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The next evening we had concert tickets to see Blackmore's night in concert . Richie Blackmore and Deep Purple were one of my favorite bands growing up and they were also one of President Medvedev favorite bands . When Richie met his wife , Candace Night , the band was formed with Candice on vocals and Richie playing acoustic guitar, hurdy gurdy, mandola, mandolin, nyckelharpa, and electric guitar . Wikipedia When we got to the concert , I noticed men in suits wearing hearing aids and talking to their coat sleeves . I told Pat that the President may be at the concert . We were allowed to photograph and video the first band . But in about 10 seconds after videoing Blackmore's Night one of the coated men shined a bright flashlight into my face and yelled at me in Russian ! So this is all we got . We don't know if the President was at the concert but Pat did point out to me that a red Laser was pointed on the back of peoples heads when they took photos , showing the coated men their next target .

On Victory Day we walked down to Palace Square to try to see the parade but it was packed . We went down to the Neva river which was less crowded and the Rostral Column were lit - only on national holidays . There were also some Naval ships on the Neva River We also went to the Peter and Paul Fortress And the Artillery Museum which was free on national holidays to everyone Lunch was at The Other Place owned by an American married to a Russian . Doug's daughter was there and a WW II Veteran who we bought a drink . On the previous evening we saw this carriage at a rainy Palace Square And we saw it a dinner at the pie shop near where we stayed A lot of people on cruises would grab and go here but because we were staying at dinner time it was uncrowded . We usually had Salmon , mushrooms or this one if they had it Rabbit . And after dark there were fireworks over the Neva River

Victory Day signs and decorations were found all over the city . Many people have forgotten that the Russians ( USSR ) were our allies in WWII with Germany . And on the way to Catherine's Palace at the Narvskaya Metro Victory Arch The Monument to the Heroic Defenders traffic circle on the way to Catherine's Palace Palace Square

This map shows where we stayed ( Apartment Konyushennom in pink ) and where we crossed the River Moyka at the bridge and walked to the Pushka Inn ( also in pink ) . We took photos from across the river to see more of the line up . https://www.google.com/maps/@59.9413475,30.322475,18.23z?entry=ttu The last photo is of a Katyusha multiple rocket launcher much feared by the German troops . German troops coined the nickname "Stalin's organ" (Stalinorgel), after Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, comparing the visual resemblance of the launch array to a pipe organ, and the sound of the weapon's rocket motors, a distinctive howling sound which terrified the German troops,[7] adding a psychological warfare aspect to their use . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katyusha_rocket_launcher#Variants Our video clip of the staged military equipment for the Victory Day Parade

The day that we went to the Summer Garden was Friday May 8th , 2009 . After lunch I was tired so I took a firefighter's power nap . When I woke up Pat told me " There are tanks around our building ". I must have really been asleep if I didn't hear the tanks . As I looked out of the windows I didn't see any tanks and so after a cup of tea we grabbed our cameras and went to investigate . May 9th is a BIG deal in Russia , it's the 2nd most important day after New Years Day . It's called Victory Day of the Great Patriotic War ( WW II ) and is celebrated much like the 4th of July here only on a grander scale . More civilians died in Saint Petersburg than the worst war in our history , the Civil War ( 1 million people ) through starvation and bombardment in the 900 day Siege of Leningrad ( St. Petersburg ) . People became so hungry that they began to eat each others pets and turned to cannibalism in the winters . What we saw was military trucks that were staged for the parade the next day . Photos after church today the next time . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Leningrad

My favorite wedding photo was in the Moscow mall called GUM ( pronounced Goom ) . The bride is the rope in a tug of war while the groom is being hung by the Mother in Law . There's no doubt that they will have a Mother in Law Cake which has fake poison mushrooms on it . A real poisonous mushroom that we saw in the woods when we went to a Dacha https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GUM_(department_store)

Most of what we wanted to see in Saint Petersburg in a very small area close to where we stayed . A lot of things are free like the Summer Gardens where you will always see pretty brides when the weather is nice . A Russian train in the garden We saw the same bride while we were waiting for the bus at the rear of the garden . You can see their car with 2 wedding rings on the hood . The wedding photographer was setting up to take a photo that was on the cover of a free tourist brochure which showed a single bride on the bench waving to get the bus to stop . They were duplicating the shot on the same bench . When she saw me with my small camera zoomed in she gave me " the pose " .

