St Petersburg, Catherine The Great's Palace

What a wonderful two days! Our guide was a well spoken delightful young lady who really knew the history of her city. Keeping all the Monarchs straight is a feat in itself.

I did not realize that St Petersburg is a series of islands. One interesting fact is that at 1:00 am during shipping season (approximately April - Sept ) all the bridges are open and left open during the evening so the ships can navigate the waterways. So, as our guide put it, unfaithful men would use this as an excuse for not getting coming home. Once the bridges are open, you better be on the right side or you're stuck until morning.

Our first stop was the Palace of Catherine the Great. It was initially developed under Catherine I, Peter The Great's wife, who was given the land by the Emporer. It was during the  reign of her daughter, Elizabeth, and through the efforts of Francesco Rastrelli, who believe that palaces should be created "for the common glory of Russia", that this residence could be called Tsarskoye Selo - the Tsar's Village.

All the gold leaf on the statues was taken off because Catherine did not like it. It must have been spectacular.

Here's our traveling group. Front row Charlene Lulloff, Sharon Stangel, Ric Lulloff.

Diane Lambert, behind me is Paul, Judy Wood (my sister) and Don Stangel.

The rate of these pictures are of the inside of the Palace. Enjoy

Catherine The Great

The hall goes on forever. You think you're looking into a mirror, but you're not.

Stair case, including Paul.

Private gardens