Happy Easter! (If you happen to be Russian Orthodox) But for the rest of the world, it is simply another Sunday! For us to in St. Petersburg, it was the same way, except for the exorbitant about of people out and about this day because of the holiday. The day began at 9:00 AM when we again had breakfast at the café in the hostel. Afterwards, we took Metro as far as we could and then a 45-minutes van ride to Catherine the Great's Summer Palace. Now this place in incredible, and is definitely the palace to see if you are in St. Petersburg. On the inside, it is the most beautiful of them all, and we had a good time exploring the interior, as well as the park and exquisite gardens that surround the palace. Javier and Andrew left the group mid-afternoon to head back to the city, while Katia, Halsey, Weston and I went with Sergei to Pavlosk.
Pavlosk was another 15-minute van-ride away, but was worth the trip as we were rewarded with a beautiful forested park with a another palace hidden away inside the grounds. It was nice to stroll through the tree-lined paths and past the many statues, ponds, and waterfalls which adorn the hectares of preserved land. We even got to tour the palace which stands near the center of the park. It was under construction, but was still a nice place to see. I enjoyed Pavlosk very much because of its secluded location and naturistic feel. I mean, the palace literally is hidden in the middle of the woods, and there are landscaped gardens, pathways, and orchards all around to explore and just sit and enjoy. It was a chilly day though, and we had walked a lot, so we took the train back to St. Petersburg. After stopping at the market for food, we camped out in the hostl all night, playing Pitch and having a really good time.
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