We did go to Catherine's Palace on our visit to the Baltic cruise on the NCL Dream in 2006 . The place was packed with people in spite of us bypassing the huge line waiting to get in by using a private guide . Everybody had to wear booties over their shoes to protect the beautiful floor . Our guide on our first trip . Their were no such lines in May when we stayed in Saint Petersburg . Many people think that the palace was made by Catherine the Great . It was a gift from Peter the Great to his second wife Catherine the I , a Polish woman who changed her name . When the Germans forces retreated during WWII after the siege of Leningrad , they had looted the palace and the Amber Room and burned the palace , thus what you see is a reconstruction . https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Palace The gates The palace There were delft tile heaters in which a small fire was built and they radiated heat Catherine the Great The last Tzar Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra In the gardens

Our guide said that he had a surprise for us as we headed South toward the airport . It was the Feodorovskaya Icon Cathedral near Catherine's Palace . It was said to be the last Czar's favorite church . They would not allow us to photograph the inside while they were restoring it but here's a photo from the story link below . https://tsarnicholas.org/2023/07/14/the-restoration-of-nicholas-iis-favourite-church-at-tsarskoye-selo/

Awake at 0400 and we hope to shoot a bird ( or 2 ) about an hour away from where we live . It's about 55 F ( 12.7 C ) and expected to reach 80 F ( 26.6 C ) at 1600 today .

One of the most exciting things that we did was a helicopter flight aboard a medium size Mil 8 helicopter that flies over Saint Petersburg . I still remember when President Khrushchev visited the US in 1959 and his Kitchen debate with the Vice President Richard Nixon . During an official visit to the United States in September 1959 Nikita Khrushchev took a flight in the S-58 presidential helicopter for the first time and was reportedly extremely impressed.[8][9] Upon Khrushchev's return he orders the creation of a similar helicopter and wishes it be ready in time for the return visit of the American president to save face.[10] A luxury version of the Mi-4 was quickly created and Khrushchev took an inspection flight where Mikhail Mil proposed that his helicopter in development was more suitable for this role. However, it would be necessary to have a second engine for reliability. This gave Mikhail Mil the power under the orders of Khrushchev to build the original two-engined helicopter which would need purpose built turbine engines created for the first time in Soviet history, rather than those adapted from fixed wing aircraft (as in Mi-6 and the first prototype V-8) and an entirely new main rotor gear box that would be designed in-house for the first time. In May 1960 the order is given for Mikhail Mil to create his twin engine helicopter. The Sergei Isotov Design Bureau accepted the task of creating the engines. Mi-8 of Baltic Airlines taking off at Peter and Paul Fortress in Saint Petersburg https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Mil_Mi-8 Here's our videos of the start up and the flight . The start up The Flight , soaring over the Rostral Columns and circling the Peter and Paul Fortress before coming in for a landing at the Peter and Paul Fortress to the sound of The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky .

Also in the Rembrandt collection was the Sacrifice of Isaac Christ healing the sick David and Jonathan Descent from the cross Christ and the Samaritan Woman Photos from the hermitagemuseum.com

Rembrandt was one of my favorite painters and we were entering a large room of his paintings including one of my favorite Bible stories and my favorite painting , The return of the Prodigal Son . Depicting the moment of the prodigal son's return to his father in the Biblical parable, it is a renowned work described by art historian Kenneth Clark as "a picture which those who have seen the original in St. Petersburg may be forgiven for claiming as the greatest picture ever painted".[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_the_Prodigal_Son_(Rembrandt)

Before entering the Hermitage we paused and looked across Palace Square to the General Staff building which houses some of the Hermitage . The Triumphal Arch commemorating the Russian victory over Napoleonic France in the Patriotic War of 1812 Wikipedia The Throne Room in the Hermitage Note the lack of crowds The Da Vinci Room These doors were made from turtle shells Da Vinci photos from Hermitagemuseum .org All others are mine The Return of the Prodigal Son and the entrance to the Rembrandt Room

