June Morning In the Downtown

        I'd like to invite you for a morning walk in the downtown of St. Petersburg. It is a warm early summer morning. Crossing the Trinity Bridge, we get to the 'Champ de Mars' (Field of Mars). We did not visit the 'Champ de Mars' in our other walks in the autumn, in a foggy winter day or in early spring. And now we find ourselves in the field of roses and peonies. Since childhood, I remember the huge blossoming lilac bushes, but there wasn’t such a number of peonies and roses.

The Church of the Savior-on-blood is situated over the the 'Champs de Mars', behind the Mikhail’s Garden, familiar by the previous posts. It's gorgeous in every season and now, the Church shines its gilded domes and mosaics in the June morning.

The Summer Garden is located opposite the 'Champs de Mars', across the Swan Canal. Now in the early morning, the sculptures and vases of flowers are waiting for their visitors.

In the distance, the Mikhail’s Castle is visible over the Small Swan bridge. In XVIII century the Mikhail’s Castle was surrounded by a moat, which used to be filled with water, and now flowers grow on the edges of the moat. 

Behind the castle, there are carpet flower beds made of plants with decorative leaves. The last one adjoins to the building of the Manege. There is a beautiful fountain in the Manege square.

 

 

By the Italian street we turn to the pedestrian Malaya Sadovaya (Small Garden) Street. This small street is well decorated: flowerpots with thujas and petunias. A beautiful composition of conifers and colorful annuals. There are many coffee shops those will be filled by midday. At the end of the Malaya Sadovaya street you can see the building of Drama Theater and the monument to Empress Catherine II in front of the theater. 

The interesting fountain is set on the corner of Malaya Sadovaya: a granite ball is rotated by water jets flowing down from the top. The sculptures of Eliseev’s store quietly look at walking people.

Our walking ends at the Nevsky avenue near the Kazan Cathedral. Now the fountain is running its water jets near the Cathedral, vases of flowers and peonies are blooming in the garden. 

Summer morning ends,it's time to go back to my garden!

By the way! Now is the summer solstice and the time of the shortest night. This time we call “the white nights" because the Sunrise is at 4.45 and the sunset is at 22.19. And while the sun is over the horizon the night is light all this time.
I took a few pictures at 11 pm, lighting wasn't enough, but here are the photos: