St. Petersburg, Day 1

Sorry I signed off early on my last post; I was exhausted last night after I got home from the ballet, so I did not get to outline the highlights of the day and there were so many!

After getting through customs, which took 2 hours off the ship because the Russians had to input our visa information 1 by 1 in an ancient computer, I was off to see the city and the Hermitage Museum. My first few impressions of Russia and St. Pete were incredible; the harbor that we are currently docked in on the Neva River is very small, and therefore you can see incredible sights from the bow of the ship. There are these very old churches with the golden and colorful domes, golden-domed rotundas, statues and sculptures dot the landscape. And we finally had a wonderful day of weather! It was about 75 and very sunny out; which is something that everyone was looking forward to.

As customs held us up so long, our city orientation started two hours late and was led by our tour guide Svetlana (who sports a fashionable red mullet) and our driver Igor, who is addicted to Marlboro Reds. Our first stop was over the Neva River to the Hermitage Museum. The Hermitage is the third largest museum in the world, containing over 3 million pieces of art--and housed in the Winter Palace of Catherine the Great. Many famous paintings hang in the Hermitage; there are two pieces by DiVinci and one of Rembrandt's most famous works of his career, "The Prodigal Son." Catherine was quite the voracious art collector, so a lot of the works shown at the Hermitage are from her private collection. The palace is absolutely jaw-dropping...it takes up an entire city block and the gorgeous sea-foam green exterior with the gold leaf guilding is so impressive. We quickly made our way in and I think that it was tourist day at the Hermitage because the place was packed!! The Hermitage has always been a source of pride for Russia, but sadly Stalin sold off many of the paintings to support the country during times after World War II...he felt that priceless works of art should not come at the cost of his people starving to death.

So the Hermitage is just amazing on the inside! Candles, chandeliers, parquet floors are everywhere....it's just spectacular. I will try to post some photos on here, but if not, I will put them up on facebook for sure. The pictures will never do it justice, as it is just breathtaking. Marble sculptures align the main thoroughfare throughout the museum. During our tour, we saw the masterpiece works, which I had mentioned above. When I appraoched the first DiVinci painting, "Madonna and Flower," it was very moving....to come face-to-face with a priceless work of art by a man of DiVinci's magnitude and genius was humbling and beautiful. Although flash photography was not allowed, I was able to snap a few photos of the works. We were hastily moved from room to room and there were so many people there, it almost felt suffocating, you had to move single file through the rooms as times becausee of the mass of bodies. After the Hermitage, we boarded the bus again and took in some sights which include the tower of Peter and Paul, a 4000 statue on the river, a gift to Russia from Egypt, and the Church on the Spilled Blood, which was just a dominating, massively complex and mystifiying structure. We only had seven minutes for a photo op, so I was able to snap a few photos....it's one of the oldest churches in St. Pete and is just magnificent. I am hoping to go back and get some more info on it.

We headed back to the ship, where I ate a quick dinner and had to get ready for the ballet. Now for those of you who know me, I have a very fond affection for the arts, and particularly ballet. I just think it's one of the most amazing, awe-inspiring gift that is crafted through music and the human body.....I heart it. We went and saw "Swan Lake," performed by the Mariinsky Ballet Company. The Mariinsky, formerly known as the Kirov ballet, is consistently one of the best--if not the best--ballet company in the entire world. We arrived at the theater and first, could not find our seats right away because everything is in Russian...so after a few questions with one of the ushers, we were able to find our seats....and from the moment the curtains opened, I was awestruck. To see Swan Lake performed by the Mariinsky in Russia is one of the coolest, most fabulous events that I have ever experienced. The dancers, the music, the costumes--it was such a feast for the senses. It was a pretty emotional event for me; the choreography and the agility and the art and pagentry of the dancers; I have never seen anything like it. It was mindblowing and absolutely breathtaking. I was entranced and enraptured. It is just a feeling and emotion that is indescribable and even today I am still incredulous that I had the opportunity to experience that while here.

More to come about today, but I wanted to bring everyone up to speed on Day 1.