Day Two in St. Petersburg - Opulence

Friday: Our delightful day was a bit outside the city center. We visited both Catherine Palace and the fountains at Petershoff. The weather cooperated somewhat as most rain occurred when we were in our van. Before leaving on this trip we watched the 2016 BBC's War & Peace mini-series. The ballroom in Catherine Palace was more impressive in person! Petershoff was remarkable as well especially since Peter the Great was a rather humble man in his own living arrangements. That palace was to put Russia on the map.





One other unique experience of our tour was a trip into the St. Petersburg subway system. Being a small group, we entered in one station, stopped at an impressive station and exited to our waiting bus at the third. Built in the 1950's, it was a working man's shrine to the 'religion' of the State. We found it immaculately clean and completely free from vagrants and graffiti. One car we boaded was decorated as a library as a tribute to the days when people didn't stare at their little screens when on public transport. They are trying to revive reading on the trains. The people from this city respect public spaces and seem to have a real love for their city.





It was fun with pretty much the same passengers as yesterday, save two who completed their tours. Svetlana was very professional and personable. Our driver navigated safely whether on the crowded city streets or on the Interstate-like highways. We are very pleased with these two days in her native city. We tipped $25 with a thank-you card that Jay’d brought along.