Today we had about four hours before we had to be at the airport so we hired a tour guide through the adoption agency and went on a tour of Catherine Palace. It was a gift to Catherine from her husband, Peter the Great. It was beautiful! I cannot believe the richness of the decor with silk wall coverings, porcelain vases, parlayed floors and gold everywhere. Meanwhile, the rest of the surrounding neighborhood and country is dirt poor. Our tour guide was Toli, and he had been a political history professor by trade and was very knowledgeable about the history of Russia. Ed loves history and politics so he enjoyed talking with Toli. I am not so interested in such things so I just enjoyed the sights.
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| the spires are where the church was located |
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| one of the ceilings |
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| porcelain vases that were gifted |
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| handcarved wood trim |
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| The Great Hall (ballroom) |
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| notice the guilded wall carvings |
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| inlaid parquet floor |
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| restored original ceiling painting |
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| another ceiling painting |
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| porcelain fireplace (these were in just about every room) |
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| ceiling with original paintings |
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| view of the servant's residence |
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| hand carved out of mahogoney |
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| made of crushed red rubies |
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| made of crushes emeralds |
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| silk wall covering |
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| The Green dining room |
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| silk wall covering |
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| fireplace |
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| a bedroom |
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| Study of Alexander I |
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| Ed, Toli, me |
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| The Hermitage Pavilion |
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| a bride (several weddings were happening that day) |
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