Saturday, St Petersburg

Saturday. St Petersburg. Up at 4.45am for two very intensive days with our guide who spoke perfect English and was so knowledgeable. This is a city of 5m people and only founded 300 years ago by Peter the Great. Most of our two days was to focus on the history and the vision that he and Catherine the Great had. We started with a drive around the centre of the city followed by a canal trip. Then it was into the Hermitage museum which started as an opulent palace and is now a museum of 3m works of art On to the SS Peter and Paul Fortress where all the Tsar's are entombed and finally into St Isaac's Cathedral. I don't think I have ever seen so much gold in one day.

The main photo is the alter in St Isaac's Cathederal and the extra shows the tomb of Peter the Great.