Mississippi Day 8 (New Orleans, LA): The Last Day

Today is our last day of our Mississippi Trip.

Today we disembarked the ship and took a tour of the Garden District of New Orleans. We got to see some of the most beautiful properties in the area and we stopped at Morning Call for beignets and café au lait and a local cemetery. The beignets were amazing! The Garden District was once a neighborhood of very large plantations with huge gardens. There were only 2 properties per block. Later the properties were divided up and sold to the wealthy who did not want to live in the French Quarter. The Garden District was once known for the grand gardens on the plantations but is now known for its beautiful architecture.

After our tour we checked in our bags at our hotel and headed out to the French Market near Crescent Park. The French Market was originally a Native American Trading Post that started where Café Du Monde is and organically grew as it was rebuilt and renovated many times. The area doesn’t seem that big but there were a lot of vendors packed into the vendor stalls. It took me a while to get through all of them.

When we were finished with the market we headed back to our hotel and checked in. Our next stop was dinner.

We ate dinner at a restaurant that one of the ship staff had recommended. It was much better than that place we ate at next to our hotel. We ordered similar items at both restaurants but the restaurant we ate at today did it much better. One of the best things we ordered was the alligator. The waitress described alligator as having a pork texture with a chicken taste and she couldn't be more right. I expected to taste gamy but it wasn't at all. I loved it!  

After dinner we went back to our hotel and prepared for our flight home tomorrow.

This trip has been amazing! We learned a lot about the antebellum era in the south, saw some beautiful plantations and museums and heard some very interesting stories. We also explored a new city, ate some amazing food and got to experience a whole new culture. As always, we met some amazing people along the way.

What an adventure! Here’s to many more!

Mississippi Day 7 (Day at sea): Amazing Food, Gingerbread Houses and A Special Christmas Show

We got to sleep in today and it was wonderful. 

We got room service today because we woke up late and I didn’t feel like going out to the buffet. We didn’t have any excursions because we spent all day at sea but there were plenty of other activities going on around the ship.

The food today has been absolutely phenomenal! I ordered a grilled steak for breakfast, had prime rib for lunch and it was lobster night tonight! I don’t think I’ve ever had that much good food in one day.

Before lunch we spent a lot of time decorating gingerbread houses with the rest of the cruisers. It was a lot of fun! Our gingerbread house had a music theme so we recreated the resident musicians of the ship in gingerbread form. This was quite a messy activity and there was candy everywhere! It’s amazing what you can do when you have hundreds and hundreds of pounds of candy at your disposal! Ok… that was an exaggeration, but we had all the candy we could ever use. After lunch we attended a farewell reception in the main theater. The captain had to man the bridge because the water was a little rocky so the first mate gave the farewell speech.

We’re disembarking the ship tomorrow morning so we packed up throughout the day. I really dislike packing!

After dinner we lounged around for a while and went to the nightly show. Tonight’s show was a special Christmas musical. They told a few Christmas stories and performed Jingle Bells, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, Feliz Navidad, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Sleigh Ride, Winter Wonderland, Let It Snow, The Christmas Song, Cool Yule, The Chanukah Song (We Are Lights), Grown-Up Christmas List, Santa Clause Is Coming To Town, Santa Baby, Baby It’s Cold Outside, Silent Night, I’ll Be Home For Christmas, O come, O come, Emmanuel, Away In a Manger, White Christmas and ended with a mashup of Let It Snow and Winter Wonderland.

After the show we finished packing and went to bed. This trip isn't quite over yet! We still have another day In New Orleans.

Mississippi Day 6 (Vicksburg, MS): Anchuca Mansion, Old Courthouse Museum and The M/V Mississippi IV at The Lower Mississippi River Museum

Today we get to explore Vicksburg, Mississippi.

On our hop on hop off tour we hit mostly boutiques, antique stores and historic sites. Some of the highlights of the tour were the Anchuca Mansion, Old Courthouse Museum and The Lower Mississippi River Museum. All of the stops were pretty close together so we mostly walked between stops.

Vicksburg originally belonged to the Natchez Indians until the French colonized the area and built Fort Saint Pierre in 1719. The Natchez Took their land back during the Natchez War destroying the fort and homes of the settlers. The French colonist teamed up with the Choctaw tribe, who were enemies of the Natchez, and ultimately defeated the Natchez. In 1790 the Spanish built a military outpost where Fort Saint Pierre was, Fort Nogales, but lost it to the Americans in 1798 and it became Walnut Hills. Vicksburg was incorporated in 1825 named after Newitt Vick. Vicksburg was lost to the Union during the Siege of Vicksburg. This was a major turning point in the war giving the Union complete control of the Mississippi River. Its high location made it impossible to attack.

The Anchuca Mansion is a 2-story Mansion built in 1830 as a Federal style mansion by a local politician, J.W. Mauldin. It was sold to a merchant 10 years later and remodeled to its current Greek Revival style. The house was converted to a hospital after the Siege of Vicksburg. Jefferson Davis’s brother, Joseph Emory Davis had owned the mansion for a short time and in 1869 Jefferson Davis gave his one of his last public addresses to Vicksburg on the balcony of this mansion. Currently the Anchuca Mansion is a Bed and Breakfast and gives daily tours. The Balcony is one of the main attractions of the tour.

