Venice of the North, or so they say...
Having never been on an excursion and with only 2 cruises left, I decided that I needed to get out and experience some of what the Shore Excursion team had to offer. The one tour that seems to be very popular is the tour to the Hermitage. Again, being slightly ignorant of some cultural aspects, until I came to St. Petersburg, I was unaware of what was held within the building but was told I needed to go. So despite being exhausted, I changed and headed for the pier. Once there, I found that the only tour to the Hermitage that I could get on was the Spanish speaking tour, however I could join another one… With the weather changing from cloudy and overcast to sunny and warm, I opted for the Rivers and Canals and it was fantastic.
Seriously the job being a Tour escort was not that difficult and it meant I could join the tour at no cost ~ double bonus. My responsibilities, walk at the end of the group. Hey I can do that, and given we were on a canal boat for half the tour, it was like I was a guest. In my travels into town, I have noticed that there are a number of canals, but you truly do get a different perspective looking at the buildings from the water.
As we toured through the water maze and made our way to the Neva river we passed ~ yes the Hermitage. Once out on the open waters, we were treated to the history and views of a number of buildings. It was actually quite nice to know what all the buildings were that I have been seeing in my shuttles from the ship to town.
The Hermitage is a museum/art gallery consisting of 5 buildings ~ one of which is the Winter Palace. It looks gorgeous from the outside… Maybe next time I’ll get to go in!
And true to form, this yellow building must be important as I took about 12 pictures of it ~ and can’t for the life of me remember why. Or the statues... LIZ ~ where are you when I need you?!?
The tower on the banks here are actually lighthouses. The other perspective I had of these was the night the group of us went to the Plaza night club and I took a picture of the morning sky ~ the lighthouses and Peter and Paul Cathedral were in the background. It is all coming together now!
The final showcase from the River tour was the Battle ship and naval academy. Apparently there is a museum in the ship and it depicts the life and times of a Russian sailor. Could be a cool place to check out.
After the boat ride ended, we took the bus to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. It was quite amazing to see all of the people lined up to see one church, but I suppose it is because it is the burial place of Peter the Great and Lady Catherine and other important Russian guys… (Liz?!?) I was in awe of the painting and metal work inside ~ unfortunately photos truly don’t give it the justice it deserves.
This was also when I started to lose people from the tour ~ at first I was concerned, and then, I realized there is no way to herd a group of adults if they want to wander off, so hey, let ‘em go. They can find the bus right?!?
In all, I’m glad my original plans for the Hermitage fell through ~ it was a beautiful day and very cool to see a more elegant/opulent side of St. Petersburg.
Seriously the job being a Tour escort was not that difficult and it meant I could join the tour at no cost ~ double bonus. My responsibilities, walk at the end of the group. Hey I can do that, and given we were on a canal boat for half the tour, it was like I was a guest. In my travels into town, I have noticed that there are a number of canals, but you truly do get a different perspective looking at the buildings from the water.
As we toured through the water maze and made our way to the Neva river we passed ~ yes the Hermitage. Once out on the open waters, we were treated to the history and views of a number of buildings. It was actually quite nice to know what all the buildings were that I have been seeing in my shuttles from the ship to town.
The Hermitage is a museum/art gallery consisting of 5 buildings ~ one of which is the Winter Palace. It looks gorgeous from the outside… Maybe next time I’ll get to go in!
And true to form, this yellow building must be important as I took about 12 pictures of it ~ and can’t for the life of me remember why. Or the statues... LIZ ~ where are you when I need you?!?
The tower on the banks here are actually lighthouses. The other perspective I had of these was the night the group of us went to the Plaza night club and I took a picture of the morning sky ~ the lighthouses and Peter and Paul Cathedral were in the background. It is all coming together now!
The final showcase from the River tour was the Battle ship and naval academy. Apparently there is a museum in the ship and it depicts the life and times of a Russian sailor. Could be a cool place to check out.
After the boat ride ended, we took the bus to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. It was quite amazing to see all of the people lined up to see one church, but I suppose it is because it is the burial place of Peter the Great and Lady Catherine and other important Russian guys… (Liz?!?) I was in awe of the painting and metal work inside ~ unfortunately photos truly don’t give it the justice it deserves.
This was also when I started to lose people from the tour ~ at first I was concerned, and then, I realized there is no way to herd a group of adults if they want to wander off, so hey, let ‘em go. They can find the bus right?!?
In all, I’m glad my original plans for the Hermitage fell through ~ it was a beautiful day and very cool to see a more elegant/opulent side of St. Petersburg.
posted by Carrie @ 10:32 AM
1 Comments:
At 5:59 PM,
Bethy said…
Beth says Booooorrrinnng!! We aren't looking for art, we want the goods on what's going on shipwise. Oh well, Atleast its an update!
Thanks Carrie!
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