Being Tourists

Today was the first day that the weather wasn't quite on our side, but that didn't dampen our excitement. After breakfast we headed for the Sts. Peter and Paul Fortress. This is where Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg. It contains a church that we visited that contains the tombs of all of the Czars of Russia, including Nicholas and Alexandra and their children. Only the bones of Alexi and Maria were never found. Anastasia is there. I have included a picture of the monument room of Nicholas and Alexandra and their children. There is also a picture of the tomb(including picture) of Nicholas's mother, who was out of the country when the massacre took place.

Next we stopped at the park by one of the canals. It has the two red towers that are now used as light houses. After that we went to the Church on the Spilled Blood. This church was actually erected exactly on the spot where Nicholas the 2nd (I believe) was assassinated on the canal. The church actually juts out into the canal where the murder took place. The incredible thing about the inside of this church is that almost all of the walls inside are mosaic. I have several pictures of the walls and ceiling. Absolutely stunning! They only hold services in this church twice a year...on the date of Nicholas's birth and the date of his death.

After the church, we visited the cemetery at the Alexander Nevsky Monastery. Because this is the day before the Orthodox Easter, many, many people were going to the monastery to buy their traditional Easter cakes and have them blessed by the priests. Many of us bought Easter cakes to eat. They are similar to a stollen, but with less fruit, but very good. Next we visited the cemetery, where we saw the graves of some of the Russian composers and writers. If I could spell them I would tell you who they were, like Peter Illych T.............who wrote the Nutcracker. Sorry! Next we came back to the hotel to eat supper (again, very good) and head out for a concert especially for us at one of the palaces. We were entertained by a group of singers who sang some religious Easter songs, and some old Russian fold songs. They were awesome. Wish I could find the program so I could tell you who they were. Ozzie and Doris had a little Q&A with the kids, and then Anastasia, one of our tour guides, played some classical pieces for us on the piano. She is, besides a tour guide, a concert pianist. She was wonderful. After the concerts, we took the kids out to the canal park to run off some energy before we brought them back to the hotel for an hour of free time before bed check. Hopefully tomorrow I will have some pictures for you of the concert tonight.