Final Days in Russia

We landed in Houston yesterday after traveling for 18 hours from St. Petersburg to Frankfurt back home. The two flights we took on our trip back to Texas were infinitely better than the ones going to Europe, as Isla slept much longer (thanks to Frozen being played on repeat) and I didn’t get sick. Isla will probably be battling jet lag for a few days, as I think it’s much easier for adults to acclimate than it is for babies. I cannot (repeat: cannot) believe that we will be celebrating her first birthday on Thursday and throwing her a confetti-themed party on Saturday. It makes me want to cry, so let’s not talk about it for now.

The last two days in Russia were spent doing something I’m normally not the best at on a site-seeing vacation: relaxing. We saw a few historical monuments (but did so leisurely), and it wasn’t on purpose. It wasn’t until the eleventh hour that we realized our planned day-trip cannot work because the palace is closed for a private event, so we decided to seize the opportunity to leisurely stroll through the city, eat our favorite frozen yogurt, drink our favorite cocktails (to go) and eat at our favorite restaurants. I am going to publish a detailed St. Petersburg travel guide to add to my City Guide collection, and I cannot wait to share all of the must-sees of this gorgeous Russian city.

Some of the highlights from our last two days in the city included:

• Going to Vasilyevsky Island and taking our first family photo of the trip next to the Stock Exchange and Rostal Columns on the Strelka.
• Eating lunch at Restoran, which seriously looked like a Restoration Hardware catalog and I was gushing over the decor the entire time we were there – the food was delicious too!
• Walking around the Peter and Paul Fortress, including the beach area and the famous cathedral.
• Playing with Isla in Alexandrovsky Park, where she made the longest walks we’ve ever seen – this shocked us, as her walking progress had halted since we got to Europe. She had one epic tumble at the end, and we called it quits for the day.
• Getting frozen yogurt for the third time at Egurti (please see the Russian name for this to better understand our constant confusion!).
• Eating at Leica, Cafe Idiot and Furtuk (again – love it!) – the food in St. Petersburg was phenomenal. I am starting BBG immediately.
• Visiting the beautiful Kazan Cathedral, which was holding a service, so we lit candles, walked around and quietly left.
• Exploring a Russian grocery store (Stockmann) – we bought lots of dried mango and granola bars, both which were delicious. It’s quite interesting not being able to read food packaging whatsoever.

Sasha and I recapped our trip during the long journey home yesterday, and we made a lot of wonderful memories over the last 10 days. We laughed and laughed when we both had Isla’s new obsession with waving to everyone at the top of our lists. She would literally wave incessantly at every single person in a cafe until they waved back. It was the funniest thing. Europe really brought out her friendly side.

What are your thoughts? Would you ever visit St. Petersburg? Where is the favorite place you’ve ever visited?

 Standing in Palace Square outside Winter Palace (a part of the Hermitage) Gold Canary as the perfect touch to the amazing Restoran setting  The best ‘Tata’ who lets his babe put flowers in his hair The gorgeous Peter and Paul Cathedral  I adore this man When your baby refuses purees but loves straws, you compromise (and it worked!) Windblown hair (styled by her dad)