Wrapped up our St. Petersburg trip

After the full day Monday of birthday celebration at the monastery and visiting Catherine Palace at Pushkin, then the long drive back into the city and to our hotel in the drive-home 5pm rush traffic in the freezing rain, we were ready to just kick back and relax!  

It had been a whirlwind of activity since the moment we had arrived at the airport Thursday evening.  We had reached an end to the scheduled activities planned by Riza and Alena.  And we had enjoyed every moment.  Now we just wanted to relax.  And eat!

Where to go for dinner on our final night in St. Petersburg?  The very last thing either of us wanted to do was dress up for dinner in some fancy restaurant.  And we most certainly did not want to walk to any of the nearby restaurants in the nighttime rain.  Would it ever stop raining and snowing in this city?  The weather was beautifully sunny on the day of the wedding.  And it had been snowing or raining or sleeting ever since!  We really did not have the proper clothing for such wet cold weather.  We did not want to eat at the hotel restaurant, although the food there was excellent for breakfasts so it probably was good for dinner too.

That morning at breakfast in the hotel Peter Forbes, another wedding guest from England, had given us a business card for a restaurant he highly recommended.  He said it was casual dress.  So, why not go there!  We discussed this with Frank and Barbara and were whisked off in a shared taxi within minutes.  We had learned by this point and knew to confirm the price before getting into the taxi.  No more 1500 Ruble taxi rides, please!  Not when it should be 300 Ruble.

The taxi driver did not seem to be familiar with the location of this restaurant, but he had GPS and followed the route displayed.  Which wound all over creation and took way longer than it should have.  But he kept to the agreed-upon price of 300 Ruble and did eventually deliver us to the entrance for The Idiot.

The Idiot is named after a novel written by 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoyevsky.  It was first published serially in The Russian Messenger between 1868 and 1869.  The tourist advertising for this restaurant stated that Dostoyevsky would have felt right at home here.  Books lined the nooks and crannies.  Comfy seating scattered throughout the 4 separated small dining rooms.  Oddities placed decoratively around the rooms.  An interesting and comfortable place.  A great place to enjoy a hot meal and stay warm on this cold night.

The Idiot -- in English

Here is a YouTube video of a private guide talking about this restaurant.  He is wrong about one thing, however; the restaurant does serve dishes containing meat.  Not a huge assortment of meat dishes, but more than enough to suit any tastes.  Bill ordered a pork stew, which was served in a small individual covered casserole dish.  He said it was delicious.

YouTube Video about The Idiot by a guide

Note where this guy is standing outside in the beginning and ending of his short video.  That is the Peter and Paul Fortress in the background to the right.  Notice that there is snow and solid ice.  That river was still flowing when were were there a few days ago.  Illustrates just how dang cold it gets up here in the winter!  Exceptionally glad that this wedding was in October and not February!!!

Barbara Gladney, me, Bill, Frank Gladney at The Idiot in St. Petersburg
Waitress took this photo with Barbara's phone.

The tourist info for this restaurant stated that guests are treated to a free welcoming drink.  A nice shot of vodka.  Well, okay.  I'm game.  Now, let's eat.

Since this was Russia, after all, the other 3 of us ordered Beef Stroganoff.  To everyone's surprise, Beef Stroganoff in Russia is served with sliced dill pickles and a small amount of mashed potatoes -- no noodles.  Frank and Barbara said they had eaten Beef Stroganoff in another restaurant in St. Petersburg and it also was served with sliced dill pickles and some potatoes -- no noodles.  So now we all wonder where and how the noodle thing got adopted traditionally for this dish in America.

We all loved the various breads served.  So much that we asked for another basket to share.  Skipped dessert because nothing appealed to any of us.  Then we asked the staff to arrange a taxi to transport us back to the hotel.

The ride back was 1/10th of the distance and time of the ride from the hotel to the restaurant.  This guy knew where he was going.  

