more of Russia, Pushkin and Peterhof

Since I can enlarge pictures now (thanks to Laurie and Marty), I thought I would join Chari for Sunday Favorites and repost the country I was so excited to visit, Russia. I am so glad Chari thought of this meme or it would take me forever to upload as many pictures as these. And you know, I do not really have the time right now cause we have guests this week. My stepdaughter with her 3 little kids are visiting from Fort Lauderdale. Little, I mean little, a 4 year old, 2 and a half and the baby is almost 1. It's been so busy here but lots of fun!

We also have the Balloon Festival going on here and I will post pictures for Outdoor Wednesday.

But now, all I do is change the date and repost. Thanks, Chari! Now, please visit Chari at http://happytodesign.blogspot.com/ and her other participants too.

It's Saturday again and just as I promised, we will go back to Russia. Do you still have your travel documents ready? Ok then, let's go!

BTW, Melissa at http://melissasheartandhome.blogspot.com/ made a very good suggestion. If anyone wants to post vacation or trip pictures too, I would be very happy for you to join in. It can even be just a tour of your hometown. I will post your blog sites here, just make a copy of the Sightseeing Saturday logo, post it on your blog and send me a comment. Then I can add your blog site on my post next Sat. I am not sure if I can figure out how to use Mr. Linky yet, but even if I can't by next week, we'll get by doing it the old fashioned way. Thanks, Melissa, for the very good suggestion. Remember - you can enlarge any of these pictures by simply clicking on it. Let's go to Pushkin, which is the site of Catherine's Summer Palace. Below is Pushkin's Memorial. As you might already know, Alexandr Pushkin is Russia's answer to Shakespeare, the Father of Russian Literature. He is considered Russia's greatest poet. He is also famous for having been killed by his wife's lover in a duel.

This is Catherine's summer palace, also known as Tsarskoe Selo or Tsar's Village. The palace is huge, about 1 mile long. Imagine that? Ideal for having people you dislike as guests. You can put them at the other end and you will never see them again. LOL! This is an actual view from the palace.
a close up
This is the middle part of the building. The palace has a vast number of precious works of art, ornate furniture, paintings, sculptures and statues, including personal belongings of Russian Emperors and their families. It is mostly in baroque style.
Isn't this main entry impressive?
Look at the details on the wall. Notice the plates embedded in the medallions?
In the corner is a massive blue and white ceramic stove/furnace. You will see them all over the palace, also inside Peterhof, which we will visit later on this trip.
Probably the most interesting and valuable room in this palace is the Amber Room.
Everything in it is made of amber. We were not allowed to take a picture in the room so I went into secret agent mode and photographed the Amber room from the adjoining room through the mirror. Can you see it? Ooops, my camera accidentally clicked...LOL! Sorry it's out of focus, I wasn't aiming at anything nor was I looking at the lens or LCD screen. Anyway, you get the idea of how the room looks like. All the walls and even the accessories are made of amber. In 1944, the Nazis dismantled the contents of this room and packed them in crates. No one ever knew whatever happened to them. The room was restored in 1979 using 6 tons of amber and the official opening ceremony was held on May 31, 2003, in honor of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg.

Here are my sister and me in front of the portraits of the last Tzar who reigned, Nicholas II and his queen, Alexandra Feodorovna. Of course you probably know what happened to them and all their children.



This is the Cameron Gallery, which is located at one end of the grounds of the palace.

the front view of the Cameron Gallery.

Time for a break! Let's go shopping for some amber. How about a gorgeous tiffany lamp made out of amber? How about some jewelry?

One of my favorite parts of the tour - lunch! And to top it off, Russian dancers and singers entertained us while we ate.

My turn on the stage, except I can't sing nor dance Russian, so I'll just pose :-)

Now, let's go to Peterhof. This is the entrance. Peterhof was Peter the Great's summer palace.

One of the pretty mantels. I was tempted to turn the urns upside down to see the markings, but thought better of it.

This is the entryway and the main staircase.

Peter the Great's oak study.

just another example of the ornate furnishings found at Peterhof

The grounds are just as beautiful as the interior of the palace. This is Princess Alexandra's Memorial. Princess Alexandra died before her 19th birthday, at childbirth, and was buried holding her dead baby in her arms. The baby was 3 months premature. Isn't that sad?

The grounds of Peterhof has at least 120 fountains. This particular one is located across from Alexandra's Memorial bench.

and this is Princess Alexandra's portrait. Isn't she a beauty? No wonder she was her father's favorite. She was quite a musician too.

Throne Room

Portrait Hall ...be sure you click to enlarge this to see the amazing painted portraits.

a gorgeous table made out of lapis lazuli

Here's another one of those stove/furnace. This is the source of their heat. Also shown are 2 breakfronts, tea and dinner tablescapes.

Peterhof's Imperial Dining Room

Another pretty table but do you see those gorgeous bisque figurines? And look at that lovely parquet floor!

This is the Grand Cascading Fountains. Would you believe that there isn't a single pump operating all these magnificent fountains? It all functions by natural spring. This is a truly amazing sight. This picture does not do it justice at all.

We paid the dressed Russians $2 to pose with us. Behind us, you will see the Marine Canal with a view of the Peterhof facade in the background.

Well, I sure hope you enjoyed the trip. I am glad I wore comfortable shoes cause we sure did some serious walking. See you next week for another great adventure. Thanks for coming along!