A Baltic boating adventure TRIP REPORT COMPLETED 11/19 - Page 64 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
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To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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That seems to be one of the strengths of private guides in Russia, moving you u in line. We saw so much more that way. We needed that today as we waited for a bus back to the ship in Gijon!
What a beautiful building. You must have been overjoyed not to have to stand in that long line and to see the inside of the Hermitage.
I was completely! With my chronic fatigue, I can't stand for more than about 20 minutes at any one time, so if I'd have had to do that, I'd have been knocked out for the rest of the day...
Oh my gosh...that Baltic cruise just took a great jump! If we do it, I might reach out to get Elena's contact info!!!
No problem - we booked through SPB Tours and I would thoroughly recommend them. You'll see as we go through this day and the next two days that they really were worth their money and this tour was a lot cheaper than the equivalent one that Celebrity offered.
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The 'small' throne room is stunning...I can only say that over and over...stunning!
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Just getting caught up. The subway is beautiful, I love all the mosaics. And the Hermitage is absolutely stunning! Can't wait to see more. I'm in love with St. Petersburg!
The Hermitage is just so stunning, amazing and beautiful in every way! Probably one of the most stunning buildings in the world. Hope to visit here one day. Good move with Elena and jumping in line! Looking forward to more of the Hermitage!
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Saturday 11 June – part six: it would take you how long?
The next room we came to was the Armorial Hall, designed in 1837 after the fire that devastated the building. It has representations of all the coats of arms and emblems of every Russian province. The room was used for balls and receptions.
Next we moved into the 1812 Gallery, which has portraits of Russian military heroes from the Napoleonic Wars, ironically most of them by an English artist, which I found a little peculiar. Given they’re commemorating the role of Russia, I thought they’d all be done by a Russian artist. If you look closely, you will see some blanks in here, and that’s simply because they didn’t have any portraits of some of those who died, so they didn’t know what they looked like.
In some of these shots, it may look as if there weren’t that many people in here, but trust me, this was very careful shooting on my part. There were a lot of big tour groups in here, and in some rooms, it was pretty mobbed. In others, it was better.
Remember the small throne room? Well, this is the big one!
We carried on walking…
As we made our way down this corridor, Elena explained how they’d calculated that it would take you something like seven years to see every item in the Hermitage, at a rate of one item per minute. I think it’s probably just as well I’m not into art, otherwise I’d be coming back and spending a lot more time here. I have to confess this was the first time I’d noticed any real works of art, and I think for the first few rooms, the focus is on the palace, which I preferred.
From here, you could see the restoration they’re gradually doing of Catherine’s garden. From what I could see, it looks amazing so far.
Next we came into this amazing room. This is the Pavilion Hall, which includes elements of Renaissance, Classic and Moorish styles…
… which gave us some beautiful views over the River Neva….
It was also home to this…
This is the 18th century peacock clock, which first turned up in 1780 in Russia, where Prince Gregory Potemkin purchased it. It has a very intricate mechanism, including the clockwork figures of a peacock, a cockerel, an owl, and a squirrel. When the clock is wound up, the peacock spreads its full feathers, and the cockerel crows. Honestly, the detail on this was incredible. The longer you looked at it, the more you’d see.
This giant vase was made of malachite and apparently it’s part of a pair, with the other at Windsor. You won’t be able to see this, but we were told it’s made of hundreds of tiny pieces. Honestly, this place never ceases to amaze.
Can you imagine how many hours and hours and hours of work went into every bit of each display? And then 6 feet away is another amazingly detailed piece of art . I'm surprised that it would "only" take 7 years to see it all!
And those ballrooms? Anybody else "see" Belle and Beast waltzing under the chandelier?
Oh yes, the larger throne room is so much better. Much more space
All the gold everywhere... wow! The Pavilion room seems light and airy, and with such a great view. I'll take that room.
I totally forgot about the art museum aspect too, until you mentioned it again. I suppose they do it this way so you're not overwhelmed with both palace and art at the same time? Whatever, it's still overwhelming!!
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We loved the Hermitage, and would love to go back as we felt we barely scratched the surface. And I much prefer that art to modern art. We spent part of the morning at the Guggenheim here in Bilbao, and some of it seems a stretch, to call it art, in my opinion.
Can you imagine how many hours and hours and hours of work went into every bit of each display? And then 6 feet away is another amazingly detailed piece of art . I'm surprised that it would "only" take 7 years to see it all!
I can't even begin to imagine just how much work went into this. I would think years and years and years....
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And those ballrooms? Anybody else "see" Belle and Beast waltzing under the chandelier?
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With my chronic fatigue, I can't stand for more than about 20 minutes at any one time, so if I'd have had to do that, I'd have been knocked out for the rest of the day... 
You'll see as we go through this day and the next two days that they really were worth their money and this tour was a lot cheaper than the equivalent one that Celebrity offered. 
Probably one of the most stunning buildings in the world. Hope to visit here one day. Good move with Elena and jumping in line! 
If you look closely, you will see some blanks in here, and that’s simply because they didn’t have any portraits of some of those who died, so they didn’t know what they looked like. 
That place is simply stunning and the view of the River Neva is incredible!!
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