St Petersburg and The Catherine Palace at Tsarskoye Selo Pushkin

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ST PETERSBURG continued.

Not thinking that we could top the folk show experience of the previous night, the weather seemed to be set to prove us wrong.

The day decided to be the complete opposite of the day before, bright sunny and blue. Temp in the 20s perfect!

The morning was spent seeing the Peter & Paul Fortress which was the foundation place of the city. The cathedral in the fort has a tall gold spire visible around most of the city and inside the burial chambers of the Romanov Tsars.

Back into town to see the Church of the Spilled Blood, one of those colourful onion topped, churches you imagine when you think of Russia.

The afternoon we drove out to the town where the Tsars built their summer palaces. Specifically to see the Catherine Palace. Walking up to the guilded gate and peeking through to see the vast stretch of the front of the palace. The colour of the palace perfectly matching the blue of the sky (made for some fantastic photos).

And I must say not bad for a holiday house!!!

The Catherine Palace’s claim to fame is a room in which the walls are decorated entirely with amber. In addition some of the furniture and vases etc are also made of, and covered in amber. Now, yes, a tad over the top but hey someone had to do it! And it definitely makes the room feel very palacial. No description can really do the place justice for size, scope and gawdiness of the place. But it is very beautiful and the grounds magical.

The great thing about this trip is that I’ve had a really hard time picking favorite bits since it has all bee so good. But this next bit is up there.

I saw Swan Lake, performed by the Russian Ballet, in the Mikhailovsky Theatre, In St Petersburg. All it was missing was Pavlova and Barishnakov to make it perfect.

The ballet was beautiful, but I am one of those people who could go back again, again and again. Add to that, the live orchestra and my fantastic new red shoes, what more could you want from a night out.

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