So… I am so not a museum kind of person but everybody I met highly recommended the Hermitage saying it is the louvre of Russia so I gave in and checked it out… three times!

The museum is so big! One can definitely get lost (and will) in the many rooms and buildings this museum has to offer.

The day I arrived I rested for a little bit and then went for a walk and ended up in front of the Hermitage Museum and it turned out that it was the day that it stayed open until 9pm so I decided to go in. The line to get a ticket took me almost an hour and a half but one could get a ticket at a machine and skip the line but I had a plan… a tricky plan… since Russians do not really read spanish and my ID from El Salvador states I am a “estudiante” (student) I wanted to see if I could get in as a student… and I did! So I saved $18. 

I have mixed feelings about lying about my status because one should always be truthful. It made me think of my time in Anuradhapura but feel like it is a very different scenario; that time I was being pushed to be sneaky and get in without paying when I knew I had to pay. This time I just took advantage of a status because after all I’m a student of the world!!!

After getting through the line, going to the info desk to get my “student ID” checked out, getting a ticket, going to the locker room to leave everything except my camera, and passing through security I was finally inside the famous Hermitage museum.

As I entered the museum I was impressed by the beautiful staircase leading to the first floor of the museum.

The whole place used to be the winter palace of the royalty so as you walk along the rooms of the Hermitage you are not only walking a museum but also a former palace and all its luxury!




I had no clue what to see but soon enough I figured out which pieces were worth seeing, those where the 75 tourists from one group were taking photos and selfies:

Apparently a very famous life size golden clock with a peacock and other animals.

I moved from room to room checking out not only the paintings hanging on the walls or the items being displayed in glass boxes but also the beautiful tiles, wallpapers, wall paintings, roofs, gardens, and the views to the outside from the many windows of the palace… and I shouldn’t forget the chandeliers… they were lovely!

The view from the palace into the courtyard and the outside of the palace was one of my favorite:

The courtyard

View of the river from the winter palace

View from the winter palace into the general staff building

It was so easy to get lost in the hermitage even with a map in hand. In every room there was an old lady sitting on a chair that you might not want to ask for help because none of them speak english! But, every room has a number on top of the door that matches the number in the map, the tricky part is that many times some rooms are closed and that’s the only way through so you pretty much have to walk hundreds of meters and backtrack to get out of the museum.

The first day I did the winter palace part of the museum and then I went back twice to do the more modern part of the museum, the general staff buildings; which by the way has its own entrance with no queues! The day before I could have gotten my ticket here and not wait for an hour and a half in line! Oh well, you learn something new every day!

I went there twice and really enjoyed the museum, way more than the winter palace part. The general staff building has more of my style of artists, I got lost between all the Van Gogh, Gauguin, Monet, Kandinsky, and Matisse.

Grand entrance to the modern museum.

Van gogh's

Matisse

and more Henri Matisse

Admiring Picasso's work

I love fabergé (the Tiffany of Russia) but I was a little disappointed on the collection at the Hermitage and sadly didn't have time to go to the Fabergé museum in town.







The general staff building not only had amazing modern art but also very beautiful rooms as well and great view into the winter palace.

What an amazing library!

There was so much beauty around me but the one part of the museum that stole my heart was the Manolo Blahnik exposition. As a former shoe lover (now my choice of footwear are: flip flops, sandals, or hiking shoes!) I enjoyed every single shoe, sketch, and Manolo's story! (Plus, I felt like walking in Carrie Bradshaw's closet!)

The making of a Manolo shoe!

Look how beautiful the sketches and the shoes are!


 These are all very wild shoes inspired by foliage and flowers:

So pretty!

These were designed for Rihanna, you can get your own for $4350!

So cute! I want pom pom heels!

 The Africa inspired collection

Funny looking heels! Good luck walking straight!

As a non lover of museums I can highly recommend to check out the Hermitage when in St. Petersburg! I loved it, especially the modern part!

PETERGOF

An hour or so from St. Petersburg there is Petergof, the world famous park with way too many fountains created by Peter the great, also known as the Russian Versailles.

The journey to Petergof took me at least an hour and a half from the touristy part of St. Petersburg. I had to take the metro to Avtovo station and then change to a bus that took 40 minutes or so to the door of Petergof. In reality it took me like 2 hours since I got the bus on the wrong direction and the mean old Russian lady wouldn't let me (and a couple) get off the bus, instead she made us stay in the bus, pay for the fare until the end of the line and pay for a full ticket for the way back.

To be honest this Petergof park/ fountain thingy was a little bit too much. You know one ginormous fountain is ok and actually pretty but then you put one hundred more all around and it gets to be a little bit too much.

The entrance to Petegof is super beautiful with green gardens, fountains and the palace in the background.



The entrance is just a taste, then you have to go and buy an entrance for like $8 to see "the fountain"... the one you see in all the books and pamphlets. If you also wish to visit the palace or some other building you also have to buy a separate entrance for about $7 each, I decided to skip them all except the fountain park.

First glance at the park

The main fountain

I somehow always find a wedding photo shoot!

The main fountain was impressive, very beautiful with lots of water and golden statues, and the palace in the background made it look so majestic but the rest was very average. I walked along the paths between the trees and kept finding new fountains, I felt like I was at the water park of Disneyland.

Super crowded

I made sure to stop and smelled the roses!

 In order to get to Petergof you can also go by hydrofoil for about 1,300 roubles- $22- roundtrip (it cost me 260 roubles- $4.5- roundtrip by metro and bus, including the double bus fare mistake!)

I call these ones the puking Gremlins!

 If I were to come back to St Petersburg I would most definitely skip Petergof; I didn't feel it was worth the trip and definitely not comparable with Versailles!