29 November – 1 December

An icy blast as we boarded the airport bus in Moscow’s Domodedovo International Airport gave the first hint of what we had let ourselves in for. The second came as we watched the de-icing machine spray the wings of our plane to St Petersburg. The final indicator was the frozen canal viewed from our hotel window.

It was all a world away from the lingering summer in Abu Dhabi, but with multiple thermal layers, salopettes, ski jackets, hats, gloves and boots, we set off to explore this fabulous open-air museum.

Crisp, clear blue skies on our arrival provided a few hours of late afternoon sun and perfect views of the ice-packed Neva River, the Winter Palace and the graphically named Church of Our Saviour on Spilled Blood (the church was built on the site where Emperor Alexander II was fatally wounded in 1881).

Our second day brought overcast skies and snow – blizzard conditions at times. Turning back was never an option as we took a circular route through the Summer Garden!, across Zayachy (hare) Island, home to the Peter and Paul Cathedral, past the Bronze Horseman and finally into the Hermitage Museum. Sad to say that by this stage we were ready to sit down and the bewildering array of guided tours (mostly in Russian) proved too much. We headed off to Jamie Olivers Italian restaurant without experiencing the cultural treasures on display – the pizza was good!

As is often the case, Nigel was walking the streets before the city wakes, armed with camera and tripod.