{"id":12952,"date":"2019-08-12T08:55:09","date_gmt":"2019-08-12T15:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/?p=12952"},"modified":"2019-11-02T22:28:36","modified_gmt":"2019-11-03T05:28:36","slug":"journey-begins-in-st-petersburg-dispatch-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/journey-begins-in-st-petersburg-dispatch-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Easy Pace Russia: The Journey Begins in St. Petersburg (Dispatch #1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"flying<\/p>\n

Just\u00a0before the \u201cfasten seat belt\u201d sign is lit and the Lufthansa Airbus A320 \u2014 en route out of Munich, Germany \u2014 \u00a0starts its descent through thick clouds and out into the gray, overcast late afternoon, I pinch myself to make sure that I\u2019m not dreaming.\u00a0OUCH<\/em>! Yep, this is real as the tires on the craft go\u00a0SCREECH<\/em>\u00a0announcing I\u2019ve touched down at Pulkovo International Airport, the gateway into and out of imperial St. Petersburg, Russia.<\/p>\n

\"cathedrals<\/p>\n

For the next eight days I\u2019m a guest photojournalist of Insight Vacations (Insight), invited along to independently document my experience on its\u00a0Easy Pace Russia<\/em><\/a>\u00a0journey, a sort of \u201ctale of two cities\u201d to Moscow, the country\u2019s largest city, and St. Petersburg, the country\u2019s cultural and artistic epicenter.<\/p>\n

\"statue<\/p>\n

Founded in 1703 by Emperor Peter the Great, the boat-building, visionary tsar, St. Petersburg, today a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was once home to the Romanov Dynasty that ruled for more than 300 years until the Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace during the 1917\u00a0Red October<\/em>\u00a0uprising, ending forever the Russian Empire and paving the way for the Soviet Union, the world\u2019s first, self-proclaimed socialist state.<\/p>\n

\"church<\/p>\n

Only a short, one-hour flight from the Arctic Circle, St. Petersburg, stretched out\u00a0along the banks of the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea, is in the midst of its seasonal\u00a0White Nights<\/em>, those 80 or so evenings between May and July when the high-latitude, luminous northern lights bathe the city in a bright, all-night glow.<\/p>\n

\"Crown<\/p>\n

Met in the arrivals terminal by Insight\u2019s local car hire service \u2014 nary a worry when you book with this upscale travel company \u2014 my bags are stowed and away I go, as fast as traffic permits, until I arrive at the Crown Plaza Ligovsky, my four-star, city-center digs for the next five, naturally-lit nights.<\/p>\n

\"statue<\/p>\n

Conveniently located right across the way from Moskovsky Railway Station and the Galeria, and just a stone\u2019s throw away from famed Nevsky Prospect \u2014 St. Petersburg\u2019s main street and a well-read avenue in several of Fyodor Dostoevsky\u2019s classic works \u2014 the CPL, an InterContinental Group hotel, is within easy reach of many of\u00a0the city\u2019s major attractions, shopping, dining and nightlife.<\/p>\n

\"inside<\/p>\n

With apologies from the front desk \u2014 my room is not quite ready \u2014 I\u2019m ushered into the Lobby Bar for a complimentary flute of bubbly, make that two, until I\u2019m finally beckoned up to the fourth floor, directed down to the end of the corridor, through a private vestibule, past a double-door entry and into my boutique style deluxe room.<\/p>\n

\"at<\/p>\n

I definitely signed up to take in the iconic sights and absorb as much of the imperial history St. Petersburg can muster, but I\u2019m also here to sample Mother Russia\u2019s cuisine. My craving is easily satisfied just two floors below at\u00a0Olivetto<\/em>, the hotel\u2019s elegant, pan-European restaurant with a fine selection of wines from around the globe.<\/p>\n

\"Russian<\/p>\n

Taking my first sip from a chilled bottle of South African Chenin Blanc-Chardonnay, I scan the\u00a0Taste of Russia\u00a0<\/em>menu and choose the absolute best appetizer one can order while in the\u00a0Land of the Tsars<\/em>: red caviar and crepes. Mmm.<\/p>\n

\"dishes<\/p>\n

This is followed by a hunter\u2019s salad main course: a food magazine-worthy dish of a pan-fried half quail accompanied with a potato, fresh cucumber and mushroom salad bound together in a homemade mayonnaise-mustard dressing. And, for dessert,\u00a0syrniki<\/em>: small pan-fried cheese pancakes served with sour cream, fresh strawberries, blueberries and kumquats.<\/p>\n

If tonight\u2019s savory taster\u2019s menu is any indication of what lies ahead for me over the next eight days, I\u2019d better pace myself as I ease into this\u00a0Easy Pace Russia\u00a0<\/em>journey.<\/p>\n

\"Insight<\/p>\n

Go here for detailed information on Insight\u2019s six itineraries to Russia<\/a>, as well as more than 100 other premium and luxury-escorted routes around Europe, or call toll-free (888) 680-1241, or contact your travel agent.<\/p>\n

\"Nevsky<\/p>\n

See you tomorrow morning when we\u2019ll put our best foot forward and, like Porfiry Petrovich, Dostoevsky\u2019s lead detective in\u00a0Crime and Punishment<\/em>, take a long, leisurely stroll down Nevsky Prospect and conduct our own investigation of St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n

Dobroy nochi\u00a0<\/em>(Good night).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Palladian Traveler barely touches down in the \u201cLand of the Tsars\u201d and he immediately satisfies his craving for caviar in his first dispatch from St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":13674,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[2713,1105,2710,260,2714,174,2711],"class_list":["post-12952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-travel","tag-crown-plaza-ligovsky","tag-cuisine","tag-easy-pace-russia","tag-insight-vacations","tag-nevsky-prospect","tag-russia","tag-st-petersburg"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Journey Begins in St. Petersburg (Dispatch #1)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Palladian Traveler begins his Easy Pace Russia journey at St. Petersburg, the country\u2019s cultural and artistic epicenter.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, 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