And we are about to be called for our coach ride to the Hermitage. The tour is from 2 pm through to 545 pm today. We could end up back here for our 6 pm dining time ….. Or not. Most of our table mates are on longer full day tours so won’t be joining us for dinner either.

We are milling around in the Queens Room with brown stickers on our clothes indicating the tour bus we will be attached to, once the guides and buses arrive for us.

I am loving the art around the ship. Paintings of days gone by, very large photographs of very famous people adorn the walls. The colours of carpet include very rich reds, navies and golds. Romantic paintings of couples and of course a few of women traveling around the world together … Reminders of this fabulous Womens Travel Club Meetup group that I am part of.

The buzz can be overheard, mostly in British accents and people talk about what they anticipate from the afternoon. Some people have saved a lifetime and had this as their bucket list .. Some, like me, had an opportunity to go on this cruise and then have done research of the pending ports of call. This cruise is rich in cultural history. Several countries invite our ship to stop in at their port, St Petersburg today.

It is kind of exciting really, preparing to see such an historic place and very foreign country. This city that was once also known as Petrograd and Leningrad. Today it is famed all over the world for palaces and riches, history and conflict. It is a huge port city, in the top four largest cities in the world. I expected something different from here …. We see a very large industrial port.

I am open and flexible, anticipation of the cultural explosion before us. Greeting this day with a bit of excitement really, and now it has arrived. Having time to draft a blog entry is an added bonus.

The Hermitage has over a thousand rooms and hallways filled with art and history. What will we see, I wonder? What will attract my attention? What of the journey from here to there? It promises to be busy with all the other cruise ships in port as well! I can see why an overnight in this port is so popular, so there is more opportunity to see many more historic sites.

I am also enjoying the brilliant sunshine and bright blue sky above. The tone is that of happy travellers, optimism and excitement to see what few on our planet get to experience, aside of course from the millions who live here.

There is some kind of sailing ship regatta going on outside. A cluster of white sails in one general area gathering and a few scattered around. So beautiful between the brilliant sea and sky.

Some passengers are just getting back on the ship after taking advantage of the early morning excursions to see the city. And there are a few laying around the ship writing for their evening excursions and or who are not planning to get off the ship today at all. I enjoyed chatting with a a few of my fellow passengers while I laid out by the pool for an hour between meals.

They are calling Brown ten now, and eleven. We are brown 12 …… Soon to be called.

Ciao for now, I will try to keep up
On the bus, wish you were here!

Love Pamela