Peterhof
Trip Start
Aug 01, 2006
1
12
14
Trip End
Aug 13, 2006
Loading Map
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
St. Petersburg,
Russia
Friday, August 11, 2006
St. Petersburg, Russia
(Completed after return to Chicago)
Dear Readers:
Today begins with our visit to Peterhof, the Summer Palace of Peter the Great. I remember the long lines and waits during my last visit, and wonder what it will be like this time. We are there quite early in the day, and the lines are not too long. Our wait is only about 30 minutes before we can enter the palace.
This is one of my favorite places on the tour-so rich and opulent. I take a lot of photos here, but my fatigue is setting in and I don't bother to photograph anything after leaving here.
Eva, Svetlana and I share a coffee and pastry in the coffee shop during the free time we have given the group to wander the gardens and take photographs. We decide to speed up the afternoon by taking the hydrofoil back to the Hermitage, thereby knocking off about a half hour of bus travel time.
After returning to the city we make a brief stop at a large souvenir shop where I purchase small painted lacquer boxes to give to everyone as a gift at the farewell dinner. The selection of fun gifts is overwhelming. You can find everything from funny Russian fur hats to expensive jewelry.
Next we visit St. Isaac's Cathedral, which has one of the largest domes in the world. Construction of this massive building on marshland in the 1800's was a major engineering feat. I didn't take my camera in since I had photographed it extensively during my last tour, so I apologize for the lack of images in my photo gallery of this stunning building.
This evening more than half of the group dresses up to attend the ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre (previously known as the Kirov). The ballet commences at 7:00pm, so we race to dinner at 5:00pm at a lovely new restaurant directly across from the theatre. The Kirov ballet company is currently touring in London, but we see a lovely production of Swan Lake by another Russian company. The choreographer has taken a fresh look at the story, and has good triumph over evil at the end of this version. It is a lovely night out!
Eva didn't make it to dinner, so I order a couple of really yummy dishes from room service. Quite a few of the guys go out with Nicolai, our gay guide to St. Petersburg's night scene. They give a positive review of the nightclub in the morning. I stay home and work on the awards. They must be finished tonight since tomorrow is the Farewell Dinner!
Hugs,
Dan
