Our last day in StP - saved the Hermitage for the end. Coincidentally, today is the first Thursday of the month = free entry to the museum. And let me tell you, we weren't the only ones to know it! There seemed to be a huge line of people waiting but 30 minutes before the … Continue reading Day 12: The Hermitage

Full steam ahead! We're having a "sea day" today! First, a hydrofoil trip into the Gulf of Finland to Peterhof to see its magnificent fountains. Started by Peter The Great in 1725 as his version of Versailles, the palace and gardens had been added on to by successive tsars until it became the confection it … Continue reading Day 11: Two If By Sea

I love my coffee, and apparently it loves me too! All the wait & hotel staff have been so great.... Speaking of hotels, ours is a bit over the top... We started the day off in Palace Square where we hoped to catch a look at the Hermitage (which we'll visit on Thursday) before continuing … Continue reading Day 10: From Russia, With Love

Guest blogger today - I didn't write one so here's Mom's post...stolen from her blog: sgmstravels.blogspot.com Subway and train stations in Russia are clean, quick, beautiful BUT have a lot of stairs! Allison has had to carry both these 45 lb. duffels up and down stairs (the little one on her back). Sometimes Russian men … Continue reading Day 9: On to St. Petersburg

We had already sat down at our regular café for a nice latte and croissant when we realized what time it was. No time for mints! as my former boss would say in the frenzy of her annual Christmas shopping.  So we leapt up and grabbed a quick donut and coffee-to-go at a Krispy Kreme … Continue reading Day 8: Rainy Sunday in Moscow

Russia! The second part of our holiday began yesterday with a full day of traveling to get to Moscow what with the very early drive to Heathrow to avoid rush hour, the nice flight to Helsinki, the quick change of planes in Helsinki, our 'private' flight to Moscow (no one else in our cabin!), the … Continue reading Day 6/7: Moscow!

The gorgeous bright morning sun gave us a great sense of optimism for today's plans: to see as much as possible! We nipped out at the crack of 8:30am to swing through the town of Tunbridge Wells to see their famous Pantiles (arcaded shopping street). Portia lead us smartly through the early traffic right to … Continue reading Day 5: Final Day in Kent

The weatherman was on our side today. He obligingly held off the rain till well after noon so we had a good day for driving around south Kent and into East Sussex. It turned out to be a lot of driving...not really time behind the wheel but just that we didn't cross many sites off … Continue reading Day 4: A Full But Short Day

We're thrilled to have a second beautiful day. Still chilly, 10-12° C / 50-ish° F, but eminently doable with a multitude of layers :-). Since bad weather is on its way tomorrow we rearranged our itinerary to see most of our outdoorsy/garden sites today. Here's a recap: Such vibrant color! I was swerving into every … Continue reading Day 3: Another Sunny Day!

Deciding to take full advantage of the sunshine we tackled our longest day on Day 2 - the hour drive east to Dover and its famous white cliffs. The scenery became stunning as the views opened up more than we've seen so far as we entered the Downs, officially an "Area of Oustanding Beauty".  Vast … Continue reading Day 2: Sunshine!!