I decided to sleep a bit more and woke up before breakfast ended. Went to check the conference for a bit and later I decided to walk around the city with my mom.
We walked straight to the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood. It was not my first time in St. Petersburg, but we loved this church so much that we decided to visit it again. This Church was built on the site where Emperor Alexander II was fatally wounded in March 1881. That’s why it’s called The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, also known as the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ. The church was built between 1883 and 1907. The construction was funded by the imperial family.
After we walked a bit by the Griboyedov Canal and headed to the State Russian Museum, which is 2 minutes away from the Church.
It is the largest depository of Russian fine art in Saint Petersburg. It is also one of the largest museums in the country. The museum was established on April 13, 1895, upon enthronement of Nicholas II to commemorate his father, Alexander III. Its original collection was composed of artworks taken from the Hermitage Museum, Alexander Palace, and the Imperial Academy of Arts.
The main building of the museum is the Mikhailovsky Palace, a splendid Neoclassical residence of Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich, erected in 1819-25 to a design by Carlo Rossi on Square of Arts in St. Petersburg. Upon the death of the Grand Duke the residence was named after his wife as the Palace of the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna, and became famous for its many theatrical presentations and balls.
We walked a bit around the Museum and there was also a Kandinsky exhibition going on. The exhibition is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the artist comprising his graphic and painterly works alongside with the pieces by his prominent contemporaries. The exposition also included examples of traditional Russian folk art that largely influenced the stylistic and ideological principles of Wassily Kandinsky’s art.
After the museum we stopped by 2 places. The famous book store called Singer and this famous sweet / food store called Yeliseev Food Hall. Two beautiful places that you must stop by if you visit St. Petersburg.
After that, we headed back to the Hotel for the Gala Dinner. It was a fun night. Everyone was drinking and dancing, specially the Russians. I was surprised with how good they can dance. Very happy and fun people.
And that was the last night in St. Petersburg. The next day we headed to Paris to visit some cousins. Will always be happy to go back to Russia.
Cristianna Saldanha 
