The temple Savior on the Blood is incredible, constructed in the classic Russian style of colorful, and magnificent onion domes.

The frescos were some of the most impressive I've ever seen. The entire interior is covered in them.

The entire city is covered in historic sites. I loved seeing the incredible architecture.

 

I love going to new cities and just exploring. I always find new friends. I shared a romantic stroll on the beach of the Neva with this one.

One of my favorite things was visiting the Crime and Punishment sites. This one is Raskolnikov's house, but thanks to my friend Shine's sleuthing, we got to visit Dostoevsky's house, a pub he frequented, the old pawn broker's house, Sofie's house, and the bridge Raskolnikov contemplated suicide on. Needless to say, I was giddy as a schoolgirl...a very nerdy schoolgirl.

The Hermitage was the most impressive museum I've ever been to. Side note, this picture was taken at 11:30 at night...white nights--they're incredible.

The winter palace is a fantastic structure with elegant architecture, and gold covered everything that I thought was filled with chocolate. I was pretty disappointed to find it was only filled with cheese.

This is pretty much what I looked like the whole time, just stunned by what was around me.

So this isn't my favorite picture I saw, nor my favorite artist. I do love impressionist art though. Some new favorites are Pissarro and Vuillard. Check them out, I think you'll like what you see.

After a day packed full of visual culture, I was ready for a change. What does a single, 25 year old do when he's lookin for a party? He goes to the Marinski Opera House to watch the Marriage of Fiagaro. I was absolutely blown away, it had been far too long since I've seen an opera, and I really enjoyed it...you'd better be okay with that!

Coming up next...Peterhof