Peter and Paul Fortress

Sunday after a hard night of dancing, we're all up and ready to go to the Peter and Paul Fortress. The cathedral contained the tombs and recognition of the Tzars and Tzarinas and their families. For as many important people as it contained, it did not seem as elaborate as it could have been. All of the people were just jammed into the same medium-sized cathedral. We only walked the fortress wall for a few minutes. It had canons and artillery on display. It is right on the river, which was ideal for their burgeoning naval fleet of the time. There was a small strip of sand on the river which was packed full of Russian sunbathers. People here will take any opportunity to lay out, whether at a national monument, the park, or any strip of grass available. I guess when it's winter for 9 months of the year, it happens. After the fortress, we took a boat trip down the canal and saw many of the buildings we will later visit. It was very relaxing. Afterwards some of us went out to eat "blinis", which are basically Russian crepes. They have anything you want in them, from meats, veggies and cheeses to fruit and ice cream. It was pretty good and you could watch them making the food.