The Catherine Palace, Tsarkoye Selo

Unfortunately the weather for our second day in St. Petersburg didn't improve.  When we drove away from the port it was still raining.  As we were scheduled to arrive at the Catherine Palace before opening time it was an early start.  And what a difference when driving through the city - almost devoid of traffic.

We were one of the first coaches to reach Tsarkoye Selo and as the gates weren't yet open our guide time to check that her microphone and our headsets were working.  Her microphone wasn't but she did - thank goodness - have a spare.

Even though we were early we still had to queue for a while, but we didn't mind as it gave us time to take photos of the beautiful blue, white and gold facade of this 18th century Baroque palace named for Catherine I.  And we were entertained by some musicians.  As the tuba player had to read the music (oompa-oompa) that raised a few laughs.  Oh, and the rain had now stopped.

Inside we were supplied with fabric overshoes so that we wouldn't damage the beautiful floors - probably also saves money on polish!

The tour goes through numerous rooms starting with the glorious Great Hall with its painted ceiling by Guiseppe Valeriani ('The Triumph of Russia'), ornate white and gold decoration, fabulous floor and lots of windows.  As you cannot use flash in these rooms lots of light it very helpful.

 

After filing through three anti-rooms we found ourselves in the Arabesque Hall where official dinners took place.  The name comes from the blue and white decoration - reminiscent of Wedgwood - on the walls and ceiling.

There are several more rooms before the piece de resistance - the famous Amber Room with its breathtaking panels made of amber, some of them containing mosaic pictures.  Until seeing this room I hadn't realised how many shades of amber there are.  And would you believe that these are reconstructions?  In 1942 the Nazi's took the panels to Konigsberg and they disappeared without trace in 1945.

With so many glorious rooms to admire it would take a very long article to describe them - the best thing is to go and see the palace.  The alternative, of course, is to go on line. [www.eng.tzar.ru/museums/palaces/c_atherine].

Following our tour of the palace we then took a stroll through a small section of the gardens to see the lake and some of the small buildings that had been used for various purposes.   My ideal would be to spend a whole day there - a slower tour through the rooms and a lovely stroll in the gardens.  In the sunshine, of course.