We caught an Aeroflot flight to Saint Petersburg, a place that I have wanted to visit for a very long time. We loved every moment. Ah, Saint Petersburg, how can anyone describe a place that has inspired writers, poets and philosophers (amongst others) to write their own stories, their own versions of Saint Petersburg, a place so incredibly beautiful that I have no words. It is beyond me how anyone could not like this place. We found the people very friendly and genuinely wanting to help us. When we visited the supermarket near our Airbnb the girl at the check-out asked whether we had a card for the supermarket, naturally we did not. An old man saw this and lent us his 10% discount for no reason, the point being, we did not need this discount the groceries did not end up too much but we could not help feeling that this was not, the Russia that was portrayed on television. The people did not mind us speaking English and we ran into Russians who were genuine and kind, for no apparent reason.. Apart from the beauty of Russia itself, the people really made it an unique experience. This is Russia a place where supermodels do actually roam the streets (and no, they are not struggling mail-order brides like you hear about in those out-dated movies, they are Instagram models earning more than most), where borscht is delicious, and where extravagance is a must, just look for yourself..
If you are interested, here is the vlog to really get a sense of this amazing place:
Check out our Instagram: yu_go_gone
Our Airbnb, $60Aud per night. A good deal for Saint Petersburg.
Troitsky Cathedral, also called the Trinity Cathedral
Cannot get enough of the stars on this magnificent cathedral!!!!
Saint Isaac's Cathedral or Isaakievskiy Sobor (In Russian: Исаа́киевский Собо́р). This cathedral is deciated to Saint Isaac of Dalmatia, a patron saint of Peter the Great.
How beautiful are the roses and flowers in Russia!
warning: I may have gone a little overboard with the amount of photos I included of this incredible cathedral!
Chandeliers decadent enough to make angels blush..
You can make your way to the top, and see this amazing view for yourself.
So grand, if you are a fan of architecture you will appreciate this as a large scale photo so you can observe the brilliance up close.. it is real enough to touch..
Yugo_boy in his element.. leading the way, while I lead behind and astray with the camera, for your amusement, your entertainment and the delights of my perception.
The Hermitage, a story for another post! I have a vlog dedicated just to this!
crossing the bridge to the fortress..
How yellow and stunning is this building!
The yellow house!
This is known as the Peter and Paul Fortress which was founded by Peter the Great in 1703, with amazing grounds!!!
I personally just wanted to look at this close up on the blog again!
There were so many people walking around!
This country must have the most flowers in the world!
The Russians always honour those who they have lost..
Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood, this is one of the most, if not the most beautiful man-made architectural magnificence you will ever see..
In Russian: Церковь Спаса на Крови, Tserkovʹ Spasa na Krovi
I warn in advance, I did fall in love with this, so a lot of photos of this will be included! It was raining when we visited but as beautiful as ever!
This incredible structure was built on the site where Emperor Alexander II died in March 1881, subsequent to this, this masterpiece was built between 1883 and 1907.
Inside it is also very beautiful..
We had dinner at Gogli Restaurant
Some Borscht please? This is a sour soup popular in Eastern European cuisines, such as Russiam, Ukrainian, Polish, Belarusian.
Beef Stroganoff (Beef Stroganov) is a Russian dish that includes pieces of beef served in a sauce with smetana.
And to finish, chicken kiev.. which is a dish of chicken fillet pounded and rolled around cold butter, then coated with eggs and bread crumbs. It can be fried or baked.
The bill came to $55 for all this, including drinks. Which is great given that Saint Petersburg is a major city in the world, and we pay about the same and usually more in Sydney when we go for a nice dinner like this.
We could not resist visiting the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood once more!
I have purposely made the photos larger than life, as Russia itself is the largest country in the world (by surface area) so it is only fitting (but mainly, the details are able to be seen in the photos this way). Hopefully everyone loves this as much as I have loved showing you this in huge detail (literally, excuse the pun!).
We loved Saint Petersburg so much!!!! More of Russia to come!!! Yugogirl out! :-::-::-:
