Finland Russia Baltic Day 4

Trafalgar Tours - Day 04 - October 06, 2008 - Monday - St. Petersburg, Russia

Another brisk day in St. Petersburg! It was chilly during the night, but we still had the window open to take advantage of the fresh sea air.

We did not have to get up until 7:00 so we showered, had a bountiful buffet breakfast, and then met our companions on the bus at 8:30. The temperature was 46 degrees with 84% humidity but with light sprinkles of rain.

The sun comes up very late here but we did see a few rays peaking through the clouds. There was enough sun to have a full double rainbow over the Baltic Sea to greet us this morning!

It was an office day for Xavier so he sent us off with Nikolai and Natasha. She began our day with a language lesson to review a few phrases we learned yesterday and a few more new ones for today. In two weeks, we should be able to say Please and Thank You!

It took us over an hour to even get to the edge of the city as the traffic was very congested on this Monday morning. Natasha explained the significance of the buildings and the government influence on the architecture as we left the city.

We began our drive south to Catherine I Summer Palace in Pushkin. When we arrived at the 900 room palace we had to walk a short way to the entrance and then check our rain gear. The guards asked us to put on protective covers over our shoes and then we were divided into two groups.

Another guide joined us - her name just happened to be Natasha also. We had a private tour through the ornate upper rooms. The palace has been faithfully restored after it was destroyed by the 3 year German occupation during WW2.

We walked through the opulence of 24 K gold leaf statues and marble columns. It was certainly an impressive “summer home” but the most impressive room was the infamous Amber Room which was lost during the war. The room is being restored and is now almost complete. We were pleasantly surprised to know we could take photos in all of the rooms. The only exception was the Amber Room.

Our tour ended at 11:15 and we then had a few minutes to gather our rain coats, use the rest rooms, and of course, visit the gift shops. Gennie bought a few post cards but managed to avoid the amber, Faberge eggs, crystal, and stacking dolls for the time being!

We got back on the bus at 11:45 and went to Peterhof for our next Palace visit. Our tour was for the afternoon so we had time for a light lunch and a stroll through the open air souvenir shops before 1:30 when we met our group again.

The palace was not open to us today, but we did spend the afternoon touring the beautiful gardens laid out in French symmetrical tradition. There are over 150 spring fountains all fed by gravity alone.

This palace was also occupied and destroyed by the Germans but has now been restored. In the past few years, President Putin has taken on the restoration of St. Petersburg as a special project in honor of the 300 birthday of the city.

A few people did a little more shopping but most of us were back on the bus by 3:15. We left the palace and spent the next hour driving back to St. Petersburg fighting the same rush hour traffic we had left in the morning.

We were back at the hotel at 4:40 and had until 5:30 to get ourselves organized for our next adventure this evening. We met Xavier and 26 others of our group to attend the Russian Folklore Presentation, Feel Yourself Russian.

We were treated to a glass of champagne and then found our seats at the back of the theater in Nikolayevsky Palace. The show was a combination of Russian folk music, dancing, and singing.

Imagine my surprise when a young woman from the dance troupe picked me out of the audience from the back row and I was lead up on to the stage to dance for about five minutes!

Our evening ended at 8:30 when the bus brought us back to the hotel. I tried to renew our 24 hour internet connection, but because there is a huge Worldwide Interpol Convention here at the hotel, there were no more access available. I had to wait until the manager came to OK more passwords.

We enjoyed our day in The City of the Czars and seeing some more of their splendor. Tomorrow is another busy day so we tried to get to bed a little bit earlier for our 6:30 wake up call in the morning.

Accommodations: Pribaltiskaya Hotel - - - Meal: B

Video - Nikolayevsky Palace Folklore Show Chicken Dance

How do you seemingly always get involved in dancing with women from other countries? You must have that real magnetism.

Dear Vic and Gennie, would you please pass on a message to my wife that our daughter in law is out of the operation and inreasonable spirits. The wound is not as bad as we first though it might be, and had been very nicely stitched. As for me I'm enjoying your bulletins because I can see my wife enjoying them, provided she doesn't overload on eggs and dolls. All the best mate, John Denman

Day 13: Azores & Madeira: Portugal's Unspoiled Archipelagos

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