Last hours....

It was very quiet in my room, now that Kealie had left so I used the time to throw away most of the clothes that I had worn almost non stop for a year (no wonder I am wearing the same clothes in almost every photo!) and tried to make by back pack lighter than the 20 kgs I have been lugging around, along with a full backpack as my hand luggage!

I got the 9am bus to the airport to find that it didn’t take as long as I’d anticipated and there were very little shops that were open. Once in duty free, I was dismayed to learn that, as the UK wasn’t my next stop and that I was stopping in Helsinki, I was not allowed to buy any duty free! The vodka would have to stay in Russia! The only good thing was that my backpack now weighed 17 kgs and that included everything that was usually in my hand luggage! At last, it was of a bearable weight!

I spent a lovely two hours in Helsinki airport drinking endless cups of tea before getting on my final flight back to London. I arrived into Heathrow mid afternoon to be greeted by my parents and brother and was told to hurry as the rugby was on and that they were missing it! So much for missing me but its good to see that nothing changes!

I've had a truly amazing year of travel, meeting some brilliant people and having some really crazy experiences that will always stay with me - thanks to everyone that help create those memories!

I can't believe that this year has finally come to an end! What a brilliant year it was....!

St Petersburg

The overnight train from Moscow arrived into St Petersburg at 8:45am and we were met by our final honcho, Kate. After going to our hotel to find that it was not ready, we went and had brunch, which consisted of yet more beetroot!

We took a public bus to Petrodvorets, the "Russian Versailles" - the summer home of Peter the Great, where we spent the day. It was a very grand palace which had an amazing set of gardens with fountains and golden statues. The water from the main fountain leads down into the Gulf of Finland. We followed it down and decided to go paddling in the gulf! We think that we were able to see Finland in the distance!

When in Russia, the ballet is a must and we got tickets to see Swan Lake that night! Thankfully the programme was in English so we had an understanding of the plot but it wasn't needed as it was a magnificent performance. On the way home, we managed to get 6 of us in a taxi (for a reasonable sized tip!)

The next day, we went to The Hermitage, which houses millions of items of art. On the way in, we passed a couple of busking musicians. They asked Steph where she was from and when she said Australia, they burst into the first verse of Waltzing Matilda!

We spent hours in The Hermitage - there was almost too much to see in one day. The architecture of the place was outstanding and there were so many priceless paintings on display.

We headed off for lunch and were taken to a Georgian restaurant on recommendation of our honcho. Needless to say, I won't recommend eating here - they took ages to sort out our food and the delightfully sounding chicken dish came raw!! It was sent straight back!

We then saw the Church of our Saviour on Spilled Blood, which looks pretty similar to St Basil's in Moscow! It was on this spot that Alexander II was blown up by a terrorist group in 1881! Inside, it is covered in mosaics which were amazing!

We headed over to the little Zayachy Island to see the Peter & Paul Fortress. It was here that Peter first broke ground for the city. The fortress is a hexagonal one that was built in 1703. We walked the Nevskaya Panorama and looked back at the city. Along the walk were photographs from a recent competition which were impressive. We didn't stay there too long as it was getting pretty cold and most of us were in shorts! On our way out, we posed for photos by the Peter the Great bronze statue!

As tonight is officially the last night with the group, we headed to Gismat, a local restaurant to have a farewell dinner. It all began fairly tamely but after the alcohol began flowing, things went quickly downhill and involved lap dancing (don't ask!!). This was much to the amusement of the owner who shut the restaurant and we had it to ourselves until the early hours!

We all met for breakfast and said our goodbyes to those who were moving on today, one of which was Kealie who was flying home. It'll be weird tonight without a roommate, especially since Kealie is a very lively person!

Jess, Lee Ann, Georgina, Jo & I headed out to St Issac's Cathedral where you could walk around the base of the dome. We climbed up the 262 narrow steps to the colonnade and took in the 360 degree panoramic view of the city. There is a charge for taking photos up here but we managed a couple, despite a security guard trying his best to bribe us!

We had lunch before doing some souvenir shopping. I was told that I was mad by a stall holder - I was in shorts and flip flops and she had a scarf and gloves on! We stopped for a drink in a nearby cafe and we ordered hot chocolate - only to find that it was basically barely melted chocolate in a cup, and very sweet! The remainder of the group met for dinner that night and I said my final goodbyes to everyone. It was a brilliant group and we all got on very well. Thanks to everyone for the amusing memories!!

Moscow

We were met by honcho Anastasia and taken to our hotel only to find that part of it was being renovated and it was a building site with lots of red dust around! We had dinner in a nearby restaurant and tried a traditional drink - kavas - which was a bread yeast drink! It was not very nice!

The next day we finally got to explore Moscow and our first stop had to be the Kremlin. We went into the Armoury where they have an exhibition of treasures that were collected by the Russian church which included some beautiful eggs created by Faberge, state carriages and royal ceremonial clothes.

We wandered down to Sobornaya pl (Cathedral Square) and visited the number of palaces and churches there - Patriarch's Palace, Assumption Cathedral, Church of the Disposition of the Robe and Archangel's Cathedral as well as the Ivan the Great Bell Tower. All of the buildings were topped were gold domes and shone brightly in the sunshine.

We then walked over to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and caught the changing of the guard. After a 'business lunch' which included a first course of beetroot salad before taking a tour around the city, admiring the many churches and buildings.

We arrived back at Red Square and went to see St Basil's Cathedral. It is the most bizarre religious building that I have seen and used almost every colour imaginable on its turrets. Inside, there were fresco's on the walls which were beautiful. It also had a great view of Red Square.

We then went to a market before heading into the Vodka Museum and learnt about the history of vodka and how it is made. They also had some unusual designed bottles, such as a Kalashnikov rifle shaped one! We also had some complimentary vodka!

The next day, we went and saw Lenin's Mausoleum in Red Square. We were not allowed to stop inside and even walking slowly meant that we were shouted at by guards with guns! It is safe to say that Lenin was not looking his best!

That afternoon, we went to the Central Museum of the Revolution which documented the Russian Revolutions of the early 20th century and its involvement in World War Two. It was fascinating and even included some propaganda posters of the time.

We walked up to the university and to a view point which laid out the whole city in front of us. We had fun trying to spot the sights! On the way back, we stopped at several Metro stations as they are beautifully decorated and very ornate! We also popped into a shop that had a beautifully decorated ceiling.

That night, we went back to Red Square to see it all lit up. It was beautiful. We headed over to the train station and caught the 12:30am overnight train to our final destination, St Petersburg!

3 Nights on a Train!

After leaving Lake Baikal on the 30th August, our trip took us on a 3 night train journey to Moscow. To pass the time, we did quizzes (each writing 5 questions & not allowed to answer them when they came up) and other various time-passing children's games!

We also had the slight problem of not having access to a shower so Georgina, Jo, Lee Ann and I creatively used a bucket (called Hyacinth) and a little jug (called Richard!) and washed our hair in the cabin. It proved quite hilarious!

Finally, we arrived into Moscow on the evening of the 2nd September and were met by honcho Anastasia.