This was my final afternoon and night in St Petersburg and Russia. It had proven to be uneventful despite all the dire online warnings about visiting Russia.First I was going to walk up Nevsky Prospekt which is said to be the most famous and expensive street in all of Russia as it leads in a long boulevard from the Hermitage.I didn't see department stores or any shopping arcades so maybe I had missed something. I found some cheaper souvenirs in an underpass and c...

Heading back into town along the red line I was going to explore many of the lavishly built stations along the red line. Heading to Avotvo this morning to catch the bus to Peterhof I was able to scout out where the most interesting stations were.Along with Avtovo it was mostly the four interchange stations along the red line. It was fun hopping on and off the same train at each station snapping some quick pics.The more interesting ones I got off to take some more...

Today was my last full day in St Petersburg and I was planning to travel out to the suburbs to visit Peterhof one of Catherines lavish palaces. There were still issues in the hotel of me waking up then falling asleep at 8am, and the large school parties running havoc in the hallways and at breakfast.I found a website that offered door to door guided tours for $49 for both the Hermitage, Peterhof, and Pushkin. I planned on doing one each day but when I went to boo...

My big loop walking tour today was taking me to two more sights before I finished up for today. There were two more palaces included in my tourist pass I was going to visit on my way home.First was the Mihailovsky Castle a short walk from the Savior of the Spilled Blood Cathedral. It is a rectangular oval design situated on the canals. First I had to almost walk around the perimeter trying to find the entrance.Only one wing is open to the public with several stat...

A block behind the State Russian Museum back on the canals was the Saviour of the Spilled Blood Cathedral. This is probably the most iconic church in St Petersburg and dominates the skyline with St Issacs Cathedral. Both are visible from my hotel room.Walking along the canal there were tourist souvenir booths cashing in on the popularity of this attraction. Aside from traditional Russian dolls they had Putin mugs and dolls of past Russian and Soviet leaders.I inq...