Our flight to Saint Petersburg was uneventful and we met our guide , Gennadiy Chentsov , at the airport . He took us to the apartment that we had rented on that evening and showed us where to shop for food . On the next day we went to the Hermitage Museum without any crowds of cruise ship passengers . They have over 3 million items and works of art from all over the world . At that time Dmitry Medvedev was the President of Russia . The Palace Square , the Alexander Column and the Hermitage . The crowd at the Hermitage The Hermitage Museum complex. From left to right: Hermitage Theatre – Old Hermitage – Small Hermitage – Winter Palace (the "New Hermitage" is situated behind the Old Hermitage) Last photo from Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermitage_Museum

We were in transit as we made port in London staying at the airport with a flight to Saint Petersburg , Russia on British Air and staying in an apartment for about a week . Thus these photos are from our visit to London on our first stay in London after having done a Baltic cruise on the NCL Dream in 2006 . We had a overnight stay in St. Petersburg and we saw a lot and missed a lot , so we wanted to visit there before the busy cruise season began in May . We stayed near Buckingham Palace where we had pre booked a guided tour . We walked around a lot An Eye full Peter and Paul Cathedral Brown town Our favorite Fish and Chips were found at the end of the walkway Here , where we make a visit when we stay in the city , one of our favorite cities .

Our last stop before London was our first visit to France at La Rochelle . The ship docks a distance from the city and the ship offered bus rides to the Church and return trips from the same place It was rainy and cold so on the gangway we decided to go back and get an umbrella , good think as there was a light rain all day . We first headed to a store with a bathroom and made a purchase to use the WC . First up a walk around the harbor and to see the 2 towers , the Chain Tower and the Saint Nicolas Tower , patron saint of sailors . They date back to the 15th century and use to stretch a large chain between the towers to keep out unwanted boat traffic . We went to an early lunch at Les 4 Sergents , a nice place for lunch looking like a pair of drowned rats . We tried our limited French and were seated and given menus in French . After about 15 minutes with no water or bread . We knew that our type were not wanted here - until we could order in French . As we left the man said " Leaving so soon ? " , with a smile . We walked about 2 minutes to a place with a menu in French and English and had a very nice lunch . https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Restaurant+l'Aunis/Les+4+Sergents,+49+Rue+St+Jean+du+Pérot,+17000+La+Rochelle,+France/@46.1563515,-1.1583133,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x480153a4df27269b:0x63c38f70d06632dc!2m2!1d-1.1550587!2d46.1565523!1m5!1m1!1s0x480153a4ba281d3b:0x8153b2ef533eafe6!2m2!1d-1.156494!2d46.1561508!3e2?entry=ttu

Our last stop was Covadonga to see the Cave of our Lady a shrine dedicated to Mary , the mother of Jesus . We were raised Roman Catholic but no longer attend that church . Although we would define ourselves as Christians - followers of Christ . The video clip isn't ours but it does show this place better than our still photos .

We spoke to 2 of the ladies who missed the Canal transit and they told us that was the reason that they booked the cruise .

The fact remains that the ship sailed without them on a ship's cruise and they missed the Canal transit . Guaranteed best price — find a better price on any tour we offer and we'll refund you 100 percent of the price difference in the form of an onboard credit. This isn't exactly true . We booked a helicopter flight in Greenland for half of HAL's price and paid for it . HAL came in later and bought out all of the helicopter's flights including ours . The company cancelled our flight and refunded the money because of HAL 's actions . When we spoke to HAL about it they claimed that " it is a different flight " . The difference ? A person will walk you about 100 feet to the helicopter pad - At twice the price , thus no onboard credit . The result ? We cancelled that cruise and the ship missed both ports in Greenland , the main reason that we booked .

I read earlier that NCL would hold the ship and not leave people behind if on the ship's cruise . The HAL policy is the same and yet we were on a cruise thru the Panama Canal where they did in fact leave 33 people behind on a ship's cruise in Costa Rica . Here's the video of the Captain's announcement while we were at dinner .

Oops

We stopped here for a buffet lunch A grain storage room elevated with protective white rat guards .

We tried it in Ushuaia , our last stop on land before we went to Antarctica . Unlike the Alaskan King crab it's fresh not frozen . This is a medium . BTW Antarctica ( and Patagonia ) blows away Alaska in scenery and we have been to both twice . Our January cruise review here :

We were let off the bus at Cangas de Onis and told to walk around and back to the bus that would be parked at the bus station about a mile away . The so called "Roman Bridge " was built in the 14th or 15th century . They looked like a couple of lizards sitting on the warm rocks in the cool air