The Russians call it girls's summer, our equivalent of Indian summer, sunny and near 70 degrees today. A miracle as this city only has 60 days of sunshine a year. We met our tour guide Tatiana and driver Sergei, group of 16.
First impressions of city, large, brightly colored buildings on a grand scale along the Neva River
. First stop, Metro- escalators take you down, down, down way below street level. Clean, fast, the old section is resplendent with chandeliers, glass lights and carved arches.
There are 41 islands in the city. During Soviet rule churches had other uses, storage, pools, ice skating schools, etc.
2nd stop Market, tasted picked cucumber, cabbage and garlic.
3rd- Hydrofoil to Peterhof.
4th-Peterhof, beautiful gardens with whimsical fountains. Huge castle at canal's end. Fashion comment, Elizabeth, Peter the Great's daughter, had 15,000 dresses and 10,000 shoes, never wore the same thing twice.
5th Catherine's Palace, unbelievably lavish, everything is gilded with gold.
Decorating tips from this castle
1. Do a room completely in amber, walls, furniture, frames etc.
2. Build faux columns of different colors, separated by silk fabric.
3.Take portraits of all your relatives, frame them and create entire wall decorations with them.
Final stop- Paul and Peter's Fortress, I think it was stunning but am suffering from museum and information overload.
When we come across something ridiculously unexplainable e.g. two buses turned into women and men's bathrooms, our guide just says"THIS IS RUSSIA"
10,000 STEPS IN THIS GRADIOSE CITY
Monday, September 08, 2014
Saint-Petersburg, St.-Petersburg, Russian Federation
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Comments

2025-02-09
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Catherine
2014-09-09
I knew I was royalty