This restaurant, this meal with good friends, was the perfect way to spend our final evening in St. Petersburg.

Most of the guests were leaving the following day.  At different times so we did not share taxis.  Barbara and Frank would stay on for another few days.  The taxi picked us up at the hotel at 12:45 for our 18:15 flight.  Way early in our opinions but we had no other plans.  Walking in the rain did not appeal.  We had wanted to visit the shops on Nevsky Prospect but that never happened.  Any wide, major, commercial street is called a Prospect here.  No idea where that term originated.  

At the airport Bill went to the police office and exchanged shoulder patches with an officer there.  Our friend is the Sheriff of Harris County and he had provided us with some shoulder patches to hand out to officials as we clear into new ports.  I had one in a pouch in my carry-on luggage so Bill took it and exchanged patches.  We will give the Russian police patch to Sheriff Adrian Garcia when we are in Houston this winter.  Cool!

We ate a meal in the airport and still had a couple of hours to wait until flight time.  Also had about 2800 Rubles leftover.  And there is no currency exchange after one clears passport control.  In fact, I do not remember seeing any currency exchange kiosk at all in this airport in the departure area.  Nothing to do but spend whatever leftover Russian currency still on hand unless you plan a return trip.  The prices in the Duty Free shop bordered on the high side to the ridiculously high side.  We walked through the 'no-name' shops looking for gifts for the grandchildren.  Maybe t-shirts with St. Petersburg or Russia written on them.  Or something that they might like to have.  When I saw the plain pink sweater for a 6-month old girl priced at 123 Euro, I gave up shopping.  That is beyond absurd!  So Bill went back to the Duty Free Shop and bought a bottle of Beluga Vodka.  No Rubles left over now.

A flight to Rome.  Wait an hour or 2.  A flight to Cantania, Sicily, where we were met by the same driver as on the outbound leg of this trip.  And a 2 hour ride back to Marina di Ragusa.
And at 02:00 we were happy to be home again.

What a wonderful trip and wedding!

Birthday celebration in a monastery & Catherine's Palace at Pushkin

Church at Monastery

As always, click on any image for larger view.
On our final full day in Russia we were treated first to a special celebration for the birthday of Alena's sister and then a tour of Catherine Palace outside the city at Pushkin.

My handmade Russian doll

I am embarrassed to admit that I have forgotten the name of Alena's sister.  She is a soft-spoken woman who always wore a smile each time we saw her during this short trip.  She owns or operates a bakery on the premises of a monastery and that is where her birthday celebration was held.  I am especially embarrassed about forgetting her name because she had made personalized little dolls for each of the foreign women who attended the wedding.  Mine was like a little grandmother.
Most appropriate, don't you think!

Pretty cup and plates.  And that delicious salmon!

It was another day of freezing rain and intermittent snow.  Riza again arranged taxis and once again Bill, Frank, Barbara and I crammed ourselves into a taxi intended to hold only 3 passengers.  At a major intersection Frank pointed to a huge arch with enormous statues of horses that looked as if it should be the Arc d' Triumph of St. Petersburg...if there were such a thing.  The taxi driver must have misunderstood and he turned left to pass the monument.  Soon he realized that we had not intended to send him to a new destination; turned around and got back on course for the destination to which Riza had instructed him to deliver us.

I never got the name of this monastery.  It was not the Alexander Nevsky Monastery.  And it was not the Smolny Convent and Monastery.  I found this site listing monasteries in St. Petersburg but none of these appear to be the one we visited, as you can see from the few photos taken with the iPhone.  I forgot to bring the camera this day (so no good photos of Catherine Palace either).

List of important churches and monasteries in St. Petersburg

Scrumptious baked goods!

The bakery/restaurant was situated on the right hand rear part of the monastery property.  It looked like a place where people might go not just for baked items but also for a comforting hot meal.  We understood that Alena's sister gives one-half of her restaurant earnings to the monastery.  

