Cruise Part III-More St. Petersburg, Russia

After we went to the Hermitage Museum and Winter Palace, we then continued on our all-day tour of St. Petersburg, Russia. We stopped at the famous onion-domed "Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood." Sounds morbid because it is. The church was built on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated. We did not have time to go inside nor did we have any rubles (Russian currency) so we just took some pictures outside of it. After we went to lunch at a Russian restaurant. It was very interesting. We ate with some Scandinavian people from our cruise who were nice. They served Russian food which consisted of a cream soup, some chicken and rice with a gravy and a piece of cake for dessert. And lunch could not be complete without a shot glass of vodka! There was also a traditional Russian band playing around the tables while we ate. They were awesome!

After lunch, we headed over to the Peter And Paul Fortress-the original part of the city. Olivia promptly fell asleep in the stroller here. Props to her for lasting all day with no fuss! There we toured the Peter and Paul Cathedral where all the tsars have been buried since Peter the Great including the Romanov family (the one with the famous daughter, Anastasia).

Finally, we ended the day with some souvenir shopping-had to get the Matryoska Dolls (the dolls within a doll). And then we stopped and took pics of the cruiser "Aurora." This cruiser fired the shots that were the signal to start the Russian Revolution in 1917. After a full day seeing the sights of St. Pete's, we headed back to the cruise ship. The next day...Talinn, Estonia.


Church on the Spilled Blood.


Justin standing next to one of the many canals in the city. The city is known as the "Venice of the North" for this reason.


Us in front of the church. Unfortunately no time to see the inside...


Our Russian band at lunch. The girl was gorgeous and not pictured here was a singer who sang beautifully.


Arriving at the Peter and Paul Cathedral within the fortress. As you can see O was not as excited as we were.


Mary Ann and John in front of the P&P Cathedral.


Inside the Cathedral.


The Romanov Room. Tsar Nicholas and his entire family were killed in the revolution. Anastasia's tomb is the one on the far right. There have been theories for years that she escaped death and was secretly living elsewhere in hiding. A few women have even come forward and claimed they were her but they have now proven she did die at the time.


Peter the Great's tomb is on the far right with the bust of him above it. Katherine the Great is next to him.

Jusitn and O on the outside ramparts of the Peter and Paul Fortress.


The name of the store where I did some souvenir shopping. Somebody translate for me...


The cruiser "Aurora." The boat that started a revolution leading to the failed Communist system. Way to set your country back about 70 years Aurora.