Winter Palace and the Hermitage

     Kicker: all of those palaces we toured were the royal family's summer homes; their official palace is located in downtown St. Petersburg, appropriately named the Winter Palace.  Did I mention that summer is very short in St. Petersburg?  The justification of owning a summer palace: because they could!  

     PDub and I found it quite fitting to complete our palace day with the main one.  Today, the Winter Palace is a part of the Hermitage, one of the largest and oldest museums in the world (the collection began with Catherine the Great in 1764).  The museum is open late on certain days of the week, so if planned properly, you can completely avoid the queues and crowds (something I needed a break from).  We grabbed our Lonely Planet guidebook and lost ourselves in the large, ornate rooms of the palace and artwork composed of over 3 million items.  Starting at the Jordan Staircase, we headed to the great hall of Romanov portraits (the family who reigned for over 300 years), stopped in the grand pavilion to see the golden peacock clock that spreads its feathers at certain times (no longer does), and ended with mummies and paintings from the greats (Monet, Renoir, Van Goh, Rembrandt, Picasso, Da Vinci, etc.)  The museum is so large that it is very easy to get lost as we did on our way out; luckily no window jumping was necessary with museum employees placed in every room for such guidance.  Before heading to bed, we feasted on Russian beer and pelmeni, a Russian dumpling, at the well-named Pelmeni Bar; the waitress attempted to improve our Russian, but in the end, we really became her entertainment.  There ends our second day in Russia....

The Hermitage....PDub planned on matching his attire to the building color....Such a coordinator!

The Jordan Staircase where the Tsar (in blue here) would descend and watch the "Blessing of the Waters" ceremony down on the Neva River.

At the top of the Jordan Staircase which remains original from the 18th century.  The granite pillars were added later.

Monet, my favorite artist.

Another Monet.

Palace day really took it out of us!

The main object of butt resting for the Tsar: his throne.

Travel Day, Destination: Paris

     When it comes to travel days, I would say the general consensus is they are terribly dreadful; however, when one is placed in the middle of a vacation before and after intense touring, they are much needed.  In St. P, two exhausted travelers crammed their personal items back into their packs for the millionth time and headed for the ferry.  Surprisingly, the packing was easier, most likely due to the fluff loss in the fabric; an article of clothing can only take so much wadding up before it officially remains that way.  They boarded the 14-hour water ride headed for Helsinki.  After a night of happy hour and sleep, they hit land and proceeded to relax in the park where they remained for 5 hours, reading and planning their attack on their next location.  Finally after a 30 minute bus ride, 3-hour plane ride, and 1.5-hour taxi ride, they arrived at their destination, Paris.

     Two exhausted travelers entered their 5-star hotel, drained and ready for a hot shower.  Of course, the desk attendant greeted them with amusement on seeing their frazzled appearance and large backpacks.  He must have been used to upscale clientele with their rolly bags and perfectly sleek hair.  One of the travelers used his points to pay for the 1000 euro/night room, and they proceeded to lounge on the comfiest bed ever and shower for nearly an hour.  Each was necessary after a ferry bed and community bathrooms.  Today was for travel, tomorrow for exploring.

Before eating dinner (French onion soup.....do you call it French onion soup in France or just onion soup?, Caesar salad, and Bordeaux), we had just enough energy to walk up to the Arc de Triomphe and watch the cars chaotically circle with no guiding lines.

The Renaissance, a much needed hotel room.