In 1769 an elderly Italian gentleman, "homesick" for Russia,
returned to St Petersburg to look at the buildings which reminded him of his
youth.
He was Bartolomeo Francesco Rastrelli and, as the imperial architect, he had
designed many of them.
The Winter Palace, the Catherine Palace, the Smolny Cathedral and the Stroganov
Palace all bear his unique baroque style.
White nights in old medieval Tallin. (Photo)
Strolling along the meticulously kept cobblestoned streets of
Tallinn's medieval old town, you just may forget there is huge, looming entity
called Russia to the east. You will be even harder pressed to remember that
these two lands were not long ago joined together under the same crushing
Soviet yoke.
FOOD
RESTAURANT REVIEW: Taste of Armenia
A pleasant place to eat and not too fancy is the Armenian restaurant Krunk hidden away in a basement on a side street.
About town
British pub The Dog and Fox, which burst onto the St Petersburg watering hole scene last month, has started up Sunday live entertainment.
