St Petersburg

We had SUCH a good time in St Petersburg this past weekend. We flew from Heathrow on Friday morning, and landed in St Petersburg at about 4:00 on Friday afternoon (it's three hours ahead, and the flight was 3.5 hours).

It was already dark by the time we got there (doh!) and we hopped in a taxi to our hotel.

Once we dropped our bags off we went in search of food. My first attempt to get something vegetarian failed miserably as my traditional borscht (beet soup) had a secret ingredient of the cow variety. I tried to tell myself that the giant pieces of beef were cabbage, but to no avail. Luckily, the rest of dinner passed without any more carcass surprises.

We wandered around a bit, and then headed back to the hotel for an early night. Rob, the raging party animal that he is, was sound asleep and snoring by 10:00 (yes, 7:00pm UK time) but he's been working hard, so I forgive him.

Saturday we hit the town and walked for hours. We went to Peter & Paul Fortress, which is the oldest part of St Petersburg, we found ate many blins (like crepes or pancakes) and walked along the River Neve. We saw lots of cool sights like the Church on the spilled blood. Catchy name, I know.

Saturday night we went out to one of the only vegetarian restaurants in St Petersburg. It was lovely, and I was very grateful to Rob for making the sacrifice of a meat-free meal so I could eat without worrying about secret ingredients. They did however give us complementary shots of vodka, and of course we didn't want to offend them so we embraced the Russian way of life and drank them down. We then teetered our way back to the hotel.

Sunday, the big "3-1" for someone, we went to a crazy flea market with hundreds of little Russian grannies were selling stuff that anyone else would consider garbage. It was very sad and I wanted to buy something from each of them. It was definitely off the beaten track and it was really interesting to be outside the city centre and seeing what kind of places most people live. The buildings were all horrible communist-era apartment blocks and it was very dreary and dismal. A big change from the historical centre of St Petersburgh where all the old buildings are being or have been restored, and there are lots of fancy high end stores to cater to the rich Russians and tourists.

Sunday afternoon we went to The Hermitage. We didn't have much time there as we realised too late that it was closed on Monday, but we spent a lovely 2 hours wandering around, looking at all the treasures in the Winter Palace. The State Rooms of the former Russian royals (the good ole' Tsar gang) sure knew how to live. The palace was beautiful, and there was so much amazing art and other treasures to see. It's really hard to imagine how the buidlings, nevermind the paintings and sculpture have survived during wars, flood, famine, and a communist government that didn't really care too much for the arts. It was a really special place, and well worth the trip to St Petersburg just to spend a few hours there. (A hint for anyone who goes though, for the love of god, don't pee in the bathrooms there. Better to have your bladder explode than to risk it).

Monday we went to St Issac's cathedral and paid to walk up a gajillion steps to see the views from the top. We then walked around more and got some last minute pictures of the sights. We had an uneventful lunch at the St Petersburg Subway (it's everywhere). Not authentic cuisine, I know, but better a sub that a sausage, I always say... or at least I do now.

We did a bit of shopping for the obligatory Russian souvenirs and then headed for the airport.

Now, I'm back at my desk at work and life is seeming terribly dull after our fun weekend. I'm so lucky to have such a great hubby who takes me fun places for my birthday! Though, I'd like to spend my 32nd birthday in Canada!