Tables had been set up in the rear room, covered in nice plates and serving dishes and scrumptious looking baked goods.  There were also small plates of smoked salmon (yay!!!) and small bowls of red caviar.  Large plates of "pancakes" were passed around upon which one was supposed to spread the caviar and or smoked salmon and a smear of something white (cream cheese?  sour cream?  yogurt?).  I passed on these and just ate a piece of smoked salmon.  Oh so good.  I was not really ready for caviar first thing in the morning.

Riza and new sister-in-law, with his
mom and dad on either side.

And all the sweet baked goods were delicious!  I have forgotten all the things we sampled but every one of them was delicious.  And that Russian style tea is amazing.  Really enjoyed that every time at every place during our stay.



After stuffing ourselves yet again with great foods, we wandered through the gift shop nearby.  It was filled almost entirely with religious items but I did manage to find a small glass cube with skyline of St. Petersburg etched inside.  That will go to our granddaughter as a Russian souvenir.

Church at the monastery

Monastery grounds and buildings

Then the whole group walked through the grounds of the monastery and into the church. As we walked in I noticed that Riza's mom crossed herself like a Catholic.  Later I asked Riza why she did this, as I knew she is not a Christian.  He said she does it when entering a church because she adores the Virgin Mary and shows her respect and veneration.  Now, wouldn't that surprise some of the vocal Christian folks back home who understand and know nothing about Muslims and their faith.  

One of hundreds of garden paths
at Catherine Palace

One end of Catherine Palace

This church and other buildings at this monastery were beautiful.  Wish we had at least learned the name of it.




Riza walked the group out to the main road and arranged a taxi van to take 6 of us out to Pushkin and then back to our hotel.  It was a long drive out there.  In the cold rain.  At least no ice yet this day.

One of many buildings at
Catherine Palace

In the Great Hall of Catherine Palace

Pushkin is the current name of the small town of Tsarskoy Selo.  And the site of the famous Catherine Palace and its many gardens and fountains and stables.  

Did I mention that there is a LOT of gold gilt

More gold rooms in palace

On these grounds are also situated the Alexander Palace and the White Tower and the Imperial Farm.  In total, there were 30 places to see, many of these huge structures.  The largest of which was the Catherine Palace.

And yet more gold

A more sedate use of the gold

The Catherine Palace was mostly constructed under direction of Empress Elisabeth, daughter of Peter the Great.  

In heaven. In a place I never thought
possible to personally visit.

Bill among the tourists, admiring the gold.

Note the elaborate wooden marquetry floor.

A very fancy desk.
I want it!

But it was occupied primarily by Catherine II, better known as Catherine the Great.  It was the most ostentatious display of wealth we had ever seen.  All Bill and I could think about as we walked through the restored rooms was the same as when we wandered through the Hermitage -- how many people starved to death so that this could be built for the royalty.  It is appallingly lavish.

Fireplaces or sources of heating were
camouflaged by beautiful tiles.

I would buy this chair today.
Amazing how classic styles
do not change.  Of course, I
would not have that gold.

The most famous room is the Amber Room.  Today it is all reconstructed and renovated after a fire after being occupied by the Nazis in WWII for 3 years during the siege of St. Petersburg.  Photos were not allowed in the reconstructed Amber Room, but it looked just like the images in this YouTube video of the original room, pre-Nazi looting.




YouTube Video of Catherine Palace and info

Another classic style chair

Since I forgot our camera and all the photos we took were with the crappy phone, I have included a couple of links that show some of the sights at Catherine Palace and provide a bit of information. 

Info about the palace on this site

Nice photos on this palace tour site

Another link about grounds at Catherine Palace

Classic dining side chair

Because Bill worked in the furniture manufacturing business for decades, we each took special notice of the furniture in the palace.  Numerous chairs attracted our special attention.  

Each of the 3 chairs in these photos are such classic style that these would be big sellers in a high-quality furniture store even today.  

