Erin and I posing before the boat!

Today we visited Peterhof! It was our last group activity besides dinner tomorrow night, and I can't believe the trip is coming to an end so quickly! We did something new this morning and took the trolley instead of the Metro or walking. The trolleys here are pretty much exactly like buses (which they also have in St. Petersburg) except they draw electricity from an overhead wire and are restricted to one lane. We only stayed on for a few stops and then got off at the dock so we could take a hydrofoil to Peterhof. We were early so we hung out and took some pictures by the water until our boat came. We got to sit at the front of the boat, which was cool because it rises out of the water, and got some cool photos from the boat. Then, it was open water all the way to Peterhof.

A shot from inside the boat as we were traveling. So pretty!

When we got there it was already crowded but we stuck with our tour guide and got a good spot in line. The fountains turned on at exactly 11 am so most of us missed it, but we went back to see them after - getting into the palace first was more immediate because sometimes it's so crowded you can't even get in. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures inside the palace, which was a huge bummer. Apparently it was a new rule, and our tour guide said she thought it was because the tours already take so long that they restricted people from taking pictures to speed up the process, but she didn't know for sure.

Peterhof!

We had to put on plastic socks over our feet again to help preserve the original wood floors. The palace was just as impressive as the others we've seen; everything was grand and gilded with gold, and there were two Chinese rooms, which were decorated entirely in Chinese art and fashion, which was unique from the other palaces we saw.

A view of the fountains from the top!

After the tour of the palace we went back out for a tour of the grounds, which was in some ways more impressive than the palace because of all the unique fountains. The main fountains in front of the palace were gorgeous, with giant gold statues and many tiers of water raining down from different heights. The fountains on the grounds were more for fun, such as the one that had a dog that was chasing ducks and one that was a tree sprouting water from different branches.

Jumping in front of the fountains :)

A dog chasing ducks... for three hundred years now! It means don't reach for something that is unattainable!

Unfortunately we were all really tired at this point and were glad for a break for lunch. The cafe served us cod and potatoes, which looked better than it tasted, but the ice cream after really hit the spot.

After lunch we all took the hydrofoil back to the city and split up to do our own exploring. I took a nap because I was feeling my cold coming back, but I know a lot of people finished up their souvenir shopping.

At 7:30 most of us met up for dinner to go to Cat Cafe, a Georgian restaurant (the few that didn't come went to Soviet Cafe, which also had fabulous food and decor from the Soviet era). Cat Cafe was very good. I've never had Georgian food before but between the traditional cheese bread, lamb and house wine I fell in love. I also tried some of Bridgette's mutton since that's harder to find in the States and it was also really good. On the walk home we stopped for some ice cream and then headed in for the night.

Some of the group with our waiter at Cat Cafe, who looks suspiciously like Antonio Banderas... hmm.