Peter, Paul and "Ferry"

Around the corner from the Hermitage is this building. . .for some reason I was attracted to it.
Apparently rubbing the feet increases your fertility and insures a healthy baby. . . not THAT attracted to it.

After visiting Hermitage, we went to the island where the Peter and Paul Fortress is where we had lunch at Austeria.
We (Jim and Deb are pictured above) had salad with smoked salmon, soup and beef stroganoff with mashed potatoes.
There are other places to eat there---not sure what the name of this is ("Botardo") but I liked the mix of English and Russian in addition to the map of the fortress. I did read a review that said the Anarchist restaurant was terrible---what did they expect from a restaurant where Anarchy reigns?


Here we are heading for the Fortress---the first settlement of St. Petersburg which was established in the early 1700's.
Within the Fortress is the Peter and Paul Cathedral.

This was another beautiful cathedral which is primarily the final resting place of the czars.

Here is a room dedicated to the remains of Nicholas II, Alexandria and their children---the last reigning Romanovs. Although DNA testing has been done on remains that were recently found, one of the children has no death date because they haven't yet found her remains.


We had a practically private "performance" by monks---their chanting was very moving. (Yes, another of my famous under 30 second videos)
We headed back near the Hermitage, where we boarded a sight-seeing boat.
Could her skirt be any shorter? This does, however, show how warm it was---in the 80's.


We went by the Eiffel Bridge. . .

Many beautiful buildings . . .
And a few ugly, Soviet-era buildings.
So, are English-speaking people the only ones who stand when passing . . .
Under a bridge?

I'm pretty good at understanding international signs, but does this one mean there's a zone for older children to push younger ones?
While we are on the subject of signs, do you know what the sign beginning CT. . says? My sister-in-law said it was easy when I read it. . .OK, so you knew that sign spelled "Stop"---what about this. . . .

English translation: "St. Petersburg Telephone"---see that two week class I took in Russian 20 years ago is paying off. . .