One of my favorite animated feature is Anastasia, the story of the lost Russian princess who finds her way back to family, her lost memory recovered with the help of a music box. In love with the movie, I went on a research rampage into the lives of the last Romanov family and the conspiracy theories regarding the real Anastasia Nikolaevna, only to have my romanticized version of the story completely crushed by the brutality detailed in the Yuvrovsky Note.
Once Upon A December is still one of my favorite songs though. When I finally walked into the Grand Hall of Catherine Palace where the dance scene took place in the movie, it’s as if I could hear the tune playing in my head, and see the grandeur of a past era that now only live in stories. Unlike many of the other palaces I’ve been to, the Catherine Palace is one that actually lives up to its reputation. Although it was destroyed when the Germans left Leningrad, the Russian government has done a pretty good job restoring the palace to its former glory. In contrast to the ostentatiousness of the palace itself, the surrounding garden’s beauty was more demure. It was not quite December yet when I visited, and the maple leaves were at their most vibrant. It was too good to pass on the perfect opportunity for that “leaves in the air” photo.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyUBdLm3s9U[/embedyt]
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