Ask any Hongkong people their favourite sportsperson in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Invariably they will say "Kuojiangjiang" "Liu Xiang" or "Michael Phelps".

My vote, however, will go to Natalie du Toit. I shall cast my second one to the Polish table tennis player Natalia Partyka.

Peterhof彼得夏宫is the palace of Peter the Great. It stands at the centre of a manificient landscaped park, with both French and English gardens.

The centre of attraction is the Grand Cascade

view from palace of Grand Cascade leading down to the Gulf of Finland

The highlight of St Issac Square is of course St Isaac's Cathedral in its centre. But there are also :

The Bronze Horseman. It is a manificient statue of Peter the Great, his horse trampling the serpent of treason.

Getting there : Metro "Sadovaya-Sennaya" and walk 15 min to Palacve Square

note the 47m Alexander Column dedicated to Tsar Alexander I for his role in the triumph over Napoleon. It is the largest free standing monument in the world. In the background is the General Staff Building and the triumphal arch

Main entrance facade

Winter Palace facing River Neva

They are not merely metro stations. They are underground palaces.

The pictures below are details taken from 4 different stations.

The DIY estaimated expenses are set at HK$11K for a 10 days trip. Departure from HK to Moscow will be tentatively set on 12th Sept. The transportation to and from St Petersburg is by overnight train.

The Attraction of Moscow :

St. Basil Cathedral on Red Square

I spent a greater part of June reviewing and downloading images from the old masters and those of the modern and contemporary. I just cannot tell you how much I enjoy this pastime of mine.

The Tribuna of the Uffizi (1780) by Johann Zoffany

Suprisingly there are not many commemorative concerts held here in Hong Kong to mark the death of this teacher of Prokofiev and Stravinsky.

His name is often associated with Sherherazde op 35( "one of the most popular orchestral works ever written") and Capriccio Espangol op 34. However, my playlist also includes :

1. Le Coq d'or (Golden Cockerel) Suite
2. Procession of the Nobles from Mlada
3. Russian Easter overture
4. Flight of the bumble bees from The Tale of Tsar Sultan
5. Song of India from Sadko
6. Glory to the ancient powerful one from Sadko

What is playing is The Bagdad Festival from his Sherherazade, noted for the exceptionally fine trumpet playing.

趁影片未上畫作小小回顧。最初接觸此片集大約2004年。一天晚上12時扭開Pearl看到這4位時代女性公然詳談男人和對性的看法和經驗。一直以來被視為禁忌的性話題成功能融入四個年過30的都市单身女子的生话故事中。對白witty輕鬆流暢，半小時一集，非常receptive。不過由於播影時間太夜，每週一次，容易错失。後來卒之買了全集:4張DVD，總算過足戲瘾。

請看我最喜歡的角色Samantha 正在與Miranda向路過的俊男行注目禮。