Woke up around 8, didn’t sleep very well, still had a temperature and headache. Breakfast was good, the usual fare. Caught a bus to the main square again, which was empty because the hermitage was closed, so got some good photos.
Walked over a bridge to the Peter and Paul Fortress. Another Sunny day, about 10C but warming up.
Fancied a cup of coffee so found a cafe, which fortunately had a menu outside which informed us a latte cost around $8. Decided I wasn’t that desperate so walked through a park heading to a main road when Song spotted a cafe built into a grotto. It turned out this was a great find – number 39 in Tripadvisor and wonderful. We both had a home made pastry (still hot from the oven) and I had a large latte, all for about $9. What’s more, the coffee tasted like coffee and not warm water that had once had a coffee bean dipped in it. As good as a Melbourne coffee.
Went into the Peter and Paul Fortress, bought a ticket for the cathedral and jail, and I wanted to visit the space exploration museum but it was closed for renovations, so I was pretty disappointed.
The cathedral was small, but had plenty of gold to make up for it. It is also the place where all the Russian Tsars were buried. There are the tombs of Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and Bob the pretty average.
I’m sure Putin has a spot marked out for himself.
Didn’t spend too long inside, then went to the jail, known as the Russian Bastille, where they used to house political prisoners up to the 1920s.
It was interesting, but a bit of a con because it was 2 floors of identical cells, so once we’d seen one or two the rest held no interest. I have to say, the cells were pretty generous in size, I estimated about 6m by 3.5m. Not that I’d like to have stayed there, but they were roomy for a prison cell.
Wandered around the fortress for a bit longer, then out for something to eat.
Found a place from the Lonely Planet book again, traditional Georgian food.
We ordered a traditional Georgian salad (lettuce, cucumber, spring onion and a vinaigrette dressing) and a bread filled with cheese, spinach and greens. Both were good.
For main Song had Georgian sausage which came with a salad and soggy chips (most of which I ate). I had a traditional dish of chicken pieces with spices served in a pot with a sauce that was like ratatouille. Again, both were good. Despite being a bit under the weather, I had a local beer.
Sat there for a while then headed out, walking back towards the hotel.
Found ourselves back at the main square and there was a bit of a crowd. It turned out there was a full blown old style Soviet military parade going on, complete with thousands of leg-lifting, arm-swinging marching soldiers, a huge military band, armoured vehicles, rocket launchers, a choir and old men in big hats with lots of gold braid. Not sure what it was in aid of, but it was impressive and not something you see every day.
We left feeling in the mood to annex a former member state, but instead got on the bus back to the hotel.
Walked 14.39 km today.
Hermitage museum tomorrow.
