St. Petersburg.....
Tonight we went to Catherine’s Palace in Pushkin. There was a band playing as we entered the grounds, a tour of the palace and royal carriages, with demonstrations of music and dancing. It is a grand place with many more in the Czar village which we will see tomorrow; one wonders or not when such wealth is spent and such opulent lifestyles are lived by a select few why the “everyman” revolted! We had a good time though, we expected to eat in the palace but instead were shuttled off to a palace annex. Not a place Catherine would have eaten. There was great entertainment and a celebration of my birthday thanks to the ladies with whom I‘m traveling. The food was supposed to be typical Russian fare but I didn’t see a beet anywhere.

 Topped the night off with a nightcap and sing along in the piano bar on board ship. All and all a festive fourth.

I have a video to add to this post but it is taking too long to download, and as it is almost 3am and we have to be on the road by 7am I think I'll try posting the video tomorrow/later today.