The Palladian Traveler takes a bullet, a bullet train that is, as he rockets out of St. Petersburg and arrives in Moscow just in time to take a sunset stroll with seven very tall sisters.

Echoes of time linger over Westminster City, the stunning architecture of its historic buildings emerging above the Thames as if preserved in a time capsule. The celebrated London Marriott County Hall overlooking the south bank of the Thames with its immense palatial columns and façade give it a demeanor of both strength and influence in keeping with its role as the historic seat and stronghold of the London County Council.

The most depressing place on the planet is my hometown of Seattle in the month of January. The December holidays are over with January’s grim back-to-realty winter looking us straight in the face. In Seattle that generally means endless light showers and a sun that has completely disappeared. But leave it to the Canadians who embrace the long winter months of ice and snow with celebrations that warm both the heart and soul.

The Palladian Traveler dusts for prints as he goes in search for the facts surrounding a whodunnit murder committed down in the bowels of an aristocratic residence along the banks of the Moica River in St. Petersburg.

Just a pleasure visiting the wayback, remembering my daughter’s first far-flung travel. And a chance to reprise it for Christmas and New Years wishes from the original Santa Claus. Many lay claim to the origins of the Santa legend, but St. Nicholas, of the ancient city of Myra in Turkey, is the real deal. Trace them back, most other countries’ Santa legends are spinoffs.

I am a hiker. But at home, no one uses a machete to blaze the trail prior to walking on it as Souza, our Amazon guide, did, creating a path in the overgrown rainforest step by step. Slicing, swatting, swooping, chopping, no branch, bush, vine or twig was safe.

There’s a word in the heavy metal music lexicon, shredding, which denotes exceptional mastery of a musical instrument. The decks of a Royal Caribbean ship are alive with the sounds of shredding on this warm February afternoon as I make my way around the 70000 Tons of Metal theme cruise that’s in full swing.

Like savoring caviar and vodka, one cannot come to Mother Russia without attending a ballet, and this is why the Palladian Traveler files his ninth dispatch from inside the ornate Hermitage Theatre as the lights dim and the curtain goes up on Swan Lake.

It’s probably the most unusual, even weird, tourist attraction you’ll ever come across. The fact that the motivating force that moves it forwards and backwards is about as powerful as a “Made in the West” lawnmower is equally bizarre. Yes, its power (?) plant is a 500cc two cylinder stroke engine.

Under an unbelievably blue sky, the Palladian Traveler captures the beauty of St. Petersburg at water level as he cruises down the rivers, canals and tributaries of this city built from scratch by the visionary Tsar Peter the Great.