RECOMMENDED BY
Cultural History Tour
Moscow & St. Petersburg
This tour presented a great opportunity for the students to explore Russia history and culture by visiting the two cities which have been the main political and cultural centers for centuries. The tour was led by Russian-speaking History Masters Cara Hyson and Tim Doyle.
The group enjoyed a private visit with the American ambassador where they could learn first-hand about Foreign Service and discuss the current state of Russia-U.S. relations. A visit to the local school was arranged in St. Petersburg. The students enjoyed the opportunity to meet Russian students, attend classes and have lunch in the school cafeteria.
The cultural program included opera at the Bolshoi Theater, backstage Moscow Circus tour and performance, folklore show at the Nikolayevskiy Palace, “Anna Karenina” ballet at the Mariinsky Theater, men’s choir performance at the Philharmonic Concert Hall and hockey game in one of the main hockey arenas in St. Petersburg.
DAY-BY-DAY SCHEDULE:
MARCH 4, 2011
7:05PM AEROFLOT FLIGHT #316 LEAVES JFK @ 7:05PM AND ARRIVES IN MOSCOW @ 12:25PM NEXT DAY
MARCH 5, 2011
12:25 PICK UP AT THE AIRPORT AND TRANSFER TO THE HOTEL
WELCOME BOARD “LAWRENCEVILLE SCHOOL”
14:00-15:00 LUNCH AT THE HOTEL
20:00 DINNER AT THE HOTEL
21:00-23:00 MOSCOW BY NIGHT CITY TOUR
MARCH 6, 2011
09:00-13:00 TOUR OF RED SQUARE, KREMLIN AND ARMORY
13:00-16:00 FREE TIME WITH CHAPERONES
16:00 LEAVE HOTEL FOR MOSCOW CIRCUS
17:00-18:00 CIRCUS BACKSTAGE TOUR
18:00-20:00 CIRCUS PERFORMANCE
20:30-21:30 DINNER AT “ALISHAN” RESTAURANT
22:00 RETURN TO THE HOTEL
MARCH 7, 2011
09:00-16:00 TOUR TO SERGIEV POSAD
12:00 LUNCH AT THE “POSADSKY” RESTAURANT
16:00 RETURN TO THE HOTEL
19:30 LEAVE HOTEL FOR DINNER AND PERFORMANCE
20:30 DINNER AND FOLK PERFORMANCE AT “GODUNOV” RESTAURANT
23:00 RETURN TO THE HOTEL
MARCH 8, 2011
12:00 TRETYAKOV GALLERY
15:00 MOSCOW METRO TOUR
16:00 DINNER AT THE LOCAL RESTAURANT
17:30 TRANSFER TO THE AIRPORT
21:05 FLIGHT TO ST. PETERSBURG (SU #861 LEAVES MOSCOW @ 9:05PM AND ARRIVES IN ST. PETERSBURG @ 10:25PM)
22:25 ARRIVE IN ST. PETERSBURG, TRANSFER TO THE HOTEL
MARCH 9, 2011
09:00-12:00 CITY TOUR WITH AURORA CRUISER
12:00 LUNCH AT “STOLLE”
14:00-16:30 YUSUPOV PALACE WITH GREGORY RASPUTIN CELLARS
17:00 DINNER AT “TCHAIKOVSKY” RESTAURANT
19:30 RETURN TO THE HOTEL
MARCH 10, 2011
09:00-12:00 VISIT LOCAL SCHOOL WITH LUNCH
13:00 TOUR TO ST. ISAAC CATHEDRAL AND PETER-AND-PAUL FORTHRESS
17:00 DINNER AT “SANKT-PETERSBURG” RESTAURANT
19:00 MARIINSKY CONCERT HALL "SVIRIDOV MEN CHOIR"
22:00 RETURN TO THE HOTEL
MARCH 11, 2011
09:00-14:00 TOUR TO PUSHKIN WITH CATHERINE PALACE AND AMBER ROOM
13:00 LUNCH AT THE “RUSSKIY CHAI” RESTAURANT
14:00 ST. PETERSBURG SIEGE MEMORIAL
15:30 RUSSIAN MUSEUM
18:30 RETURN TO THE HOTEL. HOCKEY GAME AFTER DINNER
MARCH 12, 2011
10:00-14:00 HERMITAGE TOUR
14:00-16:00 FREE TIME WITH CHAPERONES
16:00 LEAVE HOTEL FOR DINNER AND PERFORMANCE
17:00 DINNER AT THE “POLOVTSEV” RESTAURANT
19:00 “ANNA KARENINA” BALLET AT THE MARIINSKY THEATER (“SWAN LAKE” WAS CANCELLED)
23:00 RETURN TO THE HOTEL
MARCH 13, 2011
07:00 TRANSFER TO THE AIRPORT
10:00 AEROFLOT #824 LEAVES ST. PETERSBURG @ 11:15AM AND ARRIVES IN MOSCOW @ 12:30PM
TRIP DETAILS AT-A-GLANCE
Duration:
10 days / 9 nights
Dates:
March 4-13, 2011
Includes:
3 nights in Moscow
5 nights in St. Petersburg
Overnight train Moscow - St. Petersburg
Daily Breakfast
Sightseeing Tours by motorcoach
All admission fees
English speaking guide
Airport/train/hotel transfers
Tax and Service Charges
Highlights:
Moscow City Tour
Novodevichiy Monastery
Red Square and Kremlin
Metro Tour
Tretyakov Gallery
Tour to Sergiev Posad
Trinity Lavra and Cathedrals
City Tour of St. Petersburg
Spilled Blood Churh (outside)
Peter and Paul Fortress
St. Isaac's Cathedral
Hermitage Tour
Pushkin Museum
Yusupov Palace
Grigoriy Rasputin Cellars
Tour to Pushkin
Catherine Palace and Amber Room
Tour to Petergoff
Hi Dora,
I'm at Sheremetyevo waiting for my flight back to New York. We left Masha Ganina in St. Petersburg yesterday, and she asked me to give you details of our stay there. I'll put together a full report when I get home. For now, let me just say that Masha was wonderful as always. She arranged for us to visit School 207 just a few blocks from our hotel and close to Nevsky, and that went very well. The kids we met there were younger than my group, but that turned out to be a plus. The fifth and sixth graders wanted to show off their English to our students, and they were prepared with questions and presentations about their city and country in English. Our students were delighted to be in the role of older brothers and sisters to them, and we had lunch in the school cafeteria afterward.
The hockey game was a great success, especially because our kids were getting a little weary of museums and wanted some excitement and noise. St. Petersburg SKA lost to a team called Atlant (from Moscow Oblast, I think), but the crowd was enthusiastic and well behaved. (You can't eat or drink anything in the stands at Russian hockey games, and they'll even stop you from bringing in a candy bar, so that seems to keep people from being too rowdy.) There were also a lot of women in the audience, which surprised me, and the stadium camera projected couples on the jumbo display during breaks and instructed them to potselovat' as everyone cheered.
More later, but thank you again for putting together a great trip and reuniting us with Olga Kareva and Masha again.
Best, Tim
