Day 11 (cont.) - End of St. Petersburg Tour

We had a disappointing start to our tour of Russia.  When we connected with our tour guide Ina (pronounced ee-na), she told us that DenRus said we weren't interested in either Catherine's Palace or the Hermitage, two of the must-see's on our list.  Mom and Micki had their hearts set on seeing Catherine's Palace.  Ina managed to get us into the Hermitage but said it would be next to impossible to see Catherine's Palace, which was extremely busy since the Amber Room had been reconstructed.  Without advanced reservations, we could stand in line all day long and still never get inside.

However, Ina gave us a wonderful tour of St. Petersburg.  Our driver Boris did a fantastic job driving in a city where, without specific rules or laws, parking is an act of self-expression. 

At the end of the second day, we treated Ina to a beer and Boris a Coke.  He remained professional even in the bar.

Our driver extraordinaire, Boris!