travelswithalice

August 20, 2018

St. Petersburg

We’re at Kempinsky Moika22, a short walk across a small bridge to the fabulous Hermitage’s General Staff Quarters.

This is really what I came back to St Petersburg for. This and the Mariinsky, which was closed when we came two years ago.

So, first stop: the State Academic Mariinsky Theatre for Le Corsaire. And perhaps more importantly, for the fabled theatre itself.

After the ballet, we caught bus #3 right outside the Mariinsky for dinner at cozy homey restaurant TEPLO.

After dinner, the same bus took us back to Kempinski via a walk through Palace Square. Brilliant!

And so, to the General Staff Building of the Hermitage for the Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, and all the rest of the incredible treasures that for too long had been hidden from view...

An excess of beauty, an overdose of favourites: always and ever, Mommy’s (and Monet’s) poppies. Matisse’s layered interior, Cezanne’s still life, and Degas’s Place de la Concorde which had been considered lost for four decades after WWII.

I loved this Ball Scene by Edmond Lempereur. But who is this Edmond Lempereur?

On the rooftop of the Kempinski is a lovely restaurant, Bellevue, with fabulous food and incredible views.

The Bellevue’s Konstantin told us about a little-known, seldom-visited museum in his neighbourhood: the fascinating, well-curated Museum of Political History of Russia.

A definite highlight of the week was a hastily planned meet up with STC best friend Marilou and her lovely family. After a longish snack and chitchat at the Hermitage cafe, we braved the hot, thick crowds barrelling through the length and breadth of the incredible museum’s five fabulous palaces.

On this, my second visit to the Hermitage, I am bowled over by the near-manic fascination engendered by this truly remarkable embarrassment of wealth. I appreciate the historical significance of it all but for me, this display of mind-numbing acquisitiveness still defies comprehension.

Labels: Hermitage, Russia, St Petersburg

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # August 20, 2018

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