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Having decided to not to the Hermitage museum tour a couple days ago we were able to take it easy out last day in St Petersburg. We walked off the ship to shop at the Duty Free shop just prior to the immigration booths but found the merchandise to be rather expensive and pretty heavy on liquor and cigarettes.
We heard from friends that the night-time tours, including the Dinner with the Czars, were excellent. Very intimate affairs without big crowds, concerts, tours of museums like the Hermitage, etc. We’ll have to check that out next time we are in St. Petersburg which is likely to happen at some point.
As we left the port the Marina headed down the channel towards the man-made peninsula that protects the large harbor entrance. Because the city is very sensitive to water height, due to all the canals, they have developed a narrow opening that boats enter and exit and placed very large steel gates (think Panama Canal locks) that can close during a large storm to protect against surge. We aren’t sure how well it works but it was an impressive sight. There is also a freeway that links both sides of the harbor with the cars going in a tunnel under the harbor entrance.
We had a nice dinner in the Grand Dining Room and met a new guy from Italy that was just starting his contract as the Maitre De. Finished the night on the Deck 12 “smoking lounge” where we met a couple new friends and caught up with a couple old ones. We have the best time there!
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St. Petersburg Day 3 Full Gallery: