Hard to believe our tour to St. Petersburg is here after much planning. We are taking a tour with 4 other couples through Red October Tour Company. No one is able to just debark and walk into SP, so you have to go with a tour group or ship tour. A visa is necessary.
St. Petersburg is a city of over 5 million people and boasts the larges sea port in the country. The principal waterway is the River Neva. Peter the Great build the first structure, the Peter and Paul Fortress, three centuries ago.
Our tour guide met us at the pier. Helen is a very well informed guide as she has been an English teacher and a guide for many years. Andrew is our driver and hurries to open the door of the van each time we stop for pictures or touring. They are both top notch.
Our first stop is the Hermitage museum on the River Neva . There are paintings there by Rembrandt, DaVinci, Michaelangelo, and many more important painters. It is one of the world’s greatest museums of fine art with over 3 million exhibits.
We passed a statue of Peter the Great and learned how important he was to the growth of St. Petersburg. Another important museum is Peterhof. We really enjoyed our visit there as the grounds are just beautiful. Peter the Great loved fountains and one can really see that at Peterhof.
We took a hydrofoil back to the port where Andrew picked us up. We ate our lunch on the hydrofoil so we didn’t waste time in town.
Next we visited the Peter and Paul Cathedral where Czar Nicholas, Alexandria, and their family are buried.
We had a very busy day
Tomorrow: Day 2 St. Petersburg, Russia
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