It was an extra early wakeup this morning because we had to meet Vadim by 7:30 for the second day of our tour. So we were up about 5:00, eating breakfast at 6:00, and deboarding the boat by 7:00. Today, we breezed through immigration easily. It was so different than yesterday. We made it to the pickup spot outside the terminal by 7:10 and waited for Vadim and Konstantin in the van. They arrived about 5 minutes later. The morning was sunny and slightly warmer than yesterday.
The first thing we did on today’s tour was take a boat ride on the Neva River with a few other TJ Travel groups. It was a one-hour ride on a low boat that could go under the bridges crossing the river. The lady guide’s English wasn’t as clear as Vadim’s, but it was pretty good.
Then we met Vadim again and went to the Hermitage, a huge museum kept in several old royal buildings including the Winter Palace. We were there for a couple of hours with Vadim telling us about the key pieces. We saw paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Raffael, as well as Egyptian sculptures and lots more. It is a huge collection that had been purchased by the czars while they were in power. We ate sandwiches at the Hermitage’s cafe at about 12:00 in order to make it to Catherine’s Palace in time for a 1 p.m. tour reservation for our group.
After a 40-minute drive, we arrived at Catherine’s Palace in the small town of Pushkin. The Palace is another museum that Vadim guided us through, which hasn’t been full restored after being substantially destroyed in World War II by the Germans. But it was beautiful and interesting. After going through its exhibits and the grounds, we drove to a nearby farmers market in the town of Pushkin. It had open stalls of many types of fruits and vegetables, plus everyday clothes and shoes, but nothing interested us. The fruit would have been interesting to try, but we can’t bring unpackaged food onboard the ship.
On the way back to the ship, we stopped at an Orthodox Church that is being used to look at the ornate inside. Then we were brought back to the cruise terminal about 4:30, where Vadim and Konstantin said goodbye. It was a breeze to go through immigration this time.
We watched from an outside upper deck as the ship manuevered out of the dock about 6:45. Then we retired to our staterooms before our 8:30 dinner.
Lori's Travels 