To St. Petersburg, also with love

{ Disclaimer: There are lots and lots of pictures. }

We flew from Moscow to St. Petersburg, complete with the experience of boarding by runway. (I've always wanted to do that.)

We arrived on a drizzly, dreary, gray day – I suppose, really, all of the descriptives that are usually associated with rainy weather. Oh, and cold. Little did we know that this would be a sign of all our days in St. Petersburg.

We were excited to witness and experience the White Nights, where the Sun does not set until after 10 p.m., and twilight lasts almost until the morning. There is an ethereal – almost heavenly – white glow cast about the night sky, and you aimlessly wander around the city confused by the time, where 11:00 p.m. feels and looks like 6:00 p.m. anywhere else.

{ white nights in St. Petersburg, 11:30 p.m. }

And what would be more fitting than to celebrate the start of White Nights with some epic "Sensation" dance bacchanals hosted by MTV?

It continued to rain throughout our days, a steady, persistent, never-ending rain. But on we trekked, exploring this beautiful, international city, where building after building was a museum-something-or-other. Russian art and culture was dripping from every crown molding, cornice, bronzed statue!

{ the Bronzed Horseman }

A trip to the Hermitage, the real gem being the splendor of the museum's rooms. They captivated me ever so slightly more than the awe-inspiring collection of artwork. Now I'm going to try to resist from posting each and every lovely room:

{ Hermitage in the rain }

{ wall detail }

{ the Orange room }

{ what's up with these crazy dog paintings, Paul de Vos? }

{ sword detail }

{ my favorite, the Almost Russian Green room, dedicated to an impressive collection of Rembrandt's works }

{ love the whimsical mix of frames and how they are suspended }

{ the Red room }

{ portraits }

{ the Gold room }

{ the breathtaking White room of light, air, and crystal }

We were wowed by the stunning Church of the Spilled Blood of Christ. Those clever Russians and their exquisite domes! 

{ church detail }

We explored Peter the Great's summer palace on Peterhoff Island.

{ gold statues + the view from the Palace }

{ wandering the palace grounds }

Somewhere in between wandering a very old cemetery, eating Azeri food, visiting Pushkin's haunts, and dodging rain, these red giraffes waving in the distance beckoned us over to experience a dry run-through the night before the St. Petersburg International Festival and Celebration. It was theatrical, interactive, and whimsical, all rolled into one awesome spectacle performance. (See more stunning pix here!)  

{ random encounter with giraffes + company }

And a perfect last impression of St. Petersburg, the rain finally letting up to a beautiful night sky and a stroll all the way back home at midnight.

{ 12:00 a.m. Goodnight, St. Petersburg. }