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The magnificent Winter Palace and Hermitage Museum.
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. . . . and the side entrance is equally splendid.
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With hundreds of rooms all the equal of this one it would take weeks of visits to
justice to the museum..
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Art treasures abound. The palace has more old masters than most European capitals.
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This staircase (which is open to the public to walk up) has superb gilt details
and the most beautiful gold and crystal chandeliers.
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Another wonderfully light and airy staircase. Behind the pillars are scores of beautiful
sculptures.
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St. Isaac's Cathedral is the 4th largest dome construction in the world! Its height
is 101.5 m. 112 granite columns decorate the cathedral outside.
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Church of the spilled blood. Inside was 7000 sq metres of mosaic icons. And 7000
frenzied people seemed to be kissing them.
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Dodgy taxi. No safety standards or emissions standards seemed to restrict this quality
of vehicle being on the roads.
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This imposing building faces the Winter Palace across the Dvaortsovaya Ploshchad.
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Peterhoff Palace was one of the favorite summer palaces as it overlooks the Gulf
of Finland and is thus cooled by the proximity of its waters.
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The water for these magnificent fountains travels by gravity thro 32 Km of pipes.
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Peterhoff Palace frontage, it overlooks the gulf.
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From the terrace the view looking over the gardens and pools to the Gulf.
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A trick fountain only allows the righteous to pass unscathed. Guess who stayed dry?
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Most of St Petersburg is unseen by Peter the Great but this is his actual desk.
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