Russia was actually our first trip as a family of 5.  The little one was the size of a mango in my belly then. I distinctly remember how we all wanted to pursue the 12-14day Scandinavian and Russian Tour but decided to play it safe because of my condition. Despite my unwavering “RA RA” spirit, my pregnancy was no longer as easy as it was before – considering our recent miscarriage.  Diagnosed with GD by my 5th month was a hassle.  I had to prick myself 4x a day while on tour and watch my diet 😦  My nieces and nephews would cringe at the sight of the needle as I would reluctantly pierce my finger. The upside on the diet though was that we were served cabbage – their staple vegetable – most of the time.  Thank God Kristiana stuck it out.  In hindsight, I credit her cheerful yet tough disposition to my trying but amazing Russian experience.

The tour by insightvacations was an arduous one as we had to cover as much of St. Petersburg and Moscow within 6 full days.  As first timers to this place, it was definitely worth taking the tour to efficiently plan and maximise our time there.  No language barriers, time lapses – deciding how to get from point A to point B, food dilemmas and most of all – safety.  It was also fun travelling with new friends from Manila – to this day we remain in touch through FB and have discovered common interests along the way.

The days were full and rest was limited while in transit.  Although at a Glance, Russia was indeed a sight to behold.  The places we had the privilege to visit were of grandeur that were fictitious to us before.  Remnants of luxuries, ordinary during their times inspired us to revisit stories of vast – strong empires.  Everything we saw was precious just like the delicate faberge eggs and matryoshka dolls we collected during our souvenir dashes.

Russia was enchanting.  It was full of discoveries and memorable impressions.  The tour as attached below, was a good sampler of what one could further explore and a confidence boost if one were to plan a personal itinerary.  My wish list would be to pattern this journey next time: http://www.trans-siberian.co.uk/package/classic-super-trans-sib-beijing-to-stpetersburg/