One of the main reasons for taking this trip was to see St. Petersburg. It has always been a place that has held a real fascination for me and, being the lover of Impressionists that I am, I have always wanted to go to the Hermitage as it has a collection that rarely, if ever, leaves Russia. So, when I saw that this cruise stopped there for two days, I jumped at the chance. At last, the day arrived. I was up at 5.30 as I had crashed and burned the night before and had to do all the things that I didn't do last night in favour of an extra half hour's sleep. Not too bad, I was so excited that I was actually awake before the wake-up call came through. We left for our
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