The Old Courthouse Museum is a very interesting landmark and one that I would consider a must see. Many famous trials were conducted here and it houses artifacts from Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Theodore Roosevelt. They have a crazy amount of art, flags, clothing, toys and furniture on display. This Courthouse was built by the Weldon brothers in 1858 and the property was donated to Vicksburg by Newitt Vick-- It took 2 years to complete.

The Lower Mississippi River Museum is the only museum site to house a fully restored dry docked riverboat, The M/V Mississippi IV. Before the river boat was decommissioned it was a towboat that delivered supplies and equipment to project sites along the Mississippi River. Museum guests have access to all 4 levels of the ship, the main deckhouse, second deckhouse, Texas deckhouse and the pilot house. It took us forever to explore the vessel, longer than the actual museum.

We visited the Coca-Cola museum then headed back to the boat for lunch and back out again on our own to visit an antique store and a few other boutiques at our own. This was the site of the first Coca-Cola bottling center. My sister and I headed back before the rest of our group and lounged around before dinner. 

Tonight’s show was a solo show by one of the resident musicians of the ship. He told us a few stories and performed songs that he was exposed to growing up and were meaningful to him. His set list consisted of Yesterday, a harmonica instrumental of Shenandoah, Blowin’ In The Wind, A Boy Named Sue, an original song by his band Astoria Boulevard, Leaving On A Jet Plane, Puff The Magic Dragon, Ponch and Lefty, Take It Easy, You Never Even Called Me By My Name, American Girl, Born to Run and ended with This Land Is Your Land.

After the show we went straight to our rooms for bed.

Today has been a very long day. Good thing we don’t have anything planed for tomorrow. I get to sleep in!

Mississippi Day 5 (Natchez, MI): The Rosalie Mansion, Magnolia Hall and Stanton Hall

Today we’ll be in Natchez, MI on another hop on hop off tour.

Natchez is the oldest city on the Mississippi River known for its mansions. Before Mississippi was acquired by the US in the Revolutionary War, Natchez was the capital of the territory of Mississippi. This hop on hop off tour had a few more stops on its itinerary than yesterdays. There were more markets, boutiques and antique stores. The Rosalie Mansion, Magnolia Hall and Stanton Hall were a few of the places on the tour.

The Rosalie Mansion is a 3-story brick mansion built in 1823 by Peter Little that inspired the designs of many other Greek Revival mansions and helped shape Antebellum architecture. In 1863 the mansion was the main headquarters for Walter Gresham and the Union during the Civil War.

Magnolia Hall is a Greek Revival mansion built in 1858 by Thomas Henderson and is one of the last mansions to be built before the Civil War. The exterior of the house was constructed to resemble brownstone which was very prestigious at the time. It’s actually stucco layered over brick. This mansion is known for its costume collection and the Parterre Garden on the grounds is a must see.

Stanton Hall is a 2-story mansion that takes up a whole 2-acre city block. This hall was built in 1851 by Frederick Stanton and is a replica of his home in Ireland. Fredrick died of yellow fever 6 months after it’s completion. This was supposed to be his dream and spared no expense in making it so. These guys were that “indoor plumbing” rich that I talked about in my other blog post. Fredrick Stanton was a cotton broker. The interior of Stanton Hall is elaborately decorated with marble, wall-to-wall carpet, giant mirrors and gasoliers made of brass and gold. The interior was used for the mini-series, North and South with Patrick Swayze.

After we completed our hop-on-hop off tour we went back to the ship for lunch and headed out to a few of the stops that we skipped the first time around.

We finally made it to the specialty restaurant today. It wasn’t much different than the regular sit down restaurant. The food they served was just a different variation on the food in the sit down restaurant with better wine.

The entertainment headliner tonight was Henry Rhodes who performed mainly blue tunes with a couple of Christmas songs sprinkled in. He started out with Got My Whiskey, On My Way, The Thrill Is Gone, I’ll Play the Blues for You, Down Home Blues, Jingle Bells, White Christmas, Hole In The Wall, Let’s Straighten It Out and ended with Superstition. After he came back out for an encore and performed A Real Mother For Ya.

We didn’t do anything after the show… Just went to bed. Tomorrow we continue along the Mississippi River to Vicksburg.

Mississippi Day 4 (St. Francisville, LA): Myrtles Plantation, A Ghost Story and A Country Cabernet Show

The highlight of the day was The Myrtle Plantation which is known for its paranormal activity and ghost stories.

Our excursion was a hop off hop off excursion today. We got up super early to catch the first bus and stopped at many markets, boutique shops and Myrtles Plantation. Our first stop was Audubon Market where we got snacks and continued through all of the stops. A lot of the places were walking distance between each other so it was easier to just walk than wait for a bus.

