Tsarskoe Selo

We're back to the Russian royals -- the Romanovs!

Tsarskoe Selo is about ten miles outside of St. Petersburg and is the location of two amazing palaces.  The Catherine Palace was the summer home of many royal families, and the Alexander Palace (only a half mile from the Catherine Palace) is known for being the home of the last Romanovs.

The back of the Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg

The Alexander Palace in St. Petersburg

It was easy to spend a full day wandering around the palaces and surrounding gardens.  The Catherine Palace is much more famous than the Alexander Palace, which meant that we had to battle with hundreds of other tourists and tour groups to view of some of the rooms.  But when we could finally get a peek, it was well worth the effort!

The Green Room at the Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg

The Alexander Palace is less impressive (and also much less crowded), but I was really excited to see it after reading two books about the Romanovs.  It lived up to my expectations!  Where some rooms in the Catherine Palace were empty and let the walls do the talking impressing, all of the rooms in Alexander Palace were fully furnished.  This made it easier to imagine what it might have been like to live there.

David was impressed by this tiger-skin rug in one of the state rooms of the Alexander Palace

This billiards room was our favorite in the Alexander Palace.  David was ready to move in!

We finished our day a nice long walk in the expansive gardens and a little goofing off!

Sara with a statue in the gardens of Catherine's Palace -- no statues were harmed in the making of this picture!

~Sara