St. Isaac's Cathedral

 Just when you think you are done we visit one last church. St. Isaac's Cathedral which has a gold dome that is said to be the largest dome in the world. When it is raining and not sunny you won't get those glowing gold dome photos. But when you go inside your mouth will drop open at all the impressive ceillings, mosiacs and murals. By the time we leave it is raining pretty hard and the clouds are a dark grey.

St. Isaac's Cathedral

St. Isaac's Cathedral was originally the city's main church and the largest cathedral in Russia. It was built between 1818 and 1858, by the French-born architect Auguste Montferrand, to be one of the most impressive landmarks of the Russian Imperial capital. One hundred and eighty years later the gilded dome of St. Isaac's still dominates the skyline of St. Petersburg. Although the cathedral is considerably smaller than the newly rebuilt Church of Christ the Savior in Moscow, it boasts much more impressive fades and interiors.

We now head over to their office which is set up in a gift shop. They share services so you go to the 2 little desks in the back to pay and when you are done and waiting you can buy souvenirs and drink free vodka samples.

Back to the ship and say goodbye to our wonderful driver Anthony (who got us a up front parking space every time ) and Victoria (who knew everything about every piece of history and palace and got us to move quickly to the next place to squeeze it all in. It was a busy 2 days but the most incredible, surprisingly unexpected wonderful port with beautiful architecture, clean streets and friendly people. Everyone's takeaway was the same and I would love to go back another time.

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St. Petersburg, Russia Day 2

Moving on to Yusupov Palace there is a charge of €3.00 for taking pictures. Me and my husband are the only takers on this one, but this could be my once in a lifetime chance of being there and I don't want to miss anything. This is where Rasputin is murdered after 3 tries. So they have used these wax looking figures for the re-enactment. But beyond that the most impressive part for me was the secret theatre room he created for his daughter who played music and this was a place for her to preform. It was just like what you see in the movies. I think it would of killed me if I was going through that and couldn't take pictures. Sure I didn't take pictures in every room, only things that I think are worth it but the pictures that you take are worth €3.00.

Wax figures reenactment the night they were to assassinate him.

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The balcony

The stairs he was shot on, however they have been refinished.

For more history of Yusupov Palace

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Lunchtime in Russia

Into the van and back to the city for lunch at an urban upscale restaurant for a better lunch than we had the day before. Fish again, salad, pumpkin squash soup and a fruit desert. The bathroom is unisex so you share the wash sinks. But the music is loud so you can't hear anything else and when you look up at the ceiling you see wine glasses upside down on the ceiling as an art fixture. Wish I would of taken my camera/phone in to the bathroom lol.

St. Petersburg, Russia Day 2

The weather forecast is rain today but when we wake up it is sunny sky so we are hopeful. We decide to take our umbrellas to be on the cautious side and glad we did. It was cloudy all day and drizzly rain. This was our first day of rain so I can't complain. We drive to a photo op of a statue of Catherine the Great before we arrive at our canal ride for a different view of the city. We then board our hyrofoil for a 30-40 minute ride to Peterhof Palace known as the "Russian Versailles". Our guide takes us through lush green gardens with amazing fountains throughout. It's starting to rain so up go our umbrellas. It's about 11:00 a.m. and there are allready long lines into the castle and umbrellas for miles. Our tour does not include going into the castle but seeing how many people are there, I could see how that could take 1/2  or whole day. I would like to go back and spend a whole day there.

Interesting facts about the fountains. 

Peterhof summer residence is remarkable first of all because of its unique fountain system. 22 km of pipes lead to 150 fountains and 4 big cascades in the park. Altogether the fountains and cascades count two and a half thousand individual jets? Each with its own smaller pipe.

Peterhof fountains are all sorts of curious shapes and fantasies: triton and lion fountains, dragon fountains and fish-tailed boys blowing sprays of water through conches. There’s the Pyramid fountain, that looks like a water obelisk created with 500 water spurts rising in seven tiers. There are the marble Roman fountains that repeat the ones in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican. The so-called Menager or Economical fountains look simpler but derive their name from their cunningly designed jets, which send a plume of water high in the air. It looks impressive but is in fact hollow, saving water consumption. Then there are Peterhof’s famous trick fountains which look like umbrellas, trees or benches, but which soak the unwary visitor who approaches too close.

All these had been created by fountain masters over the course of several centuries. Up till nowadays, as ever, the whole Peterhof fountain system works without any pumping or electricity. The water to the fountains is fed by gravity. The height of the water spurts is regulated through the diameter of pipes and nozzles.

To read all about St. Peterhof
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