About Me

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Recent retiree--35 year's experience teaching reading, English, adult basic education and volunteer leadership skills. Started this blog to exchange ideas and commentary with friends and others having an interest in joining the discussions. Greatest life accomplishments include: 1.organized my 3rd grade class to check out library books for me to get around librarian's weekly limit--Amazon.com, the Mullins Elementary 3rd Grade Class of 1956 is still waiting for "thank you" notes; 2. volunteered in the Peace Corps, island of St. Kitts, West Indies; 3.taught adults to read, earn their GEDs., and speak English as a second language; 4. bought a border collie puppy for $6, got evicted rather than give him up, and began a life-long love affair with all things "Dog"; 5. joined a physical fitness boot camp in my mid-50s--don't mess with someone who's been doing regulation pushups in wet grass at 5:30 a.m.; 6. walked across Northern England with best friend Sally--over 80 miles from the Irish to North Seas; and 7. travelled to many foreign countries for pleasure and work.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Back in Russia - Macros, Barns, Water, & Fences at Peterhof Park


First sighting of Russia's iconic onion domes for the Cathedral on the Spilled Blood, Moska Canal tour of St. Petersburg, September 2012

Here in January I don't have many interesting photos to share--except Chet and the cardinals, who are in danger of overexposure--so thought would take you back to Russia.  I was fortunate to make a trip of a lifetime in September 2012, on a  rivers and lakes cruise from St. Petersburg to Moscow.  With a little poetic license, I think my photos will fit with the weekly memes in which I usually participate:


The only hitch is that you need just a bit of background of the location for the post to make sense.  But, I don't want to repeat myself every day for the different memes, so I'm just doing this one big honking post and you can either just scroll through to the subject that you're interested in--macros, barns, water, fences--or, even better, look at the whole thing!  I'll try to be restrained with the number of photos used.

Peterhof Park

Located 19 miles west of St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea's Gulf of Finland, Peter the Great built a palace and gardens "befitting the highest of monarchs" to commemorate his victory over Sweden in 1709.  Peter must have been pretty full of himself because he wanted this palace to rival the great palaces and grounds of Europe.  Apparently he was successful because Peterhof is now known as the "Russian Versailles" for it's gilded statuary, fountains, cascades, ornate palaces, English and French gardens.

Come along with me for a tour of this example of over-the-top opulence.  To get to Peterhof, we hopped on a hydrofoil from a main street in St. Petersburg.  A hydrofoil is a boat equipped with bottom fins so that the boat "skips" over the choppy waters at high speeds.  We traveled the Gulf of Finland in record time (just in time to eat a boxed lunch).  Here we disembarked from the hydrofoil--you can see them in the background and that's a lighthouse to the right of the landing dock:


The centerpiece of Peterhof is the quarter mile Sea Channel, a narrow waterway that originates with the cascades and fountains in front of Peterhof Palace and allows the water to run to the Gulf of Finland.  Visitors most want to see Peterhof when all the fountains and cascades are operating--otherwise, disappointing.  Here we're walking along the Sea Channel toward the Palace:  


In the third photo above you have what's called the Grand Cascade, a complex network of statues, cascades and fountains.  Below this feathered fellow was just being friendly along the Sea Channel as we walked to the Palace:


This is an  upper level view of Peter's Palace with closeups of the gilded domes on each wing of the palace:


These photos were shot from in front of the Palace on the checker-board landing steps and give a view of the Grand Cascade and fountains, including the Samson Fountain in the center, and the Sea Channel to the Gulf of Finland.  In the last photo you see smaller summerhouses on either side of the Samson Fountain.


Moving back out into the park, I captured a wedding party in front of Monplasir  ("my pleasure", I think) Palace overlooking the Gulf of Finland.  Peter the Great is said to have used this place for wild drinking parties.  As well, his naval office was here so he could monitor ships in the gulf:


Behind Monplasir there were many gardens like this one laid out in the French style with sculpted beds. Notice the small urn/statue fountain:

 

And here's my entry for Barn Charm.  Hopefully this fanciful aviary will qualify with its pleasing geometric designed fence. (Tricia, you did bend the Barn Charm rules to include any barn or farmish outbuilding?Birdhouse do?)

