The long road to Russia started with an early morning ferry ride from Bainbridge Island on a Sunday.  Ahead was a daunting journey that had a train to the airport and two planes to cross ten time zones.  British Airways decided to make it a little more interesting as the lunch time flight from Seattle was running 90 minutes late, which meant a decidedly tight connection time threatened the potential Monday arrival into Russia.

Quite why it took 90 minutes to check-in for the flight only B.A will be able to explain, or more likely we will never know.  The craziest of security check lines at SeaTac only added to the anxiouness of a transition through the airport.

The flight left, movies were watched, meals consumed and just like always those last couple of hours of the flight into Heathrow were an absolute torture.  The tension was added to with the prospect of of a 55 minute lay over to make the once a day flight to St Petersburg.   Ground staff had me sprinting through the busiest airport in the world with the information that we had 3 minutes to get through security check in order to not be removed from the flight to Russia.  It was pandemonium.

I ran with belt trailing, one arm in my jacket and clutching my boarding pass in hand as I departed security and sped towards departure gates at the busy Heathrow airport.  The efficient ground staff had me travel in the underground maze that runs beneath the Heathrow airport concourses, and I emerged from the burrow like a squirrel to pop my head up at A9.  Thankfully the plane was still there, and a flight to Russia was assured.  Of course there was no guarantee that the luggage would be quite so successful 😦

On a beautiful sunny Monday morning in London there was an excitement of that trip to head into Russia for the first time.  All the websites visited, maps checked and reviews read would hopefully guide four filled days in this historic city.