We would buy any of these today -- without all that gilded gold, of course! 

An evening of ballet. Of course! It's Russia!

After touring The Hermitage (a/k/a The Winter Palace) all day, then returning to the hotel for refreshments and a bit of freshening up, next up on the schedule of entertainment was an evening of ballet.  Once again, Alena had ponied up and purchased tickets for everyone.  My!  She was such a gracious hostess for her wedding guests from foreign countries.  Thank you once again, Alena and Riza!

This time we managed to squeeze Bill, Frank and Barbara Gladney, and me into one taxi rather than taking 2 taxis.  It was a tight squeeze but we were not going too far and we preferred to stay together.  Not one of us had any idea where we were going.  Riza had made the taxi arrangements and the drivers knew the destination.  The nighttime weather was a mix of snow and freezing rain and the streets were a mess.

And the destination was:  I have no idea.  We never got the name of the place.  It was a bakery/restaurant just a few blocks from the theater where we would enjoy the ballet.  It was a small place that served only these huge 'pies' of a dozen or so varieties, both savory and sweet.  These were not pies as we know pies.  These were thick pastry surrounding a thick filling.  Riza and Alena had ordered 3 pieces of pies for each person.  There were salmon, chicken and apple, although Bill and I never got any of the apple.  Apparently those were so good that the folks who arrived before us had gobbled up all the apple pies.  There is no way either Bill or I could have eaten 3 pieces of these pies!  Each piece was a full meal to us.  I ate the salmon and Bill tried the chicken.  Then we each nibbled on another piece, picking out the savory fillings and forgoing all that pastry.  I just could not leave that salmon alone; it was delicious.  (I ate more salmon during our short stay in St. Petersburg than I have had in 10 years.  Love salmon and it is served A LOT in St. Petersburg.)  Pots of Russian style tea were served and this was a perfect meal on a night of frozen rain.

On the exterior door to the restaurant there was a sign posted warning customers to watch their personal belongings closely as there were thieves in the area.  Inside the restroom there was another sign stating to keep your handbag and wallet close and under careful scrutiny as there were pickpockets in the area who had been known to 'work' inside the restaurant. Glad they warned us!

After our delicious and filling meal, we filed out onto the sidewalk into the cold rain.  The theater was only a few blocks down that busy street; did not take us long to find it.  As I was not wearing waterproof clothing and had forgotten to bring the umbrellas (left in the hotel room), I rushed on ahead of everyone else with Bill close on my heels in the freezing rain, being careful not to slip on the gathering ice.  

Our seats at the theater were on the left hand side of the stage next to a fancy box, on the second level from the top.  Alena had bought seats spread throughout the theater so we were able to watch as the others arrived who were seated on the opposite side.  We tried taking photos of some of them but all we had was the iPhone and that did not work at that distance.  Too blurry and grainy, so no photos of the others.

The old Mariinsky Opera and Ballet Theater
Photo taken off internet site Saint-Petersburg.com

Someone told us that there is now a new Mariinsky Theater; but, thankfully, this ballet was being performed in the old Mariinsky Opera and Ballet Theater.  Who cares about a new theater.  We have plenty of "new" at home in Houston.  We preferred the ambiance of the old theater.

The original Mariinsky Opera and Ballet Theater

Main curtain and part of orchestra.
Photo taken before the performance started.

Someone told us that this ballet was not performed by the local St. Petersburg troupe.  This was a visiting troupe from a very distant Russian city.  I could not understand the name of that city.  I searched online later and it did appear to me that this ballet was performed by the Mariinsky Ballet troupe, but possibly I misunderstood.

The main box or Royal Box as seen from our seats on the upper left side

This old theater was ornate and lavish, like many of the old sites we visited in Russia.  It has been well maintained.