 

And then the fountains!  So many of them--with names like Neptune, Adam, Eve, Roman--I'll just show a few, including a playful gangley tree that gets people wet when they step close:




And finally, some formal white fences leading up to Peter's Palace with views of more French style gardens below:

My goodness!  You're still reading?  Thanks!  I'll keep this post up all week and enter it in the different memes on their respective days.  Now I can just enjoy coming around to visit you.

29 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

the gardens and fountains are impressive. i like that aviary, too!

Elizabeth Edwards said...

wow, those views are amazing. can't pick a favorite. breathtaking indeed. ( :

Brian King said...

What a beautiful place! These are gorgeous photos!

Grandma Barb's This and That said...

Thanks for taking us along on your trip to Russia. It's a place I will never see in person, so really enjoyed your beautiful photos!

Jan n Jer said...

simply stunning Faye!

Kateri said...

thanks for the tour! What a beautiful place!

AmitAag said...

A lovely, great post indeed, Faye!
Thank you for your visit and comment on my blog:)
-your latest follower

Leovi said...

Great pictures, nice story, beautiful places, beauty ...

SeaThreePeeO said...

Really beautiful pictures!

Herding Cats

Dianne said...

The architecture is really quite unique and I love all those beautiful water fountains and cascades ..... a joy to my eyes.

"Adelaide and Beyond"

NatureFootstep said...

what a wonderful place to visit. Maybe I have to rethink my idéas of Russia.

Gattina said...

You lucky girl ! How beautiful. I want to do the same trip once and visit St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Unknown said...

Wow those fountains are elaborate and beautiful! Russia and Albania were back in the days that we traveled Eastern Europe off limits, because it would take us a year wait to get a visa for Moscow! And Albany was even more unattainable. so, I'm enjoying this through your eyes! Thanks for visiting my blog:)

Latane Barton said...

Tried emailing you and it did not go through... something wrong with my setup. So, I just wanted to let you know (from your comment on my barn charm post) that making the mosiacs are so easy. Go to http://www.picmonkey.com On main page click on Make Collage and it pretty much walks you through the process. If I can do it... anyone can. Good luck.

Gemma Wiseman said...

Magnificent fountains leading to the palace! Incredible views of water in action! And adore those Russian domes!

Elaine said...

Gorgeous place! Definitely a trip of a lifetime!

As to visiting Alaska, I left an answer in the comments section of my Icy Water post. The short answer, it all depends on what you want to see. Summer and winter are so different it's like visiting two different places.

eileeninmd said...

Wow, gorgeous photos! What an beautiful place to visit. I love all the fountains and beautiful views. Thanks for sharing, have a great day!

Mina fotostunder said...

Tack för kommentar hos mig!
Vilka underbara bilder du visar från ett fantastiskt vackert land!
Ha en fin dag!

Anonymous said...

WoWoWeee That was one awesome post! The sights are beautiful & I'm lovin all the water! The birdhouse isn't exactly what I had in mind for Barn Charm, but it's ok this week! I'm not complaining! LoL!

Thank you very much for joining both Barn Charm & Watery Wednesday =)

Sally in WA said...

Oh wow! I am in awe. I want to go there.

Saun said...

Gorgeous! I'm with Sally I want to go there too.

Liz Needle said...

Thanks for sharing photos. They are amazing. I do envy you the chance to travel to such an beautiful place

Judy said...

Wow, that is a beautiful place! I love the fountains.

Jani said...

I was in St Petersburg (at the time Leningrad) and Moscow in 1966. It was quite a different time, but the palace was beautiful!Lovely photos!

Tanya Breese said...

the architecture there is just amazing isn't it?! wow!!

A Colorful World said...

I enjoyed this tour VERY much! What a fabulous palace and surrounds, especially with all those fountains! I have always been interested in Russian history. What a wonderful trip it must have been! I remember some of your other posts.

Carletta said...

Thanks for taking us along - what a wonderful experience for you!
I love that first shot - it's just magical for me! :)

Nature in the Burbs said...

Wow, what a beautiful place. Thanks for sharing.

carpetcleaningsydney said...

Wow, Those views are amazing.The gardens and fountains are impressive.

White Fences