Baltics Cruise July/August 2014 Russia Pt. 5 The Hermitage 2.

I was originally going to do The Hermitage all in one post but as there are so many I decided to split it into two parts.
This post includes some of the huge amount of art. There is some blur and reflection as a lot of it is behind protective glass.

The Great Throne Room.

Catherine's Hanging Gardens which are at second floor height and link the north and south wings.

Well that is it from inside The Hermitage.
I still have more photos from St. Petersburg as well as some more places we visited on that cruise but I need to take a break from them and post some more recent trips we took in the UK first.

Baltics Cruise July/August 2014 Russia Pt. 5 The Hermitage 1.

It has taken a long time coming, but here are my photos of The Hermitage and there are a lot of them! There are so many that I think it is better to let the photos speak for themselves.

Christmas at Littlecote House 2017.

2017 was the first year we decided to go away for Christmas. We would never do it while we had Eric and Flynn as we couldn't leave them at the coldest time of year.
This year being our first ever without any fur family we decided to go away for four days over Christmas to Littlecote House, an adults only hotel.
We weren't sure if we would enjoy it but we did have a wonderful time.

                                          Christmas Day.

Waiting outside the main house and singing carols while we waited for Santa to arrive.

Here he comes!

Ho ho ho!

Santa's little helpers.

The reindeer look somewhat different to how I imagined them to be!

Ivor insisted on taking my photo.

Santa, an elf and the hotel manager.

The donkey was very popular.

The little goat looked very cute in it's Christmas jumper.

We did have a good time. It was full board with three cooked meals a day if we wanted them, and there was entertainment throughout every day and evenings.
Every night when we went back to our room there were various little presents for us from selection boxes to diaries, and on Christmas Day Ivor had a anti skimming wallet for his credit cards and I had facial lotions and creams in a pretty satin case.

                                                   Littlecote House.
All of these photos were taken with my phone camera so are not as good as I would have liked.

The Orangery. This room is now used for indoor bowls and various other indoor activities.
This photo isn't very clear because it was too light outside and I couldn't get the exposure right. Around the edges there is Virginia Creeper planted and it grows up the trellises around the edges of the room and completely covers the ceiling. You can see some empty trellises at the far end which I assume will be replaced at a later date.

One of the many Christmas trees.

One of the tables in the Great Hall.

I don't know what this pot is with a snake on either side, but it was BIG!

Another tree! I think there must have been a dozen or more in various rooms, and then there all trees outside too.

In the gardens.

One of the outdoor Christmas trees.

Carol singing in the Great Hall on Christmas Eve.

The elephant in the room!
We came back one night to find him sitting on our bed.

I was looking in the gift shop and saw this fridge magnet. It was so appropriate that I had to get it.