While some of our group headed home, Dawn and I and a few others were staying an extra day. We'd heard about Peterhof, Peter the Great's first palace, and decided to take the hydrofoil trip to visit. While it's a separate activity, we had an option to visit this palace with Etelka after visiting The Hermitage. We chose 'hanging out' in the sunshine instead.
Conclusion after visiting - it's worth it!! There's hundreds of fountains in the park, and not just ordinary ones.....
Water Alley - This is the first glimpse of what's to come. Ahead is the Grand Palace.
A small detail along the path.
On the right is the Chess Fountain, with dragons spewing out water at the top.
Above is the Pyramid Fountain. I'm not even sure what the one on the right is called--how about 'Another Beautiful Fountain'?
This is the Grand Cascade. It's the photo of Peterhof seen in brochures and travel guides and rightfully so. It is spectacular!!
A closer look at some of the fountains.
We climbed the stairs to see exactly what Peter's view would have been. Not too bad!
On our way back to the dock, we saw this charming little animated fountain called 'Favoritka' because, we read, that was the name of the little bull dog that chases the quacking ducks round and round.
This isn't as sad as it looks! Just me gazing out at open water waiting for the ferry - rather peaceful.
More photos of St. Petersburg's delightful people and places