Day 10: From Russia, With Love

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 on our walking tour of the city when we noticed a large police presence.

We turned the corner to find hundreds of military men and women lined up waiting to parade around the square. They must be practicing for StP's Victory Day parade on Friday.

And not just people, but a whole street full of military vehicles were lined up ready to make a showing. The men gave each photographer an eyeful but no one stopped any picture taking.

We strolled along the Moika river until we came to the Church of the Spilled Blood - built over the spot where Csar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881. They've left the actual street cobblestones visible under a large baldacchino, but every other inch of the interior was covered in shiny mosaic tiles.

We rambled on to the next canal, through a lovely park that was just starting to bud, and along the water back to the main drag.

This building caught our attention so we popped in to find a fantastic gourmet cafe/shop

That reminded our stomachs it was lunchtime! We selected another pretty building to enter a found a nice 2nd story cafe that served us traditional Russian blinis, with a view!

A long morning of walking and and afternoon rest made later sightseeing rather brief. Off to see yet one more cathedral, St. Isaac's (3rd largest in world) and a lastly a long meander along the Neva, which is the main waterway in StP. 

Two tired tourists are heading home for wine!