I did a miserable job at capturing how beautiful St. Petersburg was. A friend saw some of my shots and described the city as regal. It truly is. Well…mostly LOL.
so excited to see the Church of Our Savior on Spilled Blood
inside the church
it’s called On Spilled Blood because this is the spot where Emperor Alexander II was mortally wounded.who dis?
when you travel alone, better get used to asking strangers to take photos of you. We helped each other out.LOVE!!!
This is part of the river. I can see how people fall through ice now. You couldn’t tell me this wasn’t a road.the thawed partso most of the city is regal and fancy and then some parts are #BecauseRussia. This was the sidewalk. Get in where you fit in.on the riverthe city is yellow, teal and pink. three colors I love.
The Bronze Horseman, honoring Peter the Great, the city’s founder
the drawbridge doesn’t close completely. You think anyone cares? #BecauseRussia
oh you fancy, huh?
How awesome is it that there are Egyptian sphinxes in St. Petersburg, RussiaDiscovered in an excavation in the 1820s and then brought to RussiaSaid to be two of the finest Egyptian structures outside of Egypthow and why exactly they ended up in St. Petersburg is somewhat of a mystery though. The city has many of those.
I wasn’t mature enough to pass this cat without snapping a shot. Also I like cats.
Many references to WWII in the city. The people still talk about the war and get upset if anyone tries to downplay it or dismiss it as ancient history. There are parts of the city that are still in rubble from the bombings.
Kazan Cathedral
Mariinsky PalaceMcDonald’s
Statues like these are just on the street corners. Like just chilling over the H&M.Russian MuseumFree Willyon my way to the balletPalace SquarePalace Squareinside the Hermitage Theater. Even the ceilings are gawjus.my original crappy seat (bc I was late and couldn’t find the dern theater)my new front row seat after the intermission. Pass me a viola, bruh.
Sleeping Beauty. Of course I couldn’t take photos or video during the show. This was the best I could doPlus I realized I was missing the actual show, so worried about getting photos. I had a surreal moment: watching the world renowned Russian ballet IN Russia. It was moving and I discovered I enjoy ballet. Those dancers are amazing at what they do. So much strength and athleticism and they make it look effortless.shoulda kept my coat -__-Asian influence in the cityand you know I had to find some cute dressesmy favorite souvenirs: clothesYo. On the way to the airport, my uber driver Alexander could NOT stop looking at me. Every red light, this man was turning ALL the way around and smiling and giving me the thumbs up. Guessing he liked me. And/or had never been that close to a black woman before.I hate these little planes but after the airport ordeal, I was happy to get on anything that would get me out of RussiaGoodbye, St. PeteYou might be the most beautiful city I’ve ever visited
FOOD!!!
first sushi since leaving America
the Tepemok fast food place. Recommended by Elena.
Blini (aka crepe)
stuffed with mushrooms, cheese & chicken
I don’t drink much soda but the Pepsi was good there
Russian calat (salad) with quail and borscht, a red cabbage soup eaten with sour cream.
I loved everything about this meal
calat
borscht
gelato is good everywhere
If you go to Russia and don’t have stroganoff, I’m pretty sure a puppy dies.
Recording the Moscow Gate but peep how Alex keeps checking me out in the rearview. That man was funny. And a bit strange. They gotta get more color in Russia.
Austin in Wonderland 
#BecauseRussia Bwahahaha Awesome photos!! I’m not sure if I’m grown enough to do Russia alone, but you did that!! Lol!
Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you! It took my brain a couple days to catch up so it wasn’t until after I got home that I was like Holy crap, I just went to Russia. WTH.
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