The performance that night was a ballet called Shurale.  It was a full revival of a 1945 production, choreographed by Leonid Yacobson.  It consisted of 3 acts and 4 scenes with motifs from old Tatar folk tales.  The stage designs and the costumes were simply fabulous.  And I was blown away by the size of this dance troupe!  There had to have been at minimum 90 dancers, 24 of whom were children.  Quite a lot to take a show on the road!  So maybe it was the real St. Petersburg troupe after all.

Right hand box directly across from our seats.
Barbara and Frank sat in the second level from top
next to that box.

I *think* that the orchestra was the local orchestra for the regular St. Petersburg dance troupe.  They were really excellent.  I enjoyed the orchestra even more than the dancers, maybe because our side seats offered a partially obstructed view and when the performers were on the far left hand side of the stage they were outside our view.  Whereas, the orchestra was in full view below us and the sound quality was superb.

Bill and I were totally lost attempting to follow the story line of this ballet.  But we enjoyed it anyway.  Bill made up names for the main characters and we made up our own story of what was portrayed.  Since we know nothing of Tatar folk tales, be certain that our story differed totally from the story intended to be conveyed.  Bet ours was a lot more fun.  Not so dark and somber as what was portrayed on stage.



This performance was not true ballet.  
It was a mixture of ballet and modern dance.  Which actually is the type of ballet that Bill and I enjoy most.  Years ago I was a patron of the Houston Ballot and each season we attended every performance which was choreographed by Trey McIntyre, who was extremely young at the time for a job such as that.  He began working under direction of Ben Stevenson, who was Artistic Director and eventually appointed Director Emeritus of the Houston Ballet.  Trey McIntyre choreographed Skeleton Clock when he was only 20 years old!
Trey McIntyre at Houston Ballet
He later left the Houston Ballet and formed The Trey McIntyre Project, a small dance troupe based in Boise, Idaho, who performed all over the USA. The TMP recently disbanded.  Gosh, I so hope Mr. McIntyre continues choreography as he is such a talent.
End of TMP

The ballet we saw in the old Mariinsky Opera and Ballet Theater reminded very much of Trey McIntyre's work.  Except it was darker and the story line of a different culture and history.  We enjoyed it very much.

When searching for information on the Mariinsky theater I came across information on the Mariinsky Palace -- a building that we had seen several times but did not know what it was.

The Mariinsky Palace

Wonder who the Mariinskys were.  The old Mariinsky Opera and Ballet Theater is home for the Mariinsky Ballet troupe, originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet and founded in 1740.  Internationally, the Mariinsky Ballet is known by its former Soviet name of the Kirov Ballet.  It is the parent company of the Vaganova Ballet Academy, a leading international ballet school.  

Here is a link to the playbill for the performance of Shurale that we enjoyed on 19 October 2014.  
Shurale production

Click on the small photos at that link to see examples of the beautiful costumes and stage designs.  Fabulous!

The Hermitage, a/k/a The Winter Palace

As always, click on any image for larger view.

Girls outside Hermitage.  Some kind of uniform?

The day after Riza and Alena's wedding the foreign guests kind of went out on their own or in pairs.  We opted to visit The Hermitage with friends Frank and Barbara Gladney of S/V Destiny.  We all piled into different taxis as most of the taxis can  accommodate only 3 passengers.  Riza and Alena soon arrived at the entrance to The Hermitage and guided us through the 'privileged entrance.'  Alena had purchased tickets for everyone online and this provided us immediate entry rather than having to queue up with the hundreds of people waiting in line to purchase regular admission tickets.  By doing this, she also saved everyone a lot of money.  

The 2 on the left are from Houston.  The one on the right
is from Denver.  Started snowing 2 minutes after photo taken.

The coffee car/van.  The entire rear
was filled with fancy coffee making
equipment.  Much appreciated on
a cold snowy day!

The throne room was huge.  If I had taken the photo from the
opposite end of room, the throne would
not have been discernible.

