June 7, 2010 – by Marina
    This morning we saw the Catherine Palace and the Amber workshop where all the amber for the Catherine Palace were made. The palace is definitely a place I would want to live.  The first room we walk into was the grand entrance. It had four stair cases each going up and the ceiling is high with pictures on them, and the original vases on the walls, which were taken away before the revolution and then brought back to the palace after the palace has been restored and is still being restored. The first floor of the palace doesn’t have any bedrooms at all because that floor is dedicated to the hundreds of servants to live. And the second floor is filled with the fancy rooms like the party rooms, and the different kinds of rooms that the family liked to show off to guests. They had a room the first room on the second room was filled with 70 mirrors and 700 candle holders back when they had candles, but now has bulbs. The second and third room was the dining rooms. The tables were very elaborately set up and had the finest china set on the tables for guests. The fourth room had the tzarinas dress she liked to wear for special occasions. The fifth room had the biggest fanciest dress I think I have ever seen and I probably will not ever see again but it was gorgeous!!!  The tzarinas posed in this dress for portraits. The sixth room I went into was full of amber!! All amber and the pictures in the room were also surrounded but amber! The amber was specially cut to fit the walls perimeter. Even the pictures were made of amber and the pieces of the amber were specially made to fit the picture. The amber also had carved pictures within the amber stones. The room was a little exhausting to look at first because all you saw was Yellow and orange and red and a deep red colour. But then I realized its all amber and that’s pretty to look at. I think the Catherine Palace was the best palace I have ever gone to so far and this whole Russia trip is going really well so far. I’m glad I got to have this trip as my graduation trip!!!!!!