Trip to Russia (xmas 08')* Day 2 - Saint Petersburg

Can you feel the coldness?? This is how i felt when me and my family step out of the hotel next morning when we woke up... its BRRRRRRR ~~ !!

Before i really woke up, outside is cover in snow! SNOW!! SNOWWW!!!!!!!

Everything is covered in a white blanket, so pure and so still that you feel like you are living in your dream, like an ornament where the fake snow (shaken) falls prettily on the buildings.. :)

So. After we have breakfast - supply with our huge suitcase of food stock -- cakes, biscuit, cup noodles, rolls, hot drinks powder with 5 variety - (we particularly got half of our kitchen from hk to Russia).. :D

We step outside the hotel, feeling refresh from yesterday's long hour of hauling luggage in the snow covered / extremely slippery pavement from the bridge to our hotel (Marriot) we found there is a nearby chinese tea-house called ren-ren (people's tea-house) in english translation and there are a couple of housings nearby - more like estates really because they all look alike and very homely.. we have our first snow-ball fight there ;)

We then took the Saint Petersburg Metro to Nevsky Prospekt (main busy street running North to South in Saint Petersburg involving a lot of tourist attractions such as Kazan Cathedral - St. Catherine's Cathedral, Palace Square...

Picture above is taken from the escalators inside the tube of Saint Petersburg's Metro

Notice the difference between advertising the signs of products in the side-walls like Hong Kong? Russians cleverly put it vertically so people far-distance going up and down can still easily spot it.. The escalator is well-lighted, many old-fashioned lamps with wood-carving and blocks in the long-ride on the metallic rail.

Nevsky Proskept - tourist hot-spot

Kazan's Cathedral (St Catherine's Cathedral)

See the 2 pic's difference - one is taken like 1 hour earlier (dimmer) one when its like 9:30 in Russia - the sun's not fully up yet. Feels like evening there and it gradually gets brighter after 10:00

Very pretty huh?? - all snow covered && christmassy!! :- ) This is a cathedral / museum, but forgot its name -- sorry!! :pp

This is taken outside the Metro Station - opposite bright blue building " i call it with a Nikon sign outside -- nickname - angel building

See the carvings on the building? Very European like architech - The shop operating here is some high-class fashion store/hotel?? No idea but its definitely not Chinese tea-house !! cos so much angels on top - :) LOL

If you walk towards this building you will instantly find yourself staring at the magnificent St Issac's Cathedral - AMAZING ONION Doooms!! True Russian