This was the title of the first book I read by philosopher Alain de Botton and it seemed apt after our recent experiences!

So far I've learned a few very important things about travelling .

1. Pack at least a day before you leave in case something unexpected happens. 

As it did. Rick mocks me for doing this but I think now he's learned his lesson.

The Friday before we were due to leave, our Aussie bank told us our account had been frozen. That meant waiting all weekend to be able to phone them to find out why.

Monday we discovered someone had managed to extract $20K as a cash advance from our account and changed all our passwords. That meant on the day we were leaving Chipping Campden to stay the night at Heathrow, we had to leave unexpectedly early in the morning to go into the London branch to sign a stat dec that we hadn't done it ourselves. 

Not only was this a huge time waster, but the train from the airport into London and back costs more than most flights to Europe these days!

That situation is still unresolved and in the hands of the fraud squad but we could have lived without it , as well as the evacuation of the bank's building in the middle of filling out all these forms because of a burst water pipe on the floor above that put the whole building out of action tor the day . 

However, the positives were firstly, the hotel. It was a great idea staying there the night before --pricy but worth it especially with having to unexpectedly go haring into London. 

Secondly. an uneventful flight, and then being picked up by the very efficient Viking people at the St Petersburg airport and taken seamlessly into our stateroom, wihich bring me to the next point.

2. Low--or no -- expectations are good.

The last time I went on a ship was in 1972 -- that tub of a Greek ocean liner, the Australis, from Sydney to Southampton. 

Many of you have been on it or similar (Fairstar, Fairsky etc). My friend Julianne and I were in a 4-berth inside cabin, with communal bathroom down the corridor and around the corner, with 'Captain's Inspections' at any old hour of the night which meant a couple of pervy Greeks in uniforms, opened your cabin door and flashed around a torch to check up on heaven knows what (HMMMM!!) , and VERY basic provisions of any sort .

What bliss to find a superbly equipped cabin - or 'stateroom' -- with its own bathroom, a place for everything, a functioning shower that didn't splash water all over the floor, French toiletries... a whole different kettle of fish from the Youth Hostel facilities of 40+ years ago! A proper bed, with duvet, soft pillow, TV with a Swiss jazz.channel.. Mon Dieu - paradise!

Even though I see there are bigger cabins with balconies blah blah - I am SO thrilled-- for the reason I've cited above. My past experience was fine - in your 20s who cares? But now I REALLY appreciate what we've got.

3. Start finding your meeting point 30 minutes before the due time JUST in case you get lost. 

As we did though Rick won't admit it.

Again, I had to pressure him into starting to find the meeting point early at the Hermitage and thank God I did as we were racing in the end, panic-stricken, trying to find the way from non-English speaking gallery guards, squeezing through massive crowds, unable to read any of the signs, thinking we'd be lost in that huge gallery full of endless rooms for ever, like something from a Gothic-horror story .

The crowds! 

Forget seeing the two Leonardos -- just way too many people. The whole crowd scene is impossible. 

We found refuge among the prehistoric stuff, where no one goes... a bit like the toilet roll section at Waitrose on Christmas Eve- a place of retreat after battling with hordes in the turkey and cranberry sauce aisles - somewhat unproductive and kind of boring but who cares when you've reached the limit of human endurance.

The only problem was it took us way away from the agreed meeting point, which we weren't too sure about anyway. 

One man did get left behind as he was completely lost. 

From the bus on our way back to the ship, our guide managed to phone through to arrange a taxi for him - once she found out where he was - but he got into the wrong taxi and was taken miles away to the ocean terminal . A nightmare for him, and for the poor guide.

However. good points-- we saw some lovely Watteaus and Dutch masterpieces. And some prehistoric carvings.

That night we went to a lovely ballet performance of Swan Lake, left early enough to get decent seats, didn't get lost OR left behind and weren't pick-pocketed (see #5!)

4. Stick with the group.

We didn't have this problem thank God, but on our second day in St Petersburg we went on a combined Metro / walking tour. 

The Metro is very efficient and a bit scary as the escalator down to the platform is VERY long. I hate heights so this wasn't a great experience but I was really impressed with it, being built under swampland. 

Rick took off while we were waiting for the train to take a photo a hammer and sickle mural at the end of the platform and I could see our poor tour guide, Natasha, getting somewhat anxious - especially after the lost man of the day before .

That was fine, but towards the end of the walking tour, two women decided they were too tired to keep on walking so hired one of those bike carriage things back to the bus. 

When we all got there though, they were nowhere to be seen. Their bags were on the bus but no sign of them.

Natasha waited over half and hour then we had to leave. 

It turned out they decided to go off for a bit of shopping (even though they were SOOO tired they had separated from the group) and lost track of time.  

Our poor guide ... who'd be a tour guide??!! BARRY EDWARDS - if you're skim-reading this... take note and tell us all in a comment below...how you put up with it?

These guides have the patience of a saint and nerves of steel!

5 . Only carry the bare essentials.

On the 3rd day of our time in St Petersburg we went to the Church of the Spilled Blood. We'd been warned about pickpockets at the Hermitage, so were very careful. But this day one poor man had his wallet nicked from his front pocket in the crowds around this church. 

He lost all his credit cards, cash etc. He had to rush back to the ship and cancel them but by then the thieves had taken a couple of thousand. 

We've learned our lesson and only carry small amounts of cash and no cards. Certainly not passports! 

Again, poor Natasha had to deal with it, as she did...calmly and efficiently ... but it must take its toll.
 
And lastly...
 
 6. Be open to new people and new experiences-- even though you're tired and/or don't think you'd like them.

This is something I really need to take to heart as, being somewhat introverted, I tend to do the opposite . But the people we've met - the guests on board, the Russian staff-- guides etc, the places we've seen -- have really enriched us.
 
One woman I'd usually have avoided because she looked like an over-made-up shallow 'princess' turned out to have a fascinating background and most interestingly, in the process of discovery ... about herself, Russia, the universe and everything.

It was the same story with (mostly) everyone in fact. 

I've never spent so many hours philosophising and discussing politics with such a range of people -- with NO negative vibes. 

Jewish Americans -- one woman who was part of a charity for the working poor in New Jersey that had good ties with with the Christian and Muslim communities, told me the story of how one day -- a Jewish holiday, they had no one to run a special event that the people they'd been helping had been counting on -- so the Muslim group came into their synagogue and ran it for them . 

An American-Indian couple (from India not Amerindians) -- who I had an in-depth discussion with them about Vedanta (Peter and Yvonne Malykke - they knew of Swamiji), Buddhism, medicine and science. He teaches at Stanford (imaging in medicine) and she was a banking professional.

A British couple -- he's a carpenter-- who went to Corfu a few years ago and ended up, on spec, buying a ruin and building their dream house.

I'm so glad we chose the Russian cruise. It's NOTHING like I expected and the Russian people and the place itself are just wonderful!

And we still have another week to go.