Church of the Spilled Blood

Stroganoff Palace a la beef

One of the many magnificent chandeliers at Yusupov Palace

St. Petersburg

Our first day in Russia. Lined up for one-half hour to go through passport control, then to the bus - traffic unbelievable. I told our guide that I would never ever complain about traffic tie ups in Ottawa again. Visited the Yusupov Palace where Rasputin met his maker and then on a canal cruise through the pouring rain. We were the only ones to stay on top of the boat so managed to get some great pictures without interference from other tour participants. We were both soaked at the end but a glass of champagne and a hot shower on our return took care of our discomfort. We decided that rather than get dressed up for dinner, we would order room service. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and now to bed. I have a 5 a.m. start tomorrow and won't get back til after 1 a.m. Norma is out til midnight on her excursion. It will be a long day for both of us. And we have another busy day planned before we leave St. Petersburg.
I should mention that our 3 hour tour which began at 1:30 p.m. lasted til 7:00 p.m. because of the traffic and bureaucracy.
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Estonia

We left the ship for our shore excursion in a driving rain. We were warned not to put up our umbrellas because the wind was so strong. Catherine's palace was small as it was a summer residence and if the weather was anything like what we experienced, it is no wonder that she only stayed there once. After the tour, the rain finally let up so had a quick walk in the garden. We have met an English couple who are birders and with their help, I added a few more birds to my life list. We had a quick bite for lunch and took the shuttle into town where we wandered around more cobblestoned streets inside the original walled city and admired the architecture. We walked for about two hours and got our exercise so indulged in a nap before dinner.
We checked out the stores here - not a great selection of clothes. The jewelry was beautiful but nothing under $5000US. Looks like we'll be having lots of spa treatments.
Met up with two widows at the singles "meet" and enjoyed their company for dinner. After a cognac at the nightclub, we retired to wake up in St Petersburg docked next to the Crystal Symphony where I can see the room I was in this winter.
We have been warned to be very patient here as the Russian bureaucracy is at high alert and things like disembarkation get done very, very slowly. Traffic is supposed to be nightmarish and it takes forever to get anywhere. We'll find out as we leave on our first excursion this afternoon.
By the way, it is foggy, rainy and cold here and this weather is supposed to be with us the whole time we are here. I didn't bring enough winter clothes and all they sell in the ship's boutiques are light weight summerwear. I think they would make a fortune if they had some sweaters for sale.

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Exploring Old Town in Tallin

Central Heating in the Palace

Catherine's Palace in Tallin in the pouring rain

Dessert!

Our first dinner on Board

Enjoying the summer weather from our balcony!

All Aboard

After a chilly wait on the dock, we were quick to clear the formalities and adjourned to the grill for lunch (and a glass of wine) and waited for our room to be ready. We were both impressed by the size if the room. It is much larger than our hotel room in Stockholm. We have a tub and separate shower in the bathroom, a walk in cupboard, two twin beds, and a large comfortable sofa and two chairs. The verandah furniture is also comfortable. We unpacked, went to the mandatory lifeboat drill, opened our champagne, then got ready for dinner at the specialty restaurant, Prime. We went to a cocktail hour to meet some of the other single passengers (all women), then to dinner. It was delicious. Neither of us slept very well. Norma was up at 4 a.m. getting ready for the day ahead thinking it was 7. Weather is poor - rainy, windy, and cold but we are off to see Catharine's palace in a few minutes. Doubt we'll enjoy the walk in the garden!
Pictures to come later.
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Getting ready to Board

Had a wonderful Swedish dinner last night, then went for a short explore where we heard an extremely loud concert in an park close to our hotel. Ear plugs and a sleeping pill took care of the pounding bass which we could hear in our room. Both of us slept til our wakeup call at 7:30 this morning. We were horizontal for over ten hours. After breakfast where we met some of our fellow passengers, we took a 2 hour walk around one of the islands close to our hotel. Most enjoyable, lots of birds for me and pleasant vistas for Norma. Now waiting for the bus to the ship.

Stockholm is a beautiful city full of attractive people. However, we noticed many beggars in this prosperous city.

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Bird watching in comfort on our morning walk - loved that bench!

If you look closely, you can see Norma on the top balcony

View from our balcony

Taking a breather in Old Town

In one of the narrow cobblestoned streets of Old Town

Exploring Stockholm

After a confusing arrival at Frankfurt (we had to go through customs!), we finally arrived at the appropriate terminal and gate for our flight to Stockholm. Not impressed with the business class on this flight. The seats were economy and old and lumpy. The only difference was that no one was seated in the middle seat. After arrival at Stockholm's airport, found the man with a sign bearing my name and we headed for the car. He expressed his displeasure at the amount of luggage we were carrying but a tip brought a smile. The countryside reminded both of us of the Canadian Shield - lots of rocky outcroppings and pine trees. It's a 45km trip into the city. Registered at the hotel and set out to explore the city. Walked Stockholm's equivalent of the Sparks Street Mall to the old city where we spent three hours wandering around the palace and a museum, while navigating narrow cobblestones streets. Absolutely charming. Lovely views of water as the old city is on one of the several islands that Stockholm is on. It is referred to as Venice of the North. We are both very tired and plan to sample some Swedish food at the hotel in a few minutes - then to bed. Plan to explore some of the parks tomorrow morning before our transfer to the ship at 12:15. Pictures will be added later.

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On Board

Here's Norma enjoying a glass of wine while perusing the menu which had an appetizer of lobster followed by beef tenderloin. Now in Frankfurt lounge after going through customs and getting in my morning walk. Next flight in a couple of hours.

Fwd: We are on our way!

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Begin forwarded message:

From: Mary Lou Kingsbury <warrenkingsbury@rogers.com>
Date: 26 June, 2014 3:15:08 pm EDT
To: "maryloukingsbury.midnightsun@blogger.com" <maryloukingsbury@blogger.com>
Subject: We are on our way!

A smooth trip to the airport - just a few minutes of panic at all the construction on both Rideau and St Patrick so were glad we left early.  We are now enjoying a welcome glass of white wine (one of the first of many, I hope!) and Norma is working her way through the food bar.  Board in an hour.

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First Posting

This is my very first posting on my very first blog. Only 4 more sleeps!