This morning was delightful…a late sleep (9:15 – really 8:15 as we lost another hour last night) followed by room service breakfast (shredded wheat and no Champagne although the room service guy apologized profusely and finally found us some), and a huge rain/electrical storm. This storm was CRAZY - a ton of thunder, lightening and a huge amount of rain. I was wonderful to huddle, prot
ected by the overhang of our balcony and watch the pavement and harbour below be just pummelled.
After lunch we braved Russian customs which we are led to believe are ‘not to be fooled with’. I’d like to know which country’s customs are ‘to be fooled with’. I typically shut my mouth, present my documents and hold my breath. I think I am just they type of visitor the Russians are looking for. It is actually just like any other customs area (US or Canadian) we’ve experienced. In Europe we haven’t really had to deal with customs at all. We went through ‘passport control’ or what they call ‘immigration’ in London and Copenhagen, but all they did was look at our passports and stamp them - no where has required us to fill out landing cards or declare anything.
The tour this afternoon is ‘Highlights of St. Petersburg’. WOW, this city is unlike anything we have encountered on this trip or even ever. It is FULL of monuments and huge buildings that are awe-inspiring. The only place I’ve been to that even comes close t
o comparing is Paris and I think even that pales! We make numerous ‘photo-stops’ preceded by warnings to ‘watch your belongings especially if you have large cameras’. When we get off the bus the warnings seem to have been reasonable, but the same warning would seem appropriate in any other large city – caution is your best friend, not fear.
The one place that we actually spend time visiting is the Cathedral of Peter and Paul. It is a very busy place, but our guide is excellent and makes sure all of us ‘come forward’ to see what she is talking about. This is more than a cathedral. The cathedral is within a fortress on the Neva River. Across the river are the buildings of the Hermitage which we will visit tomorrow. This cathedral is where Catherine the Great is buried along with Peter the Great.
Today being Saturday there are brides everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE. At first I thought ‘what’s the big deal, Saturdays in summer are wedding central’, but NO. Like the city, St. Petersburg does things BIG. We probably saw 50 wedding parties today. Either we were following them or they were following us on their (or our) photo stops.
We actually did have a bit of time for shopping and at every photo stop there were souvenir stalls, but we didn’t commit. We have a tour on Monday that has a shopping focus, so we’re holding off until then – maybe I’ll come home with a set of nesting dolls or a furry Russian hat.
Good point Lori about the beer pics. We tried at one point to get one from a street vendor, but they were only selling water and Coke. Might have a hard time for the next while too being in St. Petersburg. We tried today, but all the street vendors were selling were Cokes, water etc and a malted beverage without alcohol – we’re not looking for an O’Doul’s!
ected by the overhang of our balcony and watch the pavement and harbour below be just pummelled.After lunch we braved Russian customs which we are led to believe are ‘not to be fooled with’. I’d like to know which country’s customs are ‘to be fooled with’. I typically shut my mouth, present my documents and hold my breath. I think I am just they type of visitor the Russians are looking for. It is actually just like any other customs area (US or Canadian) we’ve experienced. In Europe we haven’t really had to deal with customs at all. We went through ‘passport control’ or what they call ‘immigration’ in London and Copenhagen, but all they did was look at our passports and stamp them - no where has required us to fill out landing cards or declare anything.
The tour this afternoon is ‘Highlights of St. Petersburg’. WOW, this city is unlike anything we have encountered on this trip or even ever. It is FULL of monuments and huge buildings that are awe-inspiring. The only place I’ve been to that even comes close t
o comparing is Paris and I think even that pales! We make numerous ‘photo-stops’ preceded by warnings to ‘watch your belongings especially if you have large cameras’. When we get off the bus the warnings seem to have been reasonable, but the same warning would seem appropriate in any other large city – caution is your best friend, not fear.The one place that we actually spend time visiting is the Cathedral of Peter and Paul. It is a very busy place, but our guide is excellent and makes sure all of us ‘come forward’ to see what she is talking about. This is more than a cathedral. The cathedral is within a fortress on the Neva River. Across the river are the buildings of the Hermitage which we will visit tomorrow. This cathedral is where Catherine the Great is buried along with Peter the Great.
Today being Saturday there are brides everywhere and I mean EVERYWHERE. At first I thought ‘what’s the big deal, Saturdays in summer are wedding central’, but NO. Like the city, St. Petersburg does things BIG. We probably saw 50 wedding parties today. Either we were following them or they were following us on their (or our) photo stops.
We actually did have a bit of time for shopping and at every photo stop there were souvenir stalls, but we didn’t commit. We have a tour on Monday that has a shopping focus, so we’re holding off until then – maybe I’ll come home with a set of nesting dolls or a furry Russian hat.
Good point Lori about the beer pics. We tried at one point to get one from a street vendor, but they were only selling water and Coke. Might have a hard time for the next while too being in St. Petersburg. We tried today, but all the street vendors were selling were Cokes, water etc and a malted beverage without alcohol – we’re not looking for an O’Doul’s!
Note...the Russian flag as you probably has 3 colors, the white seems to blend in with the background just like the Estonian did yesterday.
1 comment:
That is a great picture of you and Chris. And that picture of the sunset - WOW! Glad you guys are having a wonderful time. I know you can find some beer somewhere - I have faith in you - HA!
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