St. Petersburg, Russia

Hayley at the entrance of Catherine's Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, now referred to as Pushkin.

The two DiVinci paintings that are in the Hermitage. Usually the lines for these paintings pile up for several rooms before, but we were able to walk right in and basically have the room to ourselves for awhile. It was nice to be able to take as many pictures as I wanted instead of being rushed because of so many people wanting to see it----like the Romanov's tombs. I was able to make it so that the flash did not reflect in the middle of the painting.

Is it a bird, is it a peacock? No, its a clock! (Well, a peacock clock.) Catherine the Great had this ornate clock made, that spreads its tailfeathers when it chimes on the hour. They have disabled it though, due to wear and tear on it (it is the original clock) so they had to take extra measures to preserve it.

A hallway that connected all the rooms. One room led to another, and another, etc.

A view of the throne room.

Above---I don't know why the above pic came out so blurry, sorry. It is the throne room in the Winter Palace (now the Hermitage museum).

To me, one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world and one of the most famous Russian Orthodox churches in Russia (behind St. Basil's in Moscow), The Church of Our Savior On The Spilled Blood.

Everything was made up of detailed mosiacs, example above. It was very overwhelming with detail and gold inside, here are a few pics.

The detailed ceiling (above)

The front of the Church of our Savior on the Spilt Blood as we were about to enter it.

St. Peter and Paul Fortress

This tomb makes me really sad (the picture above, under the stairs). It is Peter the Great's first and only son, Alexei, who was tricked and killed by his own father. Peter was a wicked, wicked man, very corrupt with power. His son was entombed here, because technically, it was the burial place for the Tsars and their family... but he put him here, under the stairs so he would always be trampled upon. Nice dad, huh?

Peter the Great is the one on the far right where the bust is.

Hayley, inside the Peter and Paul fortress

Along the river, you can see the Hermitage in the background (greenish building).

St. Isaac'c Cathedral (below).

The Romanov family crypt and memorial in the Peter and Paul fortress (below)