From Russia With Love (part 1)
To celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary, Dave and I headed to Russia for a tour with Insight Vacations. We weren't as impressed with them as we had been in Egypt, but maybe we're just spoiled 
We arrived in St Petersburg in the middle of the night after some mechanical problems with the plane. Once at the airport, we discovered that our travel agent had forgotten to arrange our transfer to the hotel. (Life lesson: ALWAYS check and double check your travel documents to make sure nothing is missing.) We were able to get a taxi to the hotel with a minimum of fuss, although all the river bridges were up so we had to go waaay out of our way to get there.
We checked in and slept until lunchtime, then headed out to explore. Paying for the extra night so we could check in in the wee hours instead of waiting for the normal 2pm check in turned out to be a great decision. It turned out to me not so easy to find a resaurant for lunch, so we gave up and got hotdogs and ice cream from a vendor on the grounds of the Peter and Paul Fortress; and watched the speedboat races that were being held on the river.
Next we explored the Artillery Museum, which we both enjoyed. They have a great collection from the beginnings of Russia up to and including huge Soviet ICBMs and launchers from the cold war. It was weird standing next to them, knowing they were once aimed at the USA!
On our way back to the hotel we dropped by the St Petersburg Zoo. Since our first date was at a zoo (safety in numbers and all that), we try to visit as many zoos in our travels as possible. It is a fairly small zoo, which we later learned is due to how far north their location is - approximately the same as Alaska! I guess one would not expect to find lions or elephants in Anchorage, either... The polar bears were having a great time - one had worked out what looked like a water aerobics routine that included swimming backwards sitting up in the water (and with no trainer in sight we figure he was just doing it for the crowd reaction!) My favorite, though, were the squirrel monkeys - I think I have found my next pet. Maybe they can ride Moshe?
That night was the welcome reception and first dinner of the tour. The reception of course was mainly devoted to selling the optional excursions, of which we signed up for all but two. The chicken at dinner was amazing, it seems to be one of the few foods that comes out better when you are cooking for 20 that 2. After dinner we walked a bit down the street to a small food shop to stock up on bottled water and a bottle of wine; then ordered dessert from room service and ate cheesecake in bed, washed down with a glass of red wine. Hey, that's what vacation is for!
We arrived in St Petersburg in the middle of the night after some mechanical problems with the plane. Once at the airport, we discovered that our travel agent had forgotten to arrange our transfer to the hotel. (Life lesson: ALWAYS check and double check your travel documents to make sure nothing is missing.) We were able to get a taxi to the hotel with a minimum of fuss, although all the river bridges were up so we had to go waaay out of our way to get there.
We checked in and slept until lunchtime, then headed out to explore. Paying for the extra night so we could check in in the wee hours instead of waiting for the normal 2pm check in turned out to be a great decision. It turned out to me not so easy to find a resaurant for lunch, so we gave up and got hotdogs and ice cream from a vendor on the grounds of the Peter and Paul Fortress; and watched the speedboat races that were being held on the river.
Next we explored the Artillery Museum, which we both enjoyed. They have a great collection from the beginnings of Russia up to and including huge Soviet ICBMs and launchers from the cold war. It was weird standing next to them, knowing they were once aimed at the USA!
On our way back to the hotel we dropped by the St Petersburg Zoo. Since our first date was at a zoo (safety in numbers and all that), we try to visit as many zoos in our travels as possible. It is a fairly small zoo, which we later learned is due to how far north their location is - approximately the same as Alaska! I guess one would not expect to find lions or elephants in Anchorage, either... The polar bears were having a great time - one had worked out what looked like a water aerobics routine that included swimming backwards sitting up in the water (and with no trainer in sight we figure he was just doing it for the crowd reaction!) My favorite, though, were the squirrel monkeys - I think I have found my next pet. Maybe they can ride Moshe?
That night was the welcome reception and first dinner of the tour. The reception of course was mainly devoted to selling the optional excursions, of which we signed up for all but two. The chicken at dinner was amazing, it seems to be one of the few foods that comes out better when you are cooking for 20 that 2. After dinner we walked a bit down the street to a small food shop to stock up on bottled water and a bottle of wine; then ordered dessert from room service and ate cheesecake in bed, washed down with a glass of red wine. Hey, that's what vacation is for!
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