St Petersburg - Day 1, Day 5 total (BB voice)

I arrived yesterday morning (sweating), early having made it through the train journey. Sensible individual I am,  immediately I set off on a walking tour around the city - it was supposed to be group tour but no one else turned up so I got a guide all to myself. She asked me what I wanted to see in the 5 hour walk, I said food! So we walked in 38 degree heat for 5 hours, and ate some good shit. A lot of pickled cabbage (spicey white cabbage), pyrogi, other pies, cabbage pies, red berry drink (a bit too sweet for me), georgian cheese bread (this was a winner - bread stuffed with an entire cheese and baked until it was melty and yummy) and shaslyk, and did I mention the pies? So my belly is full, finally after 6 days.

St Petersburg is beautiful and friendly (apart from having my arse squeezed by a strange guy on the metro)..... There is some awesome history here, and some amazing museums (the Hermitage in particular - which is shut at the moment so I can't go and so is the summer palace!). So I saw the Smolny Cathedral/Monastery which was designed by Rastrelli, built on the order of Catherine the Great for woman to go to University, and just in front of this is the square where the October revolution started.....

Then we walked on along the river past a statue of the founder of the KGB (who was killed by the KGB), the Mars Field (no not what you're thinking geologists - a memorial to the Revolution dead) and on to Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood - built in the memory of Alexander II (by his son) who was blown up on the spot in the late 19th century. It took 24 years to build and 27 to restore.

I visited the Mikhailovsky Palace and gardens and castle. The castle was built for this man Paul I who was a paranoid man and did not want to return to St Petersburg after his brothers died to claim his throne. But his wife convinced him to return and he did, building a castle to protect himself. It took 4 years to build and 40 days after he moved in, he was murdered by the military and his son! Sweet.

Interesting fact Peter the Great - the founder of St Petersburg implemented a beard tax (if you kept a beard you should pay for it). Damn right!

Went to a Georgian restaurant for dinner - thought I'd splash out on my first night (700 rubules - it's not loads). Lovely food and place, one beer sent me almost to sleep - "Baltika" it were lush. I did feel like a bit of a numpty though, sat on my own, but I soldiered on and found a pub with the football, where I sat, on my own, again. Not sure I'll be going out much more, maybe I'll just eat street food and pies from here on in.

Slept like a beast until 5am (probably snored my head off) and then sweated until morning.