Have you ever had this romanticized idealized version of what something should look like in your head and then seen what you were picturing and are totally disappointed? This has happened to me so many times, but today I got the opposite end of that concept. Today I saw the picture in my head, exactly as I imagined it and it was completely overwhelming….. We basically had a free day today as our train to St Petersburg did not leave until 11pm. I decided...

We had a bit of time to relax thins morning as our Kremlin tour with the guide did not start until 11am. We were supposed to meet the guide at 10am, and Sara sent me to the other hotel reception to meet her. I didn't know what she looked like so this proved a little difficult….trying to suss out random Russians. The guide did not make an appearance until about 11am so I spent about forty minutes thinking I must have missed her. We followed the guide down ...

We got up reasonably early this morning to take our group on their orientation walk. We walked them up to the metro and got out at the church of our savior, with its beautiful gold onion domes. We pointed out Arbats street with all its funky cafes and then walked up behind the church and across the river. From the bridge we could see amazing views of the Kremlin and a huge statue of Peter the Great. We then went to have a look at one of the big art galleries, ...

This was officially day one of my first day of training on a tour with Tucan. Sara and I went down to breakfast at about 8am to see if we could locate anyone who may have checked in early. We managed to locate three guests and have our breakfast. I had goulash, pancakes and chocolate cake….awesome combo I know. Sara then set about orienting me with the metro and the city. We went to the church of Christ our Savior, which had brilliant golden turrets, th...

I got up at 3:45am this morning which was exceptionally brutal for me. I got the airport hoppa bus to Heathrow, which was much cheaper than yesterdays cab ride. I got to the airport and dropped my bag off and then waited around to get on my flight. The flight was uneventful and I landed in Stockholm on time. I had to go through passport control, even though I was transiting and not collecting my bag. I had something to eat (don't ask me what, because I sti...