Night location: Saint Petersburg, Russia

An early start was required today in order to catch our four hour train between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. David had booked our tickets well in advance so we had a pod of four seats together around a table. The service was excellent and included a full meal that was better than what you would receive on most flights. We seemed to be some of the only people in our carriage to not be a part of a Malaysian tour group, which meant that they took great interest in Edith as she ate her breakfast of chia pudding and kiwi fruit. She responded by smiling and chirping happily which was videoed by some of the women for posterity!

Arriving at Moskovskiy Train Station we were very fortunate to find a taxi driver who could fit all of the luggage and us in his large four wheel drive. There didn't appear to be an official taxi rank, instead drivers were out of their vehicles mulling around while the taxis remained parked in a haphazard order. We paused to assess our options, and after deciding that we just had to take our chances, Amber approached the most legit looking man wearing a beret and a 'Taxi' badge. He immediately responded by calling over his friend (who was also wearing a badge), who assured us that we did not need two taxis by pointing at his large vehicle that had an official looking taxi sign on the roof of the car. We piled in and feel that the price that we paid at the end was extremely reasonable which is always a bonus!

After checking in to our hotel we walked for about 25 minutes through the streets and along the canals of Saint Petersburg. From what we have seen so far, less money has been spent in this city in more recent times compared to its more wealthy counterpart. While the buildings themselves are quite beautiful, many seem to be a bit rundown. The canals and the comparatively smaller parks however, really enhance the city and add their own charm.

Our main plan for the afternoon was to visit the Faberge Museum which is housed in the magnificently restored Shuvalovsky Palace. We paused for a delicious lunch in the museum cafe before entering the world's largest collection of pieces manufactured by the jeweller Peter Carl Faberge including nine imperial Easter eggs. The museum also displayed incredible pieces by fellow master craftsmen from pre-revolutionary Russia. The House of Faberge, founded in 1842, designed 50 imperial eggs altogether and each one took a years worth of work to create. The family business was at its peak under Carl Faberge in 1872, who personally delivered each new Easter masterpiece to the tsar. After being dazzled by each creation we walked through the final exhibition hall which displayed some beautiful oil paintings.

Having rested our legs on the train we set off on our own walking tour of the city using the map given to us by the hotel. Funnily, we continued to underestimate distances between major sights! This meant though that we walked up the main street of the city, Nevsky Prospekt, and saw a number of impressive churches and palaces on our way to the planned destination of the Neva River. Standing proudly beside the river is the beautiful Winter Palace which was commissioned in 1754 by Empress Elizabeth. We walked back to our hotel via the Church of our Savior on Spilled Blood which sadly has its main dome and spire under scaffolding, but is impressive nonetheless.

A pleasant surprise was the spectacular view from our hotel Rooftop Terrace restaurant 'Vino & Voda'. Due to it only being on the seventh floor, we were not expecting such commanding views across the entire skyline of the historic centre. The food was equally impressive making this one of our favourite meals of the trip. David was particularly excited to try borscht and beef stroganoff. Edith, who has had an exceptional day, sat happily in her high chair eating bread crusts until eventually perching on Gemma's lap eating a spelt risotto with mushroom. She really loves trying new food which has been fantastic.