Two Days in St. Petersburg

Day 1 in St. Petersburg was the most strenuous of the entire cruise. We got on the tour bus early and headed for the Peterhof and Pushkin summer palaces. Cascading fountains and lavish gardens, plus the recently reconstructed amber room - said to be identical to the original. The original is still missing. It was given as a gift long ago to someone who admired it. It was the custom to give away priceless objects, etc. to those of higher stature who admired them. I'll bet it also became the custom to "hide the silver" when people came to visit.

Our guide, Irina, was a formidable woman. A university professor during the school year, she put up with no nonsense from her tourists. The cruise ship's escorts immediately were the recipients of her wrath and rightly so. Instead of doing their jobs of keeping us all together, they were off buying souvenirs.

Irina had lots of stories to tell, so many that I can't keep them all straight. Let's just say that there were lots of scandals, back-stabbing, plotting, etc. among the royal families. They certainly weren't dull! And, they had a lot of gold and liked to decorate with it.

After touring the Peterhof and gardens, we ate lunch on the grounds. Our table companions were Rich and Cathy, physicians from New York, their parents (Cathy's, I believe) and their three children. Chicken Kiev was the main course, I believe.

On to Catherine's palace. At the Peterhof, we arrived early and were the first tour of the day! Not so at Catherine's. LONG lines. We waited. It was a Tuesday and the museums had been closed on Monday. LOTS of people. Finally we got in and saw the enormous palace. In the pictures, this one is the blue one.

On the way back to the ship, we encountered traffic and a construction slow-down. Finally, we got there at 6:00. We barely had time to change clothes for our evening at the ballet. At 6:45 we boarded another bus with the others who'd also signed up for the ballet. Later we learned that some who were scheduled to go decided to rest onboard ship instead. Seriously!!!???

We saw Swan Lake as performed by the Russian Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. I think Larry and I both agree that it was the trip's highlight. Absolutely awesome. The theater itself was not that large. It was decorated white with gold trim and we sat in chairs on the main floor. On both sides were many boxes on many different levels. At intermission we went upstairs for our complimentary champagne.

The ballet was beautifully performed. The male lead reminded me of Derek Hough of Dancing with the Stars. The sets were spectacular. Larry had brought his binoculars, so we were able to see everything clearly. Before our arrival, the guide told us to pay close attention to the black swan who would spin on her one foot (toes) for 32 turns without touching the floor with her other foot. We counted and it was - 32 turns!

Arrival back at the ship was around 11:30 or so. Most of us immediately headed up to the buffet to see what was available to eat. I felt no guilt whatsoever for taking the last slice of pepperoni pizza!