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We had a two day stop in
St. Petersburg and, due to visa requirements, were faced with the decision of
either staying on ship for two days, or booking a tour with an agency, which
would grant us a short-term entry visa. We went for the tour option, and mom
and Shannon did some careful pre-planning and research to arrange a private van
to take us around the city. We left the ship, cleared customs, and found our
guide, and we were on our way. The first stop was along the main river that
cuts through town. The guide explained some of the statues and buildings alongside
the river. Then we transferred to the subway system and went for a ride on the
subway, deep underground.
For the next portion of
the tour, we drove further outside the city to the Peterhof Palace, which was a
massive structure with a wonderful, expansive garden dotted with around 200 water
fountains. The area was beautifully landscaped – I would love to have a job
just mowing the palace lawns!
We followed this with a
visit to The Catherine Palace, another massive structure that was similar in
size and beauty to Peterhof. We actually walked inside this palace, while the
focus at Peterhof was only outside on the grounds, and the decoration inside
was neat. Every room had some kind of distinguishing feature.
Then we returned to the
main walking street of the city, where I tried to exchange my currency (I was
carrying Chinese yuan, U.S. dollars, Euros, Danish kroners, and Russian rubles
at this time). After spending some time at the money counter, we strolled along
and Shannon bought a painting at a small grouping of art tents. Then we ended
up at another cathedral.
Back on the ship, we
feasted at the restaurant, Tamarind, for an Asian-themed dinner.
for more St. Petersburg Day One photos, go here
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