Russian River Cruise - Day 11 - May 22

More photos from the Peterhof, in St.Petersburg, Russia.

We have had a bit of rain. I have not been out to the garden though. Yesterday, I phoned the blinds people and got a quote on the cost of it all. *faint* Actually, it is within the parameters that they quoted when they were here. We should have the verticals installed within 3 weeks. I gave Denise a downpayment of half the price of the verticals - installed and taxes included - on visa. Denise and the guy to measure for the skylight blind will be here on Wednesday at high noon. Denise and I are going to look at some less expensive fabrics for the living/dining room draperies. It could make quite a bit of difference on the cost per yard of the material. We will see. Pat and I have some idea of what we want for carpet, but have yet to go look for it. He wants a border around the edges, again. So, that means getting a carpet the color of the border and in a material that will hold the dye for the inner colors. We have got rid of our bags of recyclable paper and have a bit less clutter around the house. We have had someone repair the in the wall vacuum cleaner, but are going to get an upright. Dragging that great big hose around is hard on the furniture and walls, I am sure. Is hard on me too.

Russian River Cruise - Day 10 - May 21

From my notes: We have breakfast while the ship is stationary. We are on the Neva River, and since it is foggy we are allowed to move to our dock only at a certain speed. So, we start our bus tour an hour late. I was on deck to shoot at the bridge as we moved closer to our berth.
The bridges are mostly draw bridges and at one time they would be drawn up at mid-night and put down again in the morning. They are no longer doing this. A list of bridges.

From the Litvinov information: Bus tour - Architecture, monuments and canals await your cameras. A brillian blend of western style and Russian character. Stops will be made at the Smolny Monastery, Vasilievsky Island and St. Isaac's Square.
Note: The weather in St. Peteersburg is very changeable. Sometimes the weather forecast varies from what we have, in fact. Most of the tours involve a considerable amount of walking.

We are back on the ship for lunch. There is a shuttle to downtown and back in the afternoon. We have signed up for the optional Ballet performance "Giselle' by Adam at the Hermitage Theatre in the evening. A most enjoyable performance.