Russia

Finally we got our replacement Russian visas and arrived in St Petersburg only two weeks later than planned. Snowstorms, cold, beautiful white everywhere. The biggest surprise: people actually wear big fur hats, and I was jealous – my ears were freezing.

It was so good to finally see Ilya Repins in the flesh at the Russian Museum. The scale and efficiency of Repin’s work is amazing.

Walking ice and snow filled streets was challenging on its own, never mind the threat of deadly icicles from above. Hiding in cafes to warm up was my only chance to do any drawing, my hands and ink would freeze in the -25C outside.

Then to Moscow. The scale of the place was overwhelming – the bridges, the buildings, the churches, the Red Square, everything was ginormous. Negotiating the Russian metro and street signs was a reality check. I remember seeing a “for sale” sign at an apartment complex, which used the communist red and yellow stars to catch your attention: it summed up Russia’s bizarre history of communism and now consumerism.