May 19 After breakfast (eggs today), we headed to the metro to go to the State Museum of the Political History of Russia which was on the other side of the river near St. Petersburg's large mosque. I had visited a museum in Moscow about the rise of the Communists through WWII and found it very interesting and was sure this one would be too and hoped Michael would find it of interest (which he did.). The museum was founded in 1919 and reflects political, economi...

May 18 We started the day a bit later with breakfast at 8:30 and then a slow start while trying to get a few clothes washed and the day organized. The first stop for the day was the Alexander Nevsky Monastery which is actually designated a laura or lavra as was the monastery in Sergiev-Possad. A lavra is large, rich monastery that enjoys special privileges and is a cultural center in the regions it occupies. Founded by decree of the Emperor Peter I in 1710, ...

May 17 Our room at the Art House Hotel is on the small side, but has all the comforts one would want - two beds, a TV, a desk, a place to store clothes, and a small bathroom with towel warmer, shower, and hair dryer. Michael has retreated to his "private office" and asked me to hold his calls, so I am using the time to write this. We started the morning with breakfast prepared by Lena, the non English speaking housekeeper here and ate in the small, but cheery...

May 16 Today's plan was to get an early start so we had breakfast at 7:30 and were out of the hotel around 8 AM. We had a short walk to the metro station (not the closest but would avoid having to transfer trains) and took the metro one stop to one of St. Petersburg's rail stations, the Vitebsk railway station. Our plan was to go south to have a day visiting palaces. Our first destination was to be Pavlovsk, the same area where we had eaten at that wonderful Ru...

May 15 Back in St. Petersburg for me and really Michael's first opportunity to explore the city. We decided to do a walking tour. There were several choices available ranging from free (with or without pre-registration) to paid. We chose Peter's Walking Tour, the oldest in St. Petersburg which started one long block away from the hotel, was the longest, and was touted as going to places other tours did not go and appealing to backpackers. The tour started at 10:...