A day with the crazy Russians….

This morning was crazy...I didn't sleep well (as usual) and the clocks went hour forward (again) and Russian immigration gave me a hard time (typical!!).  By the time I made it through immigration, I was sure I had missed my tour because it was so late, but luckily the shore excursion manager got me on a different bus instead...so, crisis averted!  I would have been so disappointed because the thing I really liked about this tour is that there was three hours of free time where I could explore on my own minus the narration from a tour guide. 

The weather was highly unusual for St. Petersburg - there was sunshine and not a cloud in sight! Beautiful weather is definitely something we needed this cruise since we had already missed Warnemunde, Germany because the weather was so awful and it poured down rain in Tallinn, Estonia (I could ring out my clothes they were soaked so much...three hours later).  These guests (and crew) were definitely ready for a nice day of sunshine and warmth. 

This tour had lots of little stops, which was unfortunate in the sense that we couldn't go in anywhere only take photos from the outside.  But hey...at least I'm here, right?  The first photo opportunity was at St. Isaacs Cathedral which is the 3rd largest cathedral in the world.  The columns on the outside weigh 100 tons EACH!  Then, a quick stop to take a photo of the sphinx statues along the Neva river, which were gifts from Egypt to Russia.  The ones in Egypt were better :)

   

We stopped by the Spit of Vasilievsy Island to see St. Peter's cathedral (St. Peter and Paul Fortress) and the spire,  these two rust colored  columns called the "Rostral Columns" that were originally lighthouses for St. Petersburg because it was one of the original ports for Russia and the Trinity bridge.  

     

This ship was also located alongside the bridge – it was a gift from Holland to Russia.  It’s no longer a working ship, but now a very fancy restaurant!

As with any country, theme park or tourist attraction, we had to stop at the token souvenir shop.  The shop was huge and full of Matryoshka dolls (the dolls that have 5or 10 smaller dolls stacked inside of it) with pictures of every political figure like Obama painted on the front.  There was amber in every form of jewelry as well as glassware, books, key chains and every other trinket (or dustables) as mom would say.  I glanced as the prospective purchases but Chose to head to then restrooms and tea that the guide told us were waiting at the back.  I was pleasantly surprised when I reached the back of the shop to find coffee, tea, vodka and plum liqueur.  I opted for the plum liqueur...it is only 10am and didn't want ton hit the hard booze too early :).

It took about 45 minutes, but we finally got all of our guests out of the souvenir shop and back onto the bus.  We only drove about 15 minutes and arrived outside of the Church of the Spilled Blood which would also be our meeting point following our three hours of free time.  I chose to go inside of the Church, so I jumped in the long line to wait for tickets.  The detail on the façade is incredible – vibrant colors painting scenes on individual tiles that border the church and the texture on each of the bulbs all over the top.  Inside the church (aside from a million people) the walls felt like they were a mile high with paintings and mosaics decorating the walls from floor to ceiling. 

     

Here’s the spot where Russian Tsar Alexander II was assassinated – giving it the name “Church of the Spilled Blood”…

It only took me about 15 minutes to be OVER all the people in the church, so I ducked out the back exit to explore the city a bit and get some food because I was hungry!  After about an hour of wandering around and looking at menus, I found “Mama Roma’s”  (yes, I came all the way to Russia to eat Italian food).  When I walked in, Stephanie (one of my friends on board) called my name.  She was on a tour as well and came in to grab lunch – so I sat down with her and ordered a Cesar salad and a pesto pizza.  Before my meal arrived, she had to go meet up with her tour, so I ate alone and read my book on my iPad.  I absolutely loved it – great food, fresh air (because the restaurant was outside) and a good book.  I was HAPPY!  After eating, I walked slowly around St. Petersburg and took a few photographs and just enjoyed the fresh air. 

Next cruise (our last cruise through Russia), I REALLY want to go and do the White Nights cruise but I think it might be too late in the season because the White Nights might be close to over…maybe next year?!?!