Our Visit to Peterhof

Hello Everyone,

Today I will tell you all about our visit to Peterhof, the beautiful Summer Palace of the Tsars and now a museum that is open to the public.  We boarded a hyrofoil and travelled along the Neva delta to Peterhof where we could see right across the Gulf of Finland.

Peterhof was truly a sight to behold even though I had been told how lovely it was nothing prepares you for the real thing. It was breathtaking, even though it was raining when we arrived. Luckily, although we had showers all day the sun came through in between to brighten things up. The palace was built by Peter the Great with a view to rivalling Versailles in France. They certainly succeeded too, I just don`t have the words to describe the place the way I`d like. Everyone should go there just once in their lifetime just to see what I mean.

Nadia and Ivan, Slava`s parents came with us as it had been many years since they had last visited. It`s a bit like us living near Windsor Castle, I don`t remember when we last went there. Jim and I were armed with our camera and camcorder and played the tourist to our hearts content , ending up with some great footage and photos to remind of of our visit.

We walked around the woods and came across many more fountains, many of them where you wouldn`t expect to find them, such as the artificial tree surrounded by daisies that sprayed water everywhere. You had to be careful or you could get very wet indeed...lol!  Peter the Great had a sense of humour and he used to turn on hidden fountains that would soak his noble guests who would be dressed in their finery...I`m not sure I`d be very amused, but then you couldn`t really complain to a Tsar can you?

I tried to imagine Nicholas II`s wife and children waking up in the morning to see the beautiful grounds that surrounded their palace. I wonder if they ever looked at it and thought how lucky they were...and would things always be that way for them?  We`ll never know. What I do know is that the Russian government has preserved the Palace beautifully, as they have all the fine buildings in the city. I do wonder though, why have they not spent more money on the ordinary hard-working people`s homes. More of that in another entry.

When we finished walking around we had a coffee and some delicious Russian apple pie. They certainly know how to make the most wonderful cakes and pastries...they are so yummy I`d have loved to bring some home. Then it was back to the delta to pick up the hydrofoil back to the city. We`d had a truly unforgettable day but we were tired out and all we wanted was to put our feet up!

Tomorrow I`ll tell you things about Russia, not from a tourist point of view but as a casual observer. Seeing as we stayed with a family we saw things other tourists wouldn`t usually see which has given us a better understanding of Russia.

I want to answer a few questions that were posed in your comments.

To Linda,   There are no longer any food shortages in Russia, far from it in fact. There are supermarkets and shops everywhere selling all the food anyone can eat. People remember the food shortages very well and they don`t ever waste food. If you don`t eat all the evening food, you eat in for breakfast the next day. It`s simply what they do....just in case.

To Angie,  I also thought of Russia in black and white. I think it`s because we all know so little about it. The Russians are very different from us in many ways and they seem  suspicious of us but then they aren`t told much about us either, so who could blame them. I will never think of Russia in black and white again after the beautiful places I`ve seen.

I`ve just had a phone call from the vet. Jake has just had his op and after blood tests and an x-ray were clear, it was discovered that he had a grass seed embedded in the side of his face. How could such a tiny thing cause so much trouble?  Anyway I`m just relieved that it wasn`t anything serious and that all he will have is a sore face and some scar tissue.   and we`ve got a whopping great bill...lol!  Thank goodness we have pet insurance.

Anyway I must run as I`ve got a huge pile of ironing to do before we collect Jake at 5.30. I hope you`ve all had a good day...it`s only rained once today here...I can hardy believe it...lol!  Bye for now. :o)