Myrtles Plantation isn’t as big as the plantation we went to yesterday but it has more character. It’s considered one of the more haunted places in America and has been featured on many paranormal shows. Myrtles Plantation was built in 1796 by David Bradford and was originally called Laurel Grove. Because of David’s involvement in the Pennsylvania Whiskey Rebellion he lived there alone until 1799 when he was pardoned by John Adams. It was then that he was able to bring the rest of his family to the plantation from Pennsylvania. Nine years after David died his wife, Elisabeth Bradford, hired Clarke Woodruff to manage the property in 1817. When Elisabeth died in 1831 Clarke took ownership the property and sold it 3 years later to Ruffin Stirling who completely remodeled the plantation which expanded the main house to nearly double its original size. Ruffin also changed the name of the plantation to what it is today, The Myrtles, after the flowers that grow there. Currently the Plantation is a functioning hotel and hosts special Halloween tours during Halloween.

It’s said that The Myrtles Plantation was built on top of an Indian burial ground, hosts at least 12 ghosts and is the site of 10 murders. The only documented murder is the murder of William Winter. William was an attorney who acquired the plantation in 1865. The murder came to the Myrtle Plantation by horse and called for a lawyer named William Winter. When William stepped outside the murder asked who he was and after confirmation, shot him twice. William staggered up the stairs yelling his wife’s name, Sarah. Sarah ran to William meeting him on the 17^th stair of the main staircase where William died. Occupants have reported to hear gun shots, staggering foot steps on the stairs and the ghost of William yelling for Sarah. 

After the stop at the plantation we continued our hop on hop off tour to the rest of the markets and boutiques. Then it was back to the ship for lunch.

We had some down time after lunch. I used that time to catch up with my blog, email’s and social media. I was also able to sneak in a nap before dinner. The cruise line also hosted a champagne reception for people that have traveled the cruise line in the past. Those are always fun. We canceled our reservation at the specialty restaurant and ate at the regular sit-down restaurant tonight because we liked their menu better. Maybe we’ll go another day.

Tonight’s show was a country cabaret show. It was a lot better than I thought it would be. I was pleasantly surprised. There set list consisted of Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Your Cheating Heart, It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels, Oh Lonesome Me, Tennessee Waltz, Coal Miners Daughter, Walk The Line, Ring of Fire, Two Doors Down, Here You Come Again, The River, Friends In Low Places, Is There Life Out There, Yakety Sax, Take Me Home Country Roads, King of The Road, On The Road Again, The Gambler, Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue, Sixteen Tons, Rose Garden, Stand By Your Man, Achy Breaky Heart, Harpe Valley PTA, Fancy, The Way You Love Me, Islands In The Stream and ended with 9 to 5. It was a very cool show.

After the show I ordered room service then went to bed. Tomorrow we go to Natchez, Mississippi. One of the highlights of our trip.

Mississippi Day 3 (White Castle, LA): Nottoway Plantation, A Missed Lecture and A River Themed Performance

Today started out super foggy! I could barely see anything directly in front of me.

We went to the Nottoway Plantation-- the world’s largest antebellum plantation. The Nottoway Plantation is a 15 acre plantation built in 1858 by John Randolph and architect Henry Howard. The main house is a huge 3 story 53,000 sq. foot mansion with 64 impressive rooms. It also had luxuries like indoor plumbing, hot and cold running water, gas lighting, and a bell system which wasn’t unheard-of for the time but reserved for the extremely wealthy… Like “indoor plumbing” wealthy. Sometime after the property was built the plans were destroyed. Nobody knows if it was an accident or if they were destroyed to prevent an identical plantation from being constructed.

Currently the Nottoway Plantation is a functioning hotel, museum, restaurant and bar. There was also a Christmas Market going on were local artists sold their wares. There wasn’t much I was interested in so we explored the rest of the plantation. We found the pool, servants’ quarters and the Randolph family cemetery.

After we got back, we had lunch then attended a river lecture. I actually fell asleep during the lecture so there isn’t much to report about that. We were also going to dine at the specialty restaurant on board but it turns out that our reservation is for tomorrow. Bummer!

Tonight’s headliner was Bobby Durham (Not to be confused with Bobby Darrin). Bobby is a soloist local to Louisiana. He opened with an original song then Mighty Mississippi, Columbus Stockade Blues, That Lucky Old Sun, When my Dreamboat Comes Home, Deed I Do, Skylark, Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler (Let The Good Times Roll), Blues For Dixie and ended with Jambalaya (On the Bayou). 

After the show it was bedtime... No room service, just bedtime.

Also, we have not come across any White Castle's while we were here- neither the restaurant nor an actual white castle.

Mississippi Day 1 and 2 (New Orleans, LA): Exploring The French Quarter, Shopping, Paddle Boats, Snacks and More Snacks

After 2 planes, and a taxi ride we arrived in New Orleans, Louisiana! The Crescent City! The Big Easy! NOLA!

On this trip we’ll be sailing up and down the lower portion of the Mississippi River.

