Dale & Laurel's Adventures: St. Petersburg, Russia

Fourth port day – St. Petersburg. After such a rainy day yesterday, we were delighted with the sunshine today. It was cold, but clear! We started on a sightseeing boat and saw St. Petersburg from the canals. It was a lovely way to see so many places that we weren’t able to visit. It really is the Venice of the north. After that I felt like a little kid on a school excursion, as we were driven to the subway and picked up after two stops, just to see it! But it really was worth the visit – all marble and decorated like a palace. Stalin was really out to impress! Our driver then took us to Peterhof Palace where we were enthralled by the beautiful fountains and gardens – spectacular! Lunch was at a lovely tourist restaurant, which was made to look like a palace, inside and out (the food was good too). We then went for a drive around the city to see more sights before stopping at Peter & Paul Fortress with its historical Cathedral. I don’t think that I mentioned how much gold we saw in St. Petersburg. Everything was covered in gold leaf, as you can see in the photos. No wonder the aristocracy was ousted! So much to see and do, but we definitely covered the highlights thanks to Alla Tours. Our guide and driver were top-notch. Now, on to Helsinki. xx