To get under the skin of a city, to experience it as a real place, go out of season in the bleak months most tourists avoid.
St Petersburg in the depths of winter had been a dream conjured up in my imagination - a fairy-tale confection of a city sculpted in icing sugar. But, even by Russian standards (-24ºC, when we visited last January), it was shockingly, mind-numbingly cold. For days before our departure we had followed the plummeting temperature with dismay and planned our attire with exaggerated care. A kind friend lent me her floor-length mink coat: sad to say I looked more Borscht Belt matron than Anna Karenina ice beauty. No sartorial form of protection was overlooked from silk glove liners to cashmere socks and a natty line in ear protective headwear.
The intense cold offered innumerable pluses. Much as I had anticipated the beauty of St Petersburg under a coating of snow, the reality took my frozen breath away. With steam rising from the solidly frozen river I felt as if I was peeping at the city through a veil. Ice created dramatic sculptural shapes and forms suggesting elaborate centrepieces ornamenting a lavish banquet table. Spires and domes of churches and cathedrals appeared through the mist and magnificent palaces of confident, imposing architectural grandeur shimmered through the icy haze. Men in long fur coats fishing through holes in the ice made a comical, surreal sight.
The virtually empty Hermitage was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, according to our guide, Natasha. Only in such bitter weather would we get so close and undisturbed to the museum's stunning collection of Rembrandts, incredible Impressionist paintings and gallery after deserted gallery of outstanding works of art of every category including cabinets filled with rare Communist-propaganda chinaware.
Staff at the Astoria Hotel by St Isaac's Cathedral were charming and helpful and, with few tourists competing for their attention, had plenty of time to deal with our endless questions and requests. Best tickets for the Kirov ballet at the Marinsky Theatre - no problem. Expensive - yes, but worth every rouble to see stars Ulyana Lopatkina and Igor Zelensky performing in La Bayadère.
This was a trip with countless high points but a day in the country ranked high among them all. About an hour's drive from St Petersburg you reach snowy forests dense with birch trees where wooden dachas have been brought back to their former glory by wealthy Russians as weekend retreats.
The Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo (now known as Pushkin in honour of the poet who studied at the local lycée) is a magnet for visitors. Determined to take photographs of the blue-gilt-and-white Baroque masterpiece, I foolishly removed my gloves - the camera froze and my numb fingers resembled frozen fish fingers within seconds.
Apart from a few grumpy female guards, we had the palace to ourselves. Impeccably restored rooms full of exquisite treasures including the famous Amber Room were astounding.
Pavlovsk though less monumental is certainly worth visiting and in a nearby restaurant we had a Russian country lunch - hearty and oh-so-delicious. Everything locally produced, from borscht laced with dill to local cheese with home-baked black bread and cranberry schnapps.
Our only disappointment was running out of time and missing the great palace and park at Peterhof.
Looking on the positive side it means we will have to return - but only in bleak midwinter of course.