Yesterday we wondered around the French Quarter, looking for a Cajun or Creole place to eat. There are so many restaurants out here and not enough time to try them all! We ended up at the restaurant next door to our hotel. There was a lot of people out and about-- the culture out here is a lot different than in California. I absolutely love it! After we ordered our food, went back to our hotel, ate, lounged around for a bit and went to bed. Tomorrow we’ll have half a day explore some more. I was going to write a blog entry but there’s wasn’t much to write.

Today was fun! We checked out of our hotel and continued to explore the French Quarter during the day. There’s so much shopping around here! I recognized a lot of design elements from the French Quarter in Disneyland. One thing that was disappointing was the lack of public restrooms. There are absolutely no public restrooms around here! We spent a lot of time going back and fourth between our hotel restroom and the only public restroom in the area.

After an eternity of shopping we went back to our hotel to hang out for a bit and headed out to get a snack. Somehow, we ended up at a business park with a food court… There was an actual food court at the business park!!! As cool as that sounds we weren’t able to get a snack because they were closing. Their schedule caters to the building's occupants so they close when everyone leaves. We ended up getting a sandwich at a spot downstairs.

When we arrived at on our ship we unpacked, ate and went to the nightly show. This is the first time I’ve been on a paddle boat and it’s the coolest thing. I’ve been on cruise ships, river boats but I’ve never been on a paddle boat. We explored the boat and went to the theater for the show. There’s a 24 hour snack lounge on this boat. Oh no!

Tonight’s show was called RiverSong, a cabaret show with a Mississippi River theme. They performed Take A Ride On A Riverboat by LeRoux, Roll On Mississippi by Charley Pride, Is It True What They Say About Dixie, Moon River, Old Man River, Lazy River, Cry Me A River, Basin Street Blues, an instrumental arrangement of Down By The Riverside, Take Me To The River, New Orleans by Hoagy Carmichael, River In The Rain, Muddy Water from Big River Musical, The River of Dreams by Billy Joel and they ended with two versions of Proud Mary!

After the show we got room service and retired for the night. Yeah, we were to lazy to go to the snack lounge. What a life we live...

Russia Day 12 (Moscow, Russia): The Last Day

Today is our last day in Russia!

This morning we headed back to the city center of Moscow and went to the Assumption Cathedral and the Cathedral of the Archangel. The Assumption Cathedral’s design is based on the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir and made with heavy limestone. This cathedral has been destroyed by many fires and had to be rebuilt several times. This is also where Ivan The Terrible was coronated. The Cathedral of the Archangel is where most of the Tsars of Russia are buried until they were moved to St. Petersburg. The iconostasis in this church is unique because it’s a collection of icons from cities that Tsars have conquered.

After our tours of the cathedrals we decided to stay in the area and take a later shuttle back to the ship. We went back to the Red Square and explored the World Cup Fan Zone. There was a gift shop, vendor demo booths and an exposition game going on. It wasn’t too busy when we were there, most of the fans were probably exhausted from last night’s celebration or at work. We had a hard time filling our time before the shuttle picked us up. We went back to the GUM, another mall and some grocery stores in the malls. All of that walking around was exhausting!

When we got back we immediately started packing and went to a farewell reception. This reception was a little more intimate than other farewell receptions. Since we weren’t traveling with a large group of people and staff, we really got a chance to know everyone.

This trip has been filled with pleasant surprises! I learned a lot about Russian culture, visited some incredible museums, cathedrals and palaces, walked amongst some of the most passionate soccer fans in the world and met some pretty awesome people. 

I can’t wait for my next trip. Here’s to many more!

Russia Day 11 (Moscow, Russia): Soccer Fans, River Tour and Victory Park

I feel like a lot happened today.

We didn’t have any excursions booked until late tonight so we had most of the day to explore. Each metro station has a shopping center around it so we headed out to our metro station on our own this morning. This one has quite few shopping centers around it, some more commercial than others. The ship to the metro station is quite a walk. There’s a mix of retail stores, grocery stores, a few souvenir shops, salons and a number of markets out here. It’s not very often you find a grocery store in a shopping mall. This seemed to be very common in China too. We actually went out to the shopping centers twice today. The first time was to explore and we went out a second time after lunch to actually shop.

Our excursion tonight was quite interesting. Russia won their soccer match tonight and advanced to the next bracket in the World Cup so everyone was out celebrating. The streets were packed with excited soccer fans and it seemed impossible to get anywhere. It’s like nothing I’ve seen before! The scenery out here is the also incredible night. We’ve seen these Buildings, boulevards and cathedrals before but to see them illuminated at night is something magical.  We started out in the Red Square and made our way across a bridge where we were right in the middle of Russia’s victory celebration! Our guide made a joke that Russian’s don’t express emotion very often so for something like this to happen is something incredible. We made our way to a few tour boats and drifted along the Moscow River. We saw the most beautiful buildings and bridges on our tour, which were also filled with celebrating soccer fans might I add. I honestly don’t know how to express the excitement that was happening tonight in words.

