August 7 - St Petersburg

August 7 – St Petersburg
St. Petersburg is a very busy port. I'm doing a three mile walk around the ship this morning at 6:45am and already there are four container ships coming into port. This is our last day in St. Petersburg and we are taking an afternoon tour of the Peterhof Palace. Another beautiful weather day.
The Peterhof Palace is one of 600 palaces in St. Petersburg. It is situated an hour's bus ride out of the city facing the Gulf of Finland. The outdoor area is not as big as Versailles, but the fountains with the gold covered bronze statues surpass it. The inside has been mostly restored since the German occupation in the siege of Leningrad pretty well destroyed it. What remains and what has been rebuilt is just fantastic. A very memorable visit.
Our tour ended with a hydrofoil ride back to the city. The ride was scenic and as smooth as glass.
Dinner tonight was a Russian theme with the waiters dressed in colorful Russian tunics. I had the borscht soup, heart of iceberg lettuce over tomatoes and mushrooms with a balsamic dressing, arctic black cod over lobster stroganoff, with broccoli and potato croquettes, wine to drink, and cherries jubilee for dessert. This is fairly typical of the kind of food we get every night. That's why I walk in the morning...
We're on our way to Helsinki, and I am going on a nordic walking tour, since I didn't do it the last time I was here. I heard it's 7 miles.
We were sitting with some friends tonight for the evening show which featured a comedian pianist. After the show we were still sitting and talking and the entertainer came out and sat with us for a few minutes and chatted. That made the evening really special (and funny too).