One door and only one, and yet....

This is the door that led to our luxurious flat during our stay in St. Petersburg. It was tricky getting in. First is the five-digit code. Then, inside is a private door. You enter this one with a key that goes in just so and turns - not once, not twice, but four times. But, that comes later. First you need to get through the gate off the main street.


Now this is what I call a gate. It also leads to a fancy eating establishment, so the gate usually remains open until quite late at night. However, on Victory Day (our fifth day), after all the marching and singing and squeezing through crowds to watch the fireworks, the gate was locked. On a hunch, we circled the block and went in the back way. Presto, we found our beloved door.

The next time it happened, we discovered we could open the locked gate by tripping the lever with a pen. You couldn't reach it otherwise. Ah, we were getting to feel right at home.

The door on the right is the restaurant. To get to our place, you took the road less traveled on the left.

When I say fancy, I mean fancy. We were treated to dinner here on our anniversary. I know our kids drained their bank account to do this for us. Thanks Sandra and Derek. This was a real treat.

And, yes, thanks for finding that cozy place for us. It was worth every rouble.