12:00-1:00 pm Travel to Tsars’ Village
We passed apartment blocks some old some new, houses, churches more palaces and parks.
1:00-2:00 pm Traditional Russian lunch
We were dropped off outside the restaurant on a busy street. Once up the steps we were lead to a long table where our party was to have lunch.
After lunch we had a few minutes on the pavement to take in the views. Opposite us was a beautiful Orthodox church.
2:00-3:30 pm Inside guided tour of Catherine Palace with the Amber Room
When we reached Catherine Palace we waited outside with lots of other tourists for our tickets before going inside.
After a short walk we were soon in front of the Palace with more buildings to our right that were (I believe) where the kitchens were.
We crossed the courtyard and looking back we could see the other tourists queuing to enter the Palace,
My shoes had to be covered to protect the floors.
The ballroom.
One of the exhibits.
We had to put cameras and phones away while we were in the Amber Room – no sneaking images as we were there when the room was almost empty. We left and went out to walk through the grounds.
As we left the grounds we encountered a photo shoot with a very uptight model.
Our last view as we walked back to the mini-bus.
We climbed aboard the mini-bus and set off for our drive back to the city.
3:30-4:45 pm Driving back to the city. Visit to the subway station and the Grand Synagogue
We were now running a little late so the visit to the subway station was postponed to the following day. As we entered the city and crossed the canals I managed a few grab shots from the mini-bus.
When had asked about street art in St Petersburg I learnt it was frowned on as just graffiti. I did manage to grab some graffitti as we drove past.
I went inside the Synagogue and decided that I’d rather be outside and watching the residents of St Petersburg on the streets outside. These views are looking up and down the street outside the synagogue.
After leaving the synagogue we drove to the Church on Spilt Blood. Here are my grab shots on the way.
4:45-5:15 pm Inside guided tour of the Church on Spilt Blood
We had a short warning about pick pockets around the church and inside the church. I decided to leave my camera behind and just use my iPhone.
To get to the church we had to walk along a pedestrianised street alongside a canal. The street was lined with stalls selling souvenirs and other tourist goods.
Once inside the church we went to the spot where the assassination took place and then wandered around marvelling at the decoration of the walls and the ceilings.
We walked back down the road to our waiting mini-bus past the stalls, the canal and past all the other tourists.