Russia has 2 prices for many things, including admission prices for many of the historical sites.  There is the 'Russian' price and then there is the 'foreigner' price, which can be 2 to 5 times higher than the Russian price.  If that practice offends you, try looking at it in a different light.  The Russians get a discounted price and the foreigner pays the regular full price.  Not charging us more but giving locals a discount.  I have noticed the same thing in admission prices to historical sites in Italy.  Europeans get 'discounted' admission prices and we non-Europeans pay full price.  Their country: their rules.

Military complex opposite courtyard from Hermitage.
Note army guys in long coats marching across.

Thanks much to Alena for purchasing tickets for all of us to The Hermitage and also to the ballet later that evening and saving all of us some money.  Honestly, we really did not expect Riza and Alena to pay for all our entertainment and sightseeing during this trip.

Soldiers marching to military complex

We skipped past the hundreds in line for tickets and headed for the metal detectors and entrance turnstiles.  Where we noticed a sign stating that no coats or jackets or backpacks were allowed inside the museum.  My 'coat' was okay with the turnstile attendant because it was just a 

Enlarge to see elaborate statues on top

sweater poncho kind of thing.  But Bill, Frank and Barbara were forced to go check their jackets and backpacks.  We later learned that this is common rule at all the historical sites and museums when entering buildings.  No jackets or backpacks allowed inside.

Inside entrance courtyard of The Hermitage.
Barbara walking ahead of us.  Note statues on roof.

Like most Americans, we knew next-to-nothing about The Hermitage, other than it was a huge museum.  Peter the Great ordered this building to be constructed with intentions that his daughter would live here.  It was called The Winter Palace.

(Actually, I am not at all sure Peter was the one who ordered this construction.  I think that order came after his death.)

Right side of the courtyard entrance to Hermitage.
Statues on roof continue around building on all
sides for blocks.

The bus tour guide the previous day had pointed out The Hermitage several times as we wound around the area on the tour. The building occupies what would be several city blocks in an American city.  It is huge and most impressive. There are bronze statues all over the top of this museum.  In fact, there are bronze statues on the tops of many of the buildings in St. Petersburg.  They apparently like this and use it a lot.  Most of the statues appear to be Greek gods or mythical gods, but some buildings have statues of real historical people.  I do not remember seeing any military figures commemorated in this statue fashion on any building.  The style of architecture in this city is unique.  

Carving on top of a building.  Not the Hermitage.
Italian influence very obvious.

In Italy we had learned that Peter the Great had visited Italy and was so enthralled with the Italian architecture of that time period that he brought hundreds of Italian craftsmen and architects to build the city of St. Petersburg.  St. Petersburg is a relatively young city.  It was built under orders by Peter the Great and founded in 1703.  That makes it a very young city for this side of the world.  He was a sailor and wanted the city built on the Baltic Sea. 

This palace was ordered to be built for his daughter, Elizabeth, to live in.

The Winter Palace

The library.  I was impressed with this all wooden room.
Must have been voracious readers. Unusual at the time.

"The Winter Palace was built between 1754 and 1762 for Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great. Unfortunately, Elizabeth died before the palace’s completion and only Catherine the Great and her successors were able to enjoy the sumptuous interiors of Elizabeth’s home. Many of the palace’s impressive interiors have been remodeled since then, particularly after 1837, when a huge fire destroyed most of the building. Today the Winter Palace, together with four more buildings arranged side by side along the river embankment, houses the extensive collections of the Hermitage. The Hermitage Museum is the largest art gallery in Russia and is among the largest and most respected art museums in the world."

A ladies sitting room.  So much gold!

Learn more at this link:

The Hermitage

(Here is another link to check out many of the sites we visited:  )
http://www.saint-petersburg.com/virtual-tour/

One of dozens of very fancy ceilings.  Each room and hallway
had beautifully detailed ceilings.

Bill, Frank, Barbara and I wandered throughout this huge museum all day. 

Wooden floor.  Gorgeous marquetry.
Bill said we were walking on art.

