6/9/2015 St Petersburg
Up at 7.30 for breakfast and ran into all the Chinese tour groups that were getting an early start. Big breakfast hall but only just managed to find a spare seat. Killed time until 10.00 am when tour guide arrived and we headed off for a city tour. Found our own lunch then regrouped to be taken to the Winter Palace/Hermitage. Stunning building and art collection but crowded. Finished "touring" by 5.00 pm, so part of the group could go to the ballet. I opted for the boat cruise tomorrow night.
Found dinner at the hotel restaurant then changed my US dollars and Euros into Roubles to pay my local tour/transit fees. Used cash to pay for dinner and still have enough for tour guide. Found I was running a bit late for the group meetings so double checked the time; firstly for my watch then for the computer. The computer was set on the Paris time zone. After resetting for the St Petersburg time zone, my computer now gives the same time as the watch.
Highlights of the day:
1. visited a small Russian orthodox church during a mass
2. the Hermitage; two Da Vinci's and Rembrandt's " Abraham sacrificing his son".
3. the complex of the Winter palace and the harbour of St Petersburg
Large numbers of Chinese tourists (plus my own "travel weariness"), meant the Hermitage was not as spectacular as I expected. Excellent selection of artworks, beautiful buildings, great setting. Not quite on a par with the Louvre.
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