After our river tour we went to Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill, the highest spot in Moscow. Victory Park is a memorial commemorating Russia’s victory over Nazi Germany in WWII. There’s a few museums and memorials here but the highlight of this spot is the fountain that’s Illuminated red at night, it’s absolutely beautiful. We didn’t do much exploring but the view here is amazing.

By the time we got back it was after midnight and we were exhausted! It was way past my bedtime.

We have another early day tomorrow!

Russia Day 10 (Moscow, Russia): The Red Square, The GUM and A Concert... With A Suprise...

Today is our first day in Moscow!

We arrived late in the afternoon so we had a pretty lazy morning which worked out perfectly because our excursion was a walking excursion. We met up with our group when it was time and we left for the metro station.

The public transportation system here has a lot of history and it’s extremely efficient! Efficiency must come with complexity because I wouldn’t be able to navigate the metro system without a guide. Trains run every 90 seconds and also connects with Reutov, Lyubertsy and Kotellniki. We started off at off at Rechnoy Vokzal then we got off at Mayakovskaya and continued to the Teatralnaya station which is the stop for the Red Square. The Mayakovskaya station is one of the most famous metro stations in the world for it’s beautiful architecture and 34 mosaics. It was also the command center for Moscow’s anti-aircraft regiment in WWII.

The Red Square is the center of Russia’s government and the city center of Moscow. A lot happens around here. Ivan The Great believed trade should be conducted person to person so The Red Square became Moscow’s trade center. Today, it was set up for The World Cup’s Fan Fest… It was packed, hot and it rained most of the time we were there. Tourist and soccer fans filled the center of the square, the GUM and neighboring malls and stores. The GUM stands for Glávnyj Universáľnyj Magazín or Main Universal Store in English. This mall is best known for its revolutionary architecture and contains stores for some very high-end luxury brands. This is where my sister and I spent most of our time.

Because it was storming we continued our walking tour by bus. We were ushered into another nearby mall while we waited for our bus to arrive. This mall had more affordable shops and a lot of shops that were unique to Russia. This mall was also very crowded. Why couldn’t we have found this mall earlier?!

Before we went to our next scheduled stop we stopped at another cathedral, Cathedral of Christ The Savior. This cathedral is where Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture premiered, conducted by Tchaikovsky himself. The Iconostasis of this church is unlike any other, it doesn’t just separate the alter from the church but the paintings actually wrap around the whole cathedral. It's beauty has been compared to that of the Vatican.

We also attended a concert where they performed traditional, folk and popular Russian songs. The musicians were very talented, each had a formal music education and were vetted in one way or another.

After the concert we went back to the ship for a very late dinner and bed. Little did I know there was a surprise in store for me. After dinner the wait staff brought a small cake and sang happy birthday to me. They took the cake back and cut it and brought it back out to us on individual plates. The presentation was incredible! Thank you, everyone!

What a way to spend a birthday!

Russia Day 9 (Uglich, Russia): A Home Visit, The Church of St. Dmitri On The Blood and Russian Made Watches

Today we are in the city of Uglich where the Russian watch brand, Chaika, were manufactured.

We visited a local family’s home today. They were very hospitable, shared their home-made goods with us and told us a little bit about how they lived. They are a family of jewelers with 2 kids. One kid is away at university and the other one still a young student that lives at home. Before the watch factory closed down the father was a watchmaker. He and his wife are currently jewelers and their young daughter also dabbles in jewelry making. In the Russian culture it is customary to toast 3 times with moonshine, brown bread and pickles during a visit so we had drunk 3 shots of homemade vodka chased with brown bread and pickles before we left. He also showed us his garden where we wondered around while sipping some homemade dandelion wine he made. All of this happened before 10AM!

After we left the host family we went to the city center which has more churches I’ve ever seen. We started out at the Church of St. Dimitry on the Blood where the body of Tsarevich Dimitry, the last heir of Ivan the Terrible, was found. This church resides on the edge of the Volga River. The bell from this church was the first inanimate object to be sent to exile in Siberia. It was the bell that was rung to announce the death of Dimitry and was whipped and exiled like a human would be.

The next place we went to was the Transfiguration Cathedral. This 5 domed cathedral is the main temple of Uglich and is a popular pilgrim place for Christians. The body of Tsarevich Dimitry was held here before it was brought to Moscow.

Before I headed back I went to a few watch shops that sell Russian Made watches. It was interesting to see but nothing really peaked my interest. When we got back to this ship we had lunch on the top deck where we were served traditional Russian food. They had Pelmeni! We didn’t have anything else planned for the rest of the day besides dinner so we basically had the rest of the evening to ourselves. I ended up going to the bar to catch up with social media, emails and to work on the blog for a bit.

Tomorrow we arrive in Moscow! The last city of our trip

Russia Day 8 (Yaroslavl, Russia): Walking around town, A Couple of Churches and Shopping

Today we’re docked on one of the most significant ports on the Volga River. We went to another church and a street market and wondered around for a bit.

