Among the many museum, we could not miss the Winter Palace, hosting the great collection of the Hermitage. Lots of Italian masterpieces in there: a corridor full of sculptures of Canova, a couple of Leonardo's, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Caravaggio...
Most churches in the city are also museums. People (mainly women wearing veils on their heads) visit the icons one by one, lighting candles and kissing the glass protecting the painting representing their favourite saints. The pictures are usually decorated with layers of silver and other precious materials. Some icons seem to be a lot more popular than others....
Do like the locals, right? So, when we saw a man having a glass of vodka during his lunch break, we had to give it a try too :)
One of the main attractions of S.Petersburg is to stay awake (and feel cold) until 1 am to see the bridges being opened and the ships going through. It's funny also to see the tourist boats going from bridge to bridge, observing the show from the water. Because the metro stops at midnight, you better be on the right side of town, unless you want to stay up until 5 am!
As a birthday present, Gabriele got a ticket to see Swan Lake, really appreciated!
The nearby palace of Peterhof is another of the main touristy attractions, especially for the great system of fountains, supposedly working without pumps...
See you soon in Moscow!
