ST PETERSBURG DAY 4

Day 4 started in late morning with a long-anticipated performance at the Mariinsky Theater, home of the Kirov Ballet.  The performance was a gala, with several opera pieces and several selected dances from a variety of ballets.  As usual, the building itself was also a star.

Our seats were spectacular, above and just to the right of the top of the imperial box.  Like the Bolshoi Theater, there are tiers rather than balconies, with seats only one, two or three seats deep.  I  this case they were two deep, but that still was not good enough for the people behind us, who moved to empty seats in the front row of our tier, but on the side. 

Familiar faces -- Hi, guys!

I saw this on the way out, next to the ticket booth -- a tiny model of the inside of the theater, for choosing seats, every one numbered.

We had some time after the show, so we checked out Our Lady of Kazan Cathedral, returned to the Church of Christ on the Spilled Blood, and enjoyed an hour or two at the Ethnic Museum.

Our Lady of Kazan:

Church of Christ on the Spilled Blood:

So this is me, tearing myself away....

 But it turns out, you can zoom the lens on the camera! 

But now even I know it is time to stop and visit the Ethnography Museum.

The Ethnography Museum presents exhibits on the widely varied cultures and ethnic groups of Russia.  Most of the exhibits were behind glass or otherwise not well placed for good photos, so here is just a flavor...

 The it was back to the Pushkin statue for our usual pickup spot, and off to dinner.