One of dozens of hallways.  All equally elaborate.

One could spend a week in there and still not see everything.  It is overwhelming.  It is incomprehensible that anyone or any family could live in such lavishness.  No wonder the peasants wanted to kill the entire royal family.  As we wandered around in amazement we wondered how many millions of peasants died starving so that this structure could be built and the contents accumulated.  

Typically sized room.  An audience room; not formal
throne room.

I think the royal family must have lived in such a bubble that they had no understanding as to how the regular peasants survived day to day.  I must tell myself that because I cannot understand how anyone could live in this lavish style while knowing that most of the regular people in the kingdom were living in pigsty starvation conditions.  I cannot believe that anyone could be that self-indulged.  So I will continue to convince myself that the royal family simply lived in this bubble and did not know how their subjects lived.

2nd floor stair landing.
Fancy!

Enlarge to see detail of another
beautiful ceiling

Riza's mom and dad, his younger brother and cousin, and another 2 Turkish couples were also visiting The Hermitage the same time as us.  But the place is so enormous that we made no attempt to remain together.  It was enough just to keep Bill, Frank, Barbara and me together.

Enlarge for detail.  Really pretty.

Example of gold dishes and tea sets.
There were dozens.  And a gadjillion
silver serving pieces, some huge.

While we were on the second floor we looked out the old very thickly glassed windows and saw snow falling on the river beyond and the courtyards nearby.  It was a beautiful view and made us glad to be inside on this snowy and very cold day.

Did I mention there was lots of gold!

Painting from 1324 A.D.
In remarkable condition.

On the rear side of The Hermitage, opposite from the river side, stands a very large building that houses military.  We watched men in the Russian Army in long coats march in the snow across the large stone yard separating the 2 complexes.  A scene from Dr. Zhivago in mind's eye.

The Egyptian Room.
Had a real mummy.
Unwrapped.

One odd thing I noticed is that the windows were constructed in double sets, with a varying dead air space between the sets of windows.  The windows on the prevailing windward side (facing the river) had space of several feet between the interior and exterior windows.  On the opposite side (facing the military complex), which would be the leeward side from the prevailing wind from the Baltic Sea across the river, the dead air space between the interior and exterior sets of windows was only about 6-inches.  I admired the very thick glass of the old windows.  That thick glass had a wavering appearance; not the same as today's clear glass used to make windows.  Yeah; I know; I notice strange things.

1964 Impressionist painting

Loved this room in particular.  Ostentatious enough?

A woman in our marina had told me to be sure and look at the Impressionist section of this museum.  It had been on the top floor when she had visited here many years past.  We walked every level of this museum including the top floor and never found any Impressionist section.  In fact, this is the only Impressionist painting we found in the entire Hermitage.  Maybe the other Impressionist paintings and sculptures have been moved to another museum.

Bill in the room I liked.  It had the most natural light from
windows than any other room in the huge building.

Mosaic floor.  Enlarge to see.

Detailed view of mosaic floor.

Detailed marble carving/statues.

Eventually we had had enough of museum wandering for one day.  We retrieved coats and backpacks and searched out taxis back to the hotel.  Bill and I found one and took off.  Frank and Barbara soon found another one.  The others also found 2 more and shared.  Once back at the hotel bar we all compared pricing for the return taxis.  The taxis from the hotel to The Hermitage had cost 300 Ruples each.  The taxis from The Hermitage back to the hotel cost 1500 Ruples each!  Guess that was another example of the local Russian price (Alena and Riza spoke to the first taxi drivers) and the foreigner price (we English and Turkish people spoke to the second taxi drivers).  And we all paid 5 times the regular local price.

Bill in courtyard of Hermitage as we fled the snow.

Beer for Bill to recover from the cold snowy day.
A pot of hot tea for me.

The snow had turned into freezing rain.  And now it was almost time to head to the evening's entertainment -- the ballet.