Living in London

Catherine's Summer Palace	Cathedral of Spilled Blood
Cemetery Sculpture	Elena and Vladimir, our guide and driver

Today we took a private tour (highly recommended) to Catherine's Palace, Cathedral of Spilled Blood, and some miscellaneous spots like art galleries (we are looking for a painting), a cemetery, and lunch at a restaurant recommended by a colleague. Elena was our guide and Vladimir our driver — and yes, we are SO happy we paid extra for an air-conditioned car!  It's 80 degrees F and humid. 

We learned all about the occupation of the summer palaces by those dreaded Nazi's, as well as more about Peter, Alexander, Paul, Catherine, and the Romanov's. It's all a bit of a blur ... possibly because the alcohol is flowing somewhat freely now that we are back to the ship. Typical tourists, what can we say?

The photos are of Catherine's Palace (blue for her eyes, white for her skin, and gold for her hair), of the roof line of Spilled Blood Cathedral (a truly impressive interior that is completely marble and mosaic), and a sculpture that captured our attention at a city cemetery. This cemetery houses the remains of many authors, musicians and composers including such recognizable names as Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Igor Stravinsky.