Rushing in Russia

I can honestly say, (and whilst I hadn't thought about it during the 'grey zone' - the 16 years of raising children) when I was younger and dreamed of far away places that I would never have the opportunity to visit Russia. Whilst St Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) was only a small taste, it was delicious, almost like forbidden fruit.

Like all the weather we have had to date it was very pleasant, (exuberance is not to be over used in Russia), the ship was docked in some sort of wasteland / reclaimed land (not exactly picturesque), the immigration process was long and intense - but once escaping into downtown St Petersburg, history unfolded like a red carpet. The Hermitage at the Winter Palace and all the treasures it contains, the amazing 'Parisian style' architecture of the city, the Church of the Spilled Blood (unusually graphic name), the performance of Swan Lake (including what I like to refer to as 'le grand bulge' - men in ballet tights, oh my goodness - and I had binoculars!), the Saint Isaac Cathedral with its gold onion domes,  the ride on the underground in 'Russian rush-hour' with 45 elderly cruise ship passengers each carrying a piece of paper with a message in Russian to hand to a stranger should they get lost- thankfully we all managed to board the train, change trains and safely exit the station - a miracle, the fresh food markets with the tastiest berries and figs, the cafe with the divine Blinis, the folk music played at the 'typical' Russian luncheon... featuring non other than cabbage and caviar and most of all the contrast of the very rich and the very poor co-existing in what is now the 'new' Russia.

By the end of the second day, we had had a lovely visit, as the ship prepared to sail for Helsinki, President Putin closed the harbour till all the G20 guests had departed the airport, so after 3 hours, just on dusk we slipped away from St.Petersburg, satisfied, intrigued and our appetites wetted to visit again. Cheers M x