Left Moscow and headed for Novgorod, a medieval city of about 350000 people. Novogorod used to be one of, if not the biggest city in ancient times. Upon arrival, we headed to the Fortress of Novgorod (the Russians love their fortresses!!) for a bit of sightseeing. It ws pretty cool, but much the same as what we had seen (palaces, churches, statues etc). We had a look around the town itself, which was really nice, before having dinner at the hotel. As it was Stu's birthday (the tour guide) we planned a party on the foreshore on the river that divided the town in two. Now this was a really great night, one of the best of the trip. We all pitched in for alcohol and sat and drank and got to know each other a lot better. We also were able to meet and interact with a number of locals. Russian people are an interesting lot, they are very stern and appear grumpy and unhappy (owed much to the history and current environment of the country) but they are really nice and friendly people when you get talking to them. It was good to see this side of them.

Anyway, the night ended up being a particularly boozy one, and one which we all were feeling on the bus the next morning as we headed for St Petersburg. Luckily for me, Neil (our driver) shares identical musical tastes to me, so his choice of music on the bus made the early starts in the morning, and my hangovers, a lot easier to bear!!! :P

We made it to St Petersburg late morning, pcked up our local guide, and headed straight to the Seige of Leningrad Museum (St. Petersburg was renamed Leningrad by Stalin during the communist years, before being restored as St Petersburg at the downfall of communism). Anyway, during WW2 Leningrad/St. Petersburg came under extermely heavy fire from the Germans, and was surrounded for 2 years by the Nazis. The town was constantly bombarded from shell fire, and was cut off from external food and power sources. Most of the city was destroyed, and the majority of the city's population perished. In the 1970's, the memorial was built to remember those who died.

After the Seige memoril we headed out of the city to Peterhoff, a giant palace which the royal families spent their summer. Its located right on the Baltic Sea (?) and has to be seen to be believed. It is a beautiful place, I wont even try and describe it. However, it is so decandent and grand that it was no wonder the people were not happy in the late 19th/early 20th century. While they were starving, cold and unemployed, the Royal family lived a lavish lifestyle like this. No wonder there was a revolution!!! Apparently similar discontent is happening now. The country's wealth is concentrated in a small percentage of the population, and corrupiton in government and big business is making many people unhappy. Then there is the 57% of people living below the poverty line and unemployment rates...

After seeing the summer palace at Peterhoff, we took a guided drive around the city, wit sights of note including the Hermitage (Royal family winter palace and art museums), Peter and Pauls Fortress, The Church of Spilt Blood (sight of Tsar Alexander II's assasination), The Bronze Horseman and the Battleship Aurora. We were taken to these places the next day for an extensive and guided tour through each.

Peter and Pauls Fortress contains the cathedral which holds the tombs of all the members of the Russian Royal families, including the last of the Romanovs Nicholas II and his family (including Anastacia!!!). The Hermitage contains many works of art, including Leonardo Da Vinci and Raphael. The inside of the Royal palace which comprises part of the Hermitage was amazing, again extremely grand and elaborate. We actually stood in te room where the Bolsheviks arrested and kidnapped the royal family, thus finalising the revoltuion.

The revolution started in St Petersburg when Lenin arrived from Helsinki after being exiled for his political views decades earlier. The battleship Aurora cruised down the river firing blank shots, which was the sign for the soldiers and the people to take over the city. And as I mentioned, it ended with the removal of the royal family. Anyway thats enough of the history lesson!!!

On our second day in St. Petersburg (apart from the things I just mentioned) we had lunch at 5 star hotel (apparently Adolf Hitler's favourite hotel in St. Petersburg, and interestingly enough one of the few buildings he didn't traget during the Seige of Leningrad). We then took a cruise along the canals of the city, sipping champagne and getting a different view of the city. It was really beautiful and great fun.

After we went to a faberge egg store, where we were given unlimited free shots of alcohol, obviously to try and get us to buy up on the expensive array of eggs and jewellery. Yours truly stayed strong, not only not spending money, also consuming 14 free shots of alcohol. Needless to say we left the store pretty drunk before heading to dinner. Dinner was at a local restaurant, where we had the best Beef Stroganoff you will ever taste in your life!! The rest of the night was spent at a local bar, before heading back to the hotel for a few more drinks to celebrate our last night in Russia!