thought that it would be the trickiest country to get it done. But we were still to experience the Russian post office…

Always complaining about the service or the wait at the French Poste? Well, don’t try to send a letter in Russia…

Dark days with very little sunlight, frozen temperatures… obviously the Polaroid camera was not built for the Russian winter! We managed to get one decent Polaroid snapshot though, the iconoc St Basil’s Cathedral, on the Red Square, Moscow.

We even managed to get instructions in Russian for the local post office:

But after a 1 hour wait in a post office unchanged since the Soviet days, 2 forms, an airmail stamp, an envelop and a parcel, we had to give up…

We could only get a stamp, but no date, no Russian official stamp….

Love from Moscow, Russia, xx (almost)

24 hour sushi restaurants, Mac Donald’s and Starbucks everywhere, gleaming Chanel and Dior boutiques, businessmen so rich they can afford to shower in champagne…

Far away are the gloomy days of the Soviet Union. But lurking beneath the shiny shops windows, there are still places where you can have a taste of the old days.

Guillaume made a first immersion at the local post office (!) – check out his post. If for example you need to send a parcel, you will probably need to buy stamps for the parcel at one window, but collect the stamps at another, then get your parcel weighed at a third window, before finally having it set through a fourth window.

We also had an interesting experience at the train station while trying to book our tickets to Moscow where anarchic queuing and aggressive crowds maded us truly appreciate the patience of the Soviet citizen.

Welcome back to the USSR!

Taking the subway in Moscow is not your usual RATP, Tube or Translink experience. It is a journey back in the past.

The metro stations are true artistic masterpieces: frescoed ceilings, mosaic tiles, stainless steel pillars and crystal chandeliers.

Your fellow passengers will be revolutionary heroes, joyful, productive workers and of course, Peter the Great and Vladimir Ilych Lenin themselves.

Don’t miss the following stations in particular: Mayakovskaya, Poloshchad Revolyustsii, Kievskaya and Belorusskaya.

It is probably already minus 20 degrees. About 50 degrees less than our usual weather in Australia – eeek!!! – but we are well prepared for the Russian winter adventure: no furs but a handful of warm clothes and a few shots of vodka will keep us warm (ah…Russian Vodka!)

We were not prepared for the beauty of St Petersburg though. During the Russian winter, it is an intricate network of frozen canals, baroque and neoclassical churches, statues, the Hermitage museum to name a few…all covered by snow. So picturesque!

Hello, we’re back! We arrived in Russia on the 8th of January, and eeeeek… IT’S SUPER COLD. As soon as you set a foot outside, you’re literally freezing. Sorry for the lack of posts recently. Firstly I had to get the camera ready for the temperature shock -20 degrees outside! And taking photos is quite complicated with a parka, gloves and a winter hat on…

And for those who were expecting russian dolls in flesh and bones – yes, I have to admit it, the girls are amazing in Russia, it’s totally true. But to put that nicely, they don’t always dress with simplicity and taste (unless you’re a fan of faux fur, strass and plateform shoes – think 90s) and hospitality isn’t a concept they seem to be familiar with (and I am not talking only about the girls!).

Anyway, I am working on it! I’ll be back tomorrow with a bunch of photos.

We will be in Paris from 18 December. Let us know if you’re there!