Well, it’s another beautiful day! My, two in a row, aren’t we lucky we are going to the Peterhof Palace today! Peterhof is a series of palaces and gardens located in Peterhof, Russia, close to St Petersburg. It was built by Peter the Great after visiting the Palace of Versailles in France, in 1717.  It was originally intended to be a country home, not a palace, but it just expanded and expanded, into what it is today……….the tourists’ call it the “Russian Versailles.”

Let’s take a stroll through the lower gardens. As you can see, the palace sits up on a bluff overlooking all the gardens. The domed building in the photo is the Ticket Center! We are in for a treat today!

Aren’t the flowers lovely?

A close up of the Ticket Center……….

and one of the extending buildings…….

and more……Peterhof is rather small on the scale of palaces……..only 30 rooms…..but big ones……….

Getting a look from the Lower Garden…….

and the tree line………… one long and giant hedge row!

Let’s go in……….first the Ballroom………

Here is the fire screen, as it is now and in the old photo, how the room looked in the past.

I had to get some floor photos!

and some wall photos………

and a door or two…………..The Blue Room was beautiful………I especially liked all those candle sconces on the wall trim. Imagine lighting all those candles in the old days!  How beautiful that room would be, all in candlelight! And it would show off the paintings!

Look at these color combinations! That shade of green seemed to be a favorite in many of the palaces!

I was surprised how small the throne was………the huge room and pictures make it look tiny in comparison!

and never forget to look up too……

and out the windows to get a view of the gardens.

I think this room has plenty of gold, don’t you?

and I looked at all the detail work in the table and the figurines………….

My favorite part of any home is the dining room and what I call the ‘Plate Rooms.” I loved all the white, with a touch of green in this room.

There was also a Second Throne Room, saved one from  walking so far to the other one, I guess. I like this one better, more personal space, bigger throne.

The tall white ceramic piece in the corner is a heater. It is a piece of art to compliment the room.

This was one of my favorite rooms, The Room of the Portraits of the Ladies in Waiting! Now, if they could only speak!

On to the Music Room……

and more really fancy rooms……….that wallpaper is a charm!

The combinations of color, texture and gold are just unbelievable in all the rooms…….One after another………..

This is what is called, a “Standard Room.” For style and color, this was one of my favorite silk wallpapers …….

and then some folks might prefer the Red Room, with it’s unique heater………

I don’t know, I like the Grey Room as well………

Ahhhh! It’s the “Plate Room”! I knew there would be one! I want to spend days in this room!

Taking every piece in!

But, I must move on to the “Yellow Room.”

Seeing the Crown Bedroom, the bed is rather small……..but this room is elaborately decorated……small chamber to keep it warm, I suspect.

Leaving the Palace, we can see the characters, that roam the gardens. My, just like Disney World!

and one more glance back at that magnificent palace……

This concludes our four days in St Petersburg. It was a contrast of the old, with all it’s charm, opulence and glory of the past, to the modern Russia, making it’s way in the 21st century. They are doing a lot of hard work to maintain their heritage and build the future. I am so glad I got to see it and take so many photos there!  I hope it encourages others to travel to Russia. You won’t be disappointed! Well, we’re off again tonight! See you in Helsinki!