It had always been a dream of mine to visit St. Petersburg. The opportunity arose when my aunt and I attended a family reunion in Finland. I like to travel independently but have travelled enough to know that some places must be seen with local guides. St. Petersburg is one of those places as the history is so incredibly rich; one could not possibly take in the history on their own.

We arranged our entire visit through Alex's Tours&Travel and the trip surpassed our expectations. Alex was very patient with and responsive to my constant emails as we worked to customize our visit. We were welcomed warmly as we arrived by train from Helsinki. Our guides were very knowledgeable and personable professionals and we never had to wait in line for tickets as those without guides did. We saw all the incredible sights but the highlight of our visit was the day we spent with a Russian family at their country home about 1 1/2 hours outside of St. Pete.

The family prepared a delicious Russian barbecue for us with lots of fresh foods from their garden. We laughed and talked for hours and learned so much about Russian culture. We had tears in our eyes when it was time to leave our new friends. We remain good friends.

Lori Christopher Glenn, Charleston SC, USA
loriandmike1@comcast.net

Me, Alex and famous Villy!

Our dinner with Russian family at their country home.

Part of their garden. Isn't it gorgeous?!

Just look into his eyes...