St Peters, day 2

We spent yesterday morning in the hotel: Had breakfast (to call it rich would be an understatement...) while a beautiful and from what I could hear talented girl played the harp.

Around 2:30 we ...car-toured the city till 6. We visited Peter and Paul fortress, (where we saw the tombs of Peter and Catherine the Great, and the chapel where the remains of the last emperor's family are... strange thing to see - I did not know Nicholas and his family were made martyrs from the Russian orthodox church), St Isaac's cathedral (the photo above) and the church of St' Nicholas (where I bought an icon for my nephew's room). With us we had Tatiana, a quite sympathetic old lady, that is impressed with us being Greeks and is very very religious. She told us that she likes the word "akathistos"...

After we came back to the hotel we had a very light and funny debate about where to have dinner. Finally we choose this restaurant. We went there by foot. Nevskii Prospect was very crowded. It was very shooting to be surrounded by all these Russians.

The food was very good - and the service too. It seems to me that Russians have a gift to service you without being "douloprepeis" or pushy...

As in the morning during breakfast live music accompanied our dinner: 2 guitar players and a charming singer played Gipsy Russian songs. She had a very distinguished voice that I liked very much.

We left the restaurant at 10:30 p.m. Believe it or not there was still daylight - the sun fell about an hour later. We had a very long walk by one of the city's canal's. We crossed many drunk Russians with beers in their hands. We ended up at St Isaac's cathedral - across the street there is Astoria hotel where we had a little break.

On our way back to the hotel, a fatty Russian girl with a very beautiful face, followed us. She was very drunk and held a pink rose. I suppose she wanted to sleep with us for money. She even followed us in a record store we had a look... I felt sorry for her but I was too embarrassed to give her any money.

The city is full of posters advertising the Depeche Mode concert to take place in March 2006.

A very beautiful girl, blonde, very tall with long legs and a body for sin (.....) waived "hello' to us in the hotel lobby - escort service probably, arranged by Grand Hotel Europe...

Slept tired and happy...