The State Hermitage Museum is the largest art gallery in the country and among the largest and most respected art museums in the world. It was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been open to the public since 1852.

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The museum was founded in 1764 when Catherine the Great purchased 255 paintings from the city of Berlin. Since then, the Hermitage has collected almost three million works of art and artifacts from all over the world from the Stone Age to the present. The collection is housed in five side-by-side palaces on the Neva River in rooms adorned with gold and gems.

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Experts say that if you were to spend a minute looking at each item on display, you would need 11-years to see them all. Here our friend Bill checks out an amazing sculpture.

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Tonight found us at the Conservatory Theater for a performance of Swan Lake. Al and I are glad we got to go to the ballet but aren't sure that it's really our thing!

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This Russian Orthodox convent was built to house Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great. After she was disallowed succession to the throne, she opted to become a nun. The Cathedral is the centerpiece of the convent, built by Rastrelli between 1748 and 1764. The bell tower was to become the tallest building in St. Petersburg and, at the time, all of Russia.

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It seems wherever you look, a colorful onion dome pops up as well as another spectacular old palace.

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The Neva, which flows through the city of St. Petersburg, is the only river flowing from Lake Ladoga.

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The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg. It is the oldest building and therefore considered the birthplace of the city. On top of the cathedrals' gilded spire stands a magnificent golden angel holding a cross. This weathervane is one of the most prominent symbols of St Petersburg, and at 404 feet tall, is the highest building in the city.

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The Fortress was the brainchild of Peter the Great and was built beginning in 1706 as a defense against the Swedes. The Peter and Paul Fortress includes several buildings constructed in a wide range of architectural styles and for a huge variety of different purposes, ranging from the grim prisons of the Trubetskoy Bastion to the Grand Ducal Mausoleum, built to house the remains of the Romanov family.

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Our small group was invited into a side chapel where we once again were treated to a short a cappella concert.

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Being a lover of lighthouses I was intrigued with this one along the Neva. It certainly is different then any we have here in the states.

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This marvelous Russian-style church was built on the spot where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated in March 1881. The church was built between 1883 and 1907. The construction of the church was almost entirely funded by the Imperial family and thousands of private donators. Both the interior and exterior of the church is decorated with incredibly detailed mosaics, designed and created by the most prominent Russian artists of the day.

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The palace, completed in 1756, is elaborately decorated with blue-and-white facades featuring gilded atlantes, caryatids and pilasters designed by German sculptor Johann Franz Dunker. In Elizabeth's reign it took over 100kg of gold to decorate the palace exteriors, an excess that was deplored by Catherine the Great when she discovered the state and private funds that had been lavished on the building.

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With its ornate banisters and reclining marble cupids, the State Staircase gives a taste of what is to come. The Great Hall, also known as the Hall of Light, measures nearly 1,000 square meters, and occupies the full width of the palace so that there are superb views on either side. The large arched windows provide enough light to relieve the vast quantity of gilded stucco decorating the walls. The entire ceiling is covered by a monumental fresco entitled The Triumph of Russia.

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St. Petersburg was once a swamp, then an imperial capital, and is now a showpiece of vanished aristocratic opulence. Taking a boat ride on the rivers and canals that flow through the city, one is given a view of times past. What used to be an aristocrat's palace is now divided into apartments but the exteriors give one a vision of how it used to be.

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This show was a unique opportunity to experience the history, spirit and traditions of Russia. A high-energy group performing Cossack songs and dances in their original form entertained us.

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