A quick stop
We didn’t have a lot of time in the shop this visit. After a quick look around I had an even quicker small drink of the complimentary vodka by the door along with several cups of iced water.
We did have one unscheduled stop which was at the only covered market left in St Petersburg.
It seems that over time all the other markets had closed. This remaining one in the student area of the city.
Next to it we briefly went into the other market place that had now been converted into cafés. This was full of students and was buzzing even on a Sunday afternoon.
On the way to the cruise terminal we filled in feedback forms for our two days on the TJ travel tour.
Best Sellers in Electronics & Photo
At the cruise terminal
Back at the cruise terminal there were no queues and we said our goodbyes and thanks to Svetlana and Valeri.
Outside the building I smiled to see a new sign that told passengers that they were allowed to bring plastic water bottles through and not to dump them outside. Our last pass through Russian Immigration was quick and easy and we then joined the queue to get back on board.
There were no crew members serving hot chocolate and we had to queue for quite a long time as the security checks were taking even longer than usual.
Leaving St Petersburg
We listened to the Captain explain that Explorer would be the fourth ship to leave the terminal and would be leaving much later than scheduled.
My plan to end the day had been to stay on the balcony and take pictures of the Russian naval base as Explorer reached the surge barriers. Linda had by now gone ahead for a drink to the R bar with our friends. I stuck it out on the balcony hoping that Explorer would soon be passing the naval base before our scheduled time for dinner.
I watched the two cruise ships ahead of Explorer navigating the narrow channel and as the first one in line reached the barrier I realised that the choice was to skip dinner or to wait perhaps another 45 minutes or more to take my pictures.
Having dinner won and I abandoned the balcony and headed down to the Sapphire restaurant. I had had my first glass of wine before the others came for dinner from the R bar. My starter was the American prawn cocktail again, then an extra one of scallops, a New York strip steak with chips and some ham mash potatoes mysteriously on the plate and for dessert a small portion of the key lime pie.
After our busy two days we all agreed that an early night was needed.
