After living there from 2004 to 2013 - marrying a Russian and having 2 daughters in Peter - I consider St Petersburg to be my home - although its been almost 4 years since I have been back - my wife and daughters return every summer to our dacha - I have to take care of my ailing father so this is the reason I haven't been back - once he passes then we will return to this wonderful northern city - thank you for you story on it and sorry you didn't have lots of time to explore it