Yaroslavl is not a very well-known city but it’s a unique city that has made the UNESCO World Heritage list and has 140 monuments.  We took a walking excursion through the oldest part of Yaroslavl, Stelka.

We started out at The Church of Elijah the Prophet which has never been refurbished or had to be rebuilt and has the most vibrant, perfectly preserved interiors in all of Russia. The frescoes in the interior were painted by Skripin’s widow and a team of 15 people. Not only do the paintings depict the life of Elijah the Prophet but they also show what domestic, everyday life was like. It was revolutionary to depict the lives of peasants on temple walls.

The next stop of our walking tour was a farmer’s market, street market and shopping area. My mom loves places like this!  A lot of the booths here have World Cup merchandise. We spent a long time looking around the street market. The booths were arranged like a maze, they weren’t very consistent and some isles and vendors spaces were larger or smaller than others. The shopping area around the street market had more traditional souvenirs and your normal shops and cafés.

We passed by another church on our way back to the ship. I don’t remember the name of this church but it was a practicing church so men had to take their hats off and women had to cover their heads. There was a service in session when we got there. This was the newest in Yaroslavl donated by a patron in Moscow. Modern churches like this one have domes made of titanium instead of gold because gold is too expensive.

There were also vendors at the port when we returned to our ship but we didn’t have much time to stop and shop. We had dinner shortly after we boarded and lounged around until bedtime.

We walked a lot today!

Russia Day 7 (Goritsy/ Kuzino, Russia): A Monastery, A School and A Cooking Demonstration

Today was interesting. We got off our ship in one city, went to a monastery, visited a local school and got back on our ship in another city.

Our day started later than normal. We basically had the morning to ourselves. There was a presentation about Russia in the 20^th century and the second part of the Russian language lesson. I took the morning off and didn’t attend either lecture.

We have an excursion booked for the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery today.  When we arrived at our dock we were immediately greeted by street vendors. Most of the shops had the same merchandise. Brass pendants, hats and wooden Christmas figurines seem to be really popular around here.

The Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery was founded by St. Cyril and is located near Severskoye Lake. This is Russia’s largest monastery. The lake here is sacred and is used as a water source. To keep the lake clean and pure motorboats aren’t allowed to travel through it. The monks bless the lake and still drink the water from it. This monastery is built like a fortress and is defended by thick walls, guard towers and a large community of monks and peasants. The Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery houses a vast library that holds very important knowledge and documents. There’s also a lot of the items on display, mostly donated by Ivan The Terrible.

After we visited the monastery we went to a local school. The tour of the school was led by one of the students who was fluent in English and very well spoken. She is currently 15 and has been studying English since the second grade. Even though school was out for the summer some of the students come back to lead tours and practice English with tourists. Our student guide was very knowledgeable and showed us projects that some other students completed during the school year. She took us to one of the classrooms and led a question and answer session with the help of our guide. Our guide is also a former graduate and was a teacher at this school. Interesting enough our student guide wants to be a professional tour guide after she completes her studies. Since there are no major universities in the city the children have to go else ware to continue their education. This causes issues because a lot of the students don’t come back after they complete university and the population dwindles. They find jobs and never come back. It also doesn’t help that the jobs here aren’t very high paying jobs. This has been one of my favorite excursions of the trip so far.

When we got back we learned how to make Pelmeni. These little morsels of deliciousness are very similar to wonton and are eaten with a side of sour cream. I absolutely love that stuff!

After the cooking demonstration we lounged around until dinner and hung out while our ship sailed through another river lock.

Today has been a good day!

Russia Day 6 (Kizhi, Russia): Another Small Village, A Party and A Cocktail Reception

We made quick stop on the island of Kizhi today. This island is a rural island in the center of Lake Onega.

Kizhi is a pretty small island. Around here a large village would consist of 10 houses, a medium village would have 3 and a village of 1 house would be considered a small village. Imagine that… A single house village! Most of the male workers would find work in St. Petersburg and leave for work all summer. Each house would house about 20 family members and have 2 sections, a section they would use in the winter and a guest section. During the summer the whole house is utilized. Only a portion of the house was used in the winter because heating a whole house in the winter was not economical.

Each of the structures here are made of wood and each wood piece was cut entirely by axe. The craftsmen here believed that cutting the wood with an axe would close the pores of the wood insuring the wood would be stronger and last longer. They used very little metal in their buildings because metal was very expensive. Even the nails were made of wood. Just to put things into perspective, 60 nails would cost 1 cow. Because most of the craftsman worked in St. Petersburg they brought some of the design elements back to the village. Some of the stone work that was done in St. Petersburg was recreated in wood and used on the village’s homes.

The most important building on this island is the Transfiguration Church. This church is one of a few in the Kizhi Pogost. The Transfiguration Church is also the biggest building on the island, with an impressive 22 domes, it was used at a summer church because it would be extremely hard to heat in the winter. They used a more modest 9 domed church, the Intercession Church in the winter. Both of these churches were built without using a single nail. These were not the original churches on the island. The original churches were struck down by lightning and they were rebuilt in the traditional way. Image that… A church destroyed by lightning!

