Kimberly Flores RTGAmbassador Through the biting cold we went, gingerly trying to control our skidding feet on the slippery ice, all for the glittering jewel that is Pushkin?s Catherine?s Summer Palace. This treasure was constructed for Catherine the Great as her summer house. Later her daughter, Elizabeth, lavishly added to the palace; theorists claim Elizabeth?s excesses lead to Russia?s bankruptcy. Inside we glimpsed a world full of opulence, luxuries and riches comprised of over fifty rooms, all of which have an individual and designated purpose (dining, dressing, waiting, dancing). One of my personal favorites, the Great Room, housed the most ornamental decorative gold-leaf of all palaces in Saint Petersburg. It was renovated after the Great Patriotic War when Germans invaded and burnt part of the palace. The intricacy of such architecture left us in awe; we learned of the Baroque style meaning that each and every piece was unique as per Elizabeth?s request. Due to time (not enough) and circumstance (on going renovations) we were only able to see a part of the palace ? but that small taste left us hungry for more.
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