Final day in St. Petersburg

Another early start - left the ship at 8:45 for drive to the Hermitage and the Gold Room. Was expecting a frustrating day of traffic jams and huge crowds. What a surprise. Arrived at the Hermitage (Peter the Great's Winter Palace) before anyone was admitted. Our guide was smart suggesting that we leave our coats and bags on the bus so we didn't waste any time checking them. Also groups are let in 1 and 1/2 hours before the museum officially opens. Each guide is given a different route map so often we were the only group of 15 people in a room. Our guide made sure we saw all the most important pieces of the collection of magnificent art. We all got up close and personal with Leonardo da Vinci's work, as well as Rueben's, Titian's, and Canaletto's. The peacock clock was magnificent and again we had unobstructed views as we were the only group in the gorgeous Pavilion Room. The chandeliers were wall to wall in this spectacular white and gold room. Visited the Gold Room that is filled with treasures dating all the way back to 6000 years B.C. to the time of the Czars. Most of the beautiful snuff boxes, watches, jewelry was encrusted with very large diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires.
After these feasts for the eyes, went back to the ship, reconnected with Norma who was off visiting Catherine's Palace at Pushkin, had a quick bite to eat and headed out for what turned out to be the most disappointing tour we have had so far. The first stop was at a souvenir shop where one selfish, rude woman came back to the bus a half hour later than the agreed upon time. Knowing how bad the traffic was and the fact that the ship was leaving in a couple of hours, we were worried that we might miss it. In any case, we boarded the boat for another canal cruise. St. Petersburg was built so that the best views of the architecture are from the water and we wanted a final glimpse of the city when it wasn't pouring rain. Instead of the canals, we went up and down the middle of the main river. The only good thing is that we got back to the ship in time, decided to order from room service and go to bed. Thus ended another day.