After our tour of the island we had some time to do some shopping before we headed back to our ship.

When we got back we relaxed for a bit, then went to the sail off party. Afterwards, my mom and grandma attended a Russian language class and a lecture on the Romanov family. Before dinner we attended a special, invite only, cocktail reception for people that have traveled with their travel company before. It sounds more elaborate than it really is… They do this on every trip that we take. The staff and crew personally welcome you, the captain gave a speech, then we toast. There’s a running joke for events like this… If the captain is here, who’s driving the ship?!

Then we had dinner while our ship made its way through a few river locks. River locks are large gates used to control the water.  Afterwards it was up to our rooms to lounge around before bed

We did a lot during our short day!

Russia Day 5 (Mandrogi, Russia): A Small Museum, Theme Park, Touristy Town

We didn’t have any excursions planned today so we were able to go about our day at our own pace.

Mandrogi, Russia is a traditional Russian village on the banks of the Sivir River. It was rebuilt by Sergi Gutzeit after being destroyed in WWII. The whole town of Mandrogi is an open-air museum filled with colorfully painted houses, a windmill, recreational areas and a small zoo. Artist and craftsman also create wares and sell them at their shops. Even though many tourists travel through Mandrogi it’s still a functioning town with permanent residents. It must be odd living in a town where strange tourists wonder through your town. This also must have caused issues because some people have "Private Property" signs in their yards.

This town caters very heavily toward tourists. There was vodka tasting and a build your own babushka workshop. The town was rebuilt like it was meant to be secluded and untouched by modern civilization but it feels a lot like a theme park. We were able to make our way through the whole town in the 3 hours that we were docked there. I was able to get some pictures of the unique buildings in the area but the shops didn’t allow pictures of their merchandise. The shops here didn’t have your traditional mass-produced souvenirs. A lot of the merchandise in the shops were hand made by the shop keepers. I can only recall one shop with mass produced goods.

It’s time to get to bed. We have an early excursion booked tomorrow!

Russia Day 4 (St. Petersburg, Russia): Mini Adventure, Shopping and A Different Market

We didn’t have any excursions planned for the day so it was a pretty lazy day.

We woke up at a reasonable hour and headed out to the immediate area around the port. There isn’t much out here outside of a gas station, a couple of markets and a few restaurants. After breakfast we decided to go to a market we’ve seen a few times while out on our tour buses. We had the hardest time getting around and didn’t make it to that market. We headed out to the main street, picked a direction and walked hoping we would run into that market. No such luck! We headed back to the ship for lunch.

Before lunch we stopped at the gift shop in the port. They had a bunch of your standard souvenirs, Fabergé eggs and a wall of babushka dolls. I’m not sure how the people that bought the eggs would get them home… They’re so fragile and everyone that shops there is a traveling tourist. The babushka dolls were separated into 2 sections, the traditional babushkas on one side and other themed babushkas on the other. They had Disney, Harry Potter, world leaders and American athletes on the dolls. I wonder if any actors or athletes knew they were babushka dolls. I think being a babushka doll would be weird.

After lunch my mom went to the front desk to get a map and to ask where that market was. We ended up going back and forth a few times because we couldn’t find the area where we were supposed to make a turn. We were able to find a market but it wasn’t the market we were looking for, this one was much closer. We bought a few items and ended going back a second time for more stuff.

After we sorted out our stuff we lounged around until the welcome reception and another excursion orientation. We arrived late so we missed out on the champagne… Bummer! Well, off to dinner we go.

We had set sail a little before we had dinner so we took pictures as we passed by interesting buildings and sailed under bridges after we were done eating.

Today was a pretty laid-back day.

Russia Day 3 (St. Petersburg, Russia): Bus Tour, Church on Spilled Blood and the 8th Wonder of The World at Catherine Palace

It seems to be a very common thing to have a winter house and a summer house here in St. Petersburgh.

After getting up and getting ready we headed out on our excursion to the Peter and Paul Cathedral. We traveled through the city center on the way there. The whole area is decorated with World Cup propaganda! It’s the coolest thing. St. Petersburg has a mixture of old and new buildings but you wouldn’t be able to differentiate between them unless you were around when the new buildings popped up. They try very hard to keep the town consistent. We also passed by the KGB building. The locals refer to the building as the “Big House.” Our guide pointed out a bunch of palaces, museums, and churches as we passed them. The majority of the residents are orthodox but they still attend church as a tradition and baptize their children just in case. There is an insane amount of palaces here! I could swear that the only people that lived here were royalty. A lot of them were repurposed into government buildings or museums. It seems like everyone had a palace at one point in time.

   

We made a stop at the Church on Spilled Blood but didn’t spend much time there. This church is built where Emperor Alexander II was assassinated. During the revolution the church was destroyed and closed until it was converted into a museum in 1970. The revenue generated from the museum was used to restore the church which still isn’t fully reconstructed yet.

