From Linda Garrison,
Your Guide to Cruises.
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After touring the inside of Catherine's Palace and strolling through the gardens, we met up with our driver for the trip back to St. Petersburg. Alla suggested that we eat a late lunch at her favorite St. Petersburg "fast food" restaurant--Teaspoon. This deli-type restaurant featured all sorts of delicious blini sandwiches and cold meat salads, and was filled with locals. We ate our lunch, used the clean restrooms, and walked along Nevsky Prospect, St. Petersburg's main street, for several blocks, admiring the interesting architecture as we strolled.

The large building in this photo is St. Petersburg's largest department store--Gostiny Dvor. This popular two-story shopping center covers a whole city block. Gostiny Dvor was built between 1761 and 1785 and was one of the world's first shopping malls. Originally the store consisted of over 175 separate shops, but today it is just one large store.

Alla pointed our many fascinating sights such as this one that we would have missed just driving by on a bus. It was truly a memorable day in St. Petersburg and at Catherine's Palace for my mother and I.

St. Petersburg Photo Gallery -- 69 more photos of St. Petersburg

Peterhof Photo Gallery -- Peter the Great's Exquisite Summer Palace