Day 4 - A Thick Layer of Pete

Hello again!
I won't tread water too much today, mainly because I'm so exhausted i can't think of anything to write! So instead, I'll hand you over to the me of the past, who will explain Day 4 of the Russia trip!

A load of the others seemed intent on staying up as late (or early) as possible last night, and as a result I didn't get much sleep, and woke up feeling tired and stiff on the top bunk as we rolled into St. Petersburg. I awkwardly dressed, not worrying about how I looked - there would be time to shower in the hotel. Anyway, once everyone was packed and ready, we made our way out onto the platform, the northernmost platform I've ever stood on in the world, and waited to meet our new guide. It didn't take long for him to appear, and we were then led out to our new coach, to head to the new hotel!
Along the way, as in Moscow, our guide pointed out interesting sites to us, although most of us were too tired to remember any of them! I do know, however, that the city is built over a series of islands, conquered by Peter the Great (!), the local hero, and that one of them is called Rabbit Island because (predictably) Peter saw rabbits on it. Arriving at the hotel, we found that it was the same basic format as the one in Moscow, but with a smaller selection of food but posher facilities otherwise. I got to the room and had a quick but refreshing shower, before we headed down for a bogstandard continental breakfast.
With the morning meal finished, it was time to see more of the city! The weather was stuck somewhere between heavy rain and heavy snow, so it was hard to get good photos from the coach. Occassionally we got out when there was something particularly interesting to see, but on the whole it was one of those mornings when we were driven around and talked at and tried to carma as much as possible into our seriously tired-out brains.
One highlight was the Peter and Paul Fortress - it had a humungous gold church inside and was very similar to the Kremlin, only this time I had my camera with me! We saw, among other things, an ugly but honest statue of Peter, the church, where the remains of all the Tsars were kept, and a big scary black gate through which prisoners were taken to be deported... I think.
Afterwards, the grown-ups must have finally twigged how tired we were, because we headed back to the hotel for some chill-out time. A load of people went swimming in the awesome water park they have here, but unfortunately I couldn't join them because I had no swimming kit! Instead, I went back to the room to do some more on my diray. With this out of the way, I finally had the chance to post my postcards, as well as give my bag a bit of a tidy. At seven, we headed downstairs for dinner, which was a set meal this time, rather than a buffet. Essentially it was the same as last night, but with no soup and a pudding of peach tart.
After dinner I ended up going back to "The Lads'" room, just for a bit of variety, I guess. It was a chance to catch up on some missed gossip, if nothing else. We whiled away the time until quarter to nine (hey, that almost rhymes!), when we all met up at the bar to discuss plans for the evening and tomorrow. I was a bit distracted, though, by the saxophonist who had started playing in another part off the room. It's been quite a while since I last heard proper live sax, and I maintain that it is the single most beautiful man-made sound in the world. Struggling to concentrate, I gathered that we were going out to a nearby traditional Russian pub which turned out to be... Well, different! I myself didn't drink; alcohol in general doesn't appeal to me, although I did enjoy a good brandy and coke in front of Doctor Who the other night. I ended up in a competition with someone to list how many countries we'd visited. I think I won about 21-20, and then only because the Vimy Ridge memorial is technically Canadian territory. It was that close.
Anyway, on the way back we were planning to visit the supermarket, but because it was quite late we decided to leave it until tomorrow. So I finished my diary and went to sleep instead. Simple as!

Yaaaaaaaawn... Well, there you have it. Episode 4. TOMORROW, tune in for paintings, palaces and Spilled Blood...Intriguing, huh? See ya 'round!

Jack