The Peter and Paul Cathedral is one of Russia’s orthodox cathedrals and resides along the Neva River inside of the Peter and Paul Fortress. It also has the worlds largest bell tower. St. Petersburg’s skyline is relatively flat so the extremely tall spire can be seen from most places in the city. Our guide was very passionate about the iconostasis at this cathedral. She has been to many cathedrals and this one has been her favorite since her first visit as a child. The iconostasis here holds a unique history and represents a very strong culture. The Peter and Paul Cathedral is best known for being the final resting place of the Romanov’s.

After lunch we headed out to Catherine Palace. This place is absolutely incredible! The throne room, dining rooms and garden are very impressive but the most impressive room is The Amber Room, the 8^th wonder of the world. The current Amber Room is a reconstruction. The original room was looted shipped to Germany during WWII but it disappeared and currently, nobody knows where it is. It took 24 years, 6 tons of amber and the work of 40 skilled craftsman to recreate the priceless piece of art. The amount of detail expressed is insane! Each wall panel is an amber mosaic. No matter how well you know the room there’s always something new to discover. We were told that pictures weren’t allowed but I tried to sneak a shot on the way out. I got caught by a docent and I wasn’t able to get a good shot. What a waste of effort! Photos can be found on Google anyways…

We didn’t have anything else scheduled for the rest of the day so we ate when we got back and lounged around for a while.

What a day! Tomorrow is our last day in St. Petersburg before we move on to our next city.

Russia Day 2 (St. Petersburg, Russia): The Hermitage, Down Time and Swan Lake at the Alexandrinsky Theatre

We’re going to the Hermitage today, one of the world’s greatest art museums!

I woke up an eternity before my alarm clock went off this morning, which seems to happen a lot on day 2. My sister and I lounged around our cabin and begun to prep for the day at a very leisurely pace. Room service isn’t available on this trip so we had to get our own snacks. We timed things perfectly because snacks were just being put out at the lounge just as we finished getting ready. Snacks before breakfast! Eating is the best way to fill down time but it’s not good for my girlish figure.

We spent the longest time at the Hermitage.  This was the residence of Russian Emperors before it was turned into a museum and currently houses the largest collection of paintings in the world. The grand collection was started by Peter the Great and continued by his daughter in law Catherine the Great, who added more contemporary pieces and expanded the buildings. The museum currently consists of 6 buildings, the Winter Palace, Small Hermitage, Old Hermitage, New Hermitage, and the Hermitage Theatre. It would take an eternity to go through all of the exhibits.  Even though we spent a lot of time at the Hermitage it still wasn’t enough to see all of the exhibits. During our tour we were constantly pushing through exhibits. It was a struggle keeping up with all of the information that was given to us.  The most notable works on display were a couple of paintings by Leonardo DaVinci and Raphael Loggias.

 After we got back from the Hermitage we went back to the ship for food and a nap before going to see Swan Lake. I didn’t take a nap because I wanted to get some things written out for my blog. If I don’t get my ideas down they’ll never make it into the blog.

Swan Lake is a ballet written by Tchaikovsky about a Swan Princess, Odette, that combines elements from Russian and German folk tales. We watched the ballet at The Alexandrinsky Theatre. This theater is gorgeous! The entry way consists of grand staircase with a maze of other staircases that lead into other sections of the theater. I had a hard time staying awake during the first act but got a second wind during the second and third acts. I can’t read a word of Russian so I had a difficult time finding the bathrooms. Needless to say, I know what the Russian word for “Toilet” looks like now.

After the ballet we headed back to the ship for a snack and then it was up to our rooms for the night. I am exhausted! We’ll still be in St. Petersburg tomorrow so I’ll write more about the city in the next blog.

Russia Day 1 (St. Petersburg, Russia): Surprisingly Short Flights, The World Cup and Settling In

I’m in Russia guys!

Today wasn’t a very interesting travel day so this is going to be a pretty short blog entry. We started out at the Sacramento International Airport and took a super quick flight out to San Francisco before heading out to Frankfurt, Germany. This was the shortest flight I’ve ever been on… It was over before I knew it! After we made it to Frankfurt we headed out on our last leg of our trip to St. Petersburg, Russia. 

One of the biggest sporting events in the world, The World Cup, is going on right now and we're in the middle of it! We caught bits and pieces of the action as we made our way between terminals. 

When we arrived at our dock we boarded our ship, ate and unpacked. Eating always seems to be the first thing we do when we arrive. The ship we’re on is smaller than the ones we normally travel on so we won’t have access to as many amenities as we did on our other trips. This trip is also a little longer than trips we normally take so we had to pack a little heavier. It was a challenge to get everything into one suitcase. We were allotted two suitcases but traveling with more than one piece of luggage makes it significantly harder to get around.

After we settled in we went to a briefing about the excursions were taking and the other available excursions. The format of this trip is very similar to the format of the China trip I took. On most of the days we have a morning excursion and an evening excursion booked which will keep us very busy.