Cruise, Day 8: St. Petersburg, Russia

Omigod! There's so much to say and I can't let myself get started!

But for now, I'll say this: The “winds of change” decided to wreak havoc on the plans of mice and men this morning! At approximately 1:30a, the St. Petersburg port authorities informed our Captain that they closed the port due to 35-40 mph strong winds. A cruise vessel already berthed was unable to leave during the night as scheduled and couldn’t leave till 6:30a. Why that’s important is because they were berthed in our spot, so we had to wait till they left before we could dock. Long story short, we didn’t dock till noon today, which meant that all tours scheduled this morning had to be cancelled, including ours to nearby Pushkin, the site of Catherine’s Palace.

That’s definitely one way to get some much-needed rest! But we were up and at it for our 4-1/2 hour tour this afternoon to the Peterhof Pavilions of the Russian Tsarinas and the Lower Gardens.

Again, just to whet your appetite, these few pics: above is one of the Tsarina pavilions. And below just happens to be this 100-year-old Russian Orthodox church (a young one, by Russian standards) as seen from the pavilions.

Near the pavilions, a short van ride away, are the Lower Gardens of the Peterhof Palace: 400 acres with 114 fountains, including the Grand Cascade below. (BTW, we've been on bus-coaches every tour thus far except this one today, which was a 13-person van, plus guide and driver--a nice small group!)

I've been saying "Omigod" all day long and thanking the gods for a mostly sunny day. Tomorrow we have a morning and afternoon tour, with lunch in between. Pinch me. Are we really in Russia? Oh yes. We had to go through passport control the minute we stepped off the ship. This is NOT like any other country...in more ways than one.

But like I said, I can't get started on that now. Later.... And, yes, I'm off to bed again.