Day 54: Team XPD Beyond Asia sightsee at St. Petersburg even as Dhanno and Sheru are shipped back home

With Team XPD Beyond Asia reaching its final destination, it was time to ship Dhanno and Sheru back to India. The team was overcome with emotion since Dhanno and Sheru had been their homes for the past 54 days. Meenakshi thanked Vaetrivel Dhandapani for introducing Murukesh PN who was helping them ship their vehicles back home. Meenakshi and Sanjay dropped off the vehicles but Murukesh was kind enough to drop them back to the hotel.

The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood is one of the main sights of St Petersburg, Russia. "I was in there last time and was awed by the mosaic work. I wanted to go back again today," said Meenakshi, a tired but satisfied team Captain. She added that the church contains over 7500 sq m of mosaics according to its restorers which was more than any other church in the world. 

The walls and ceilings inside the church are completely covered in intricately detailed mosaics, the main pictures being biblical scenes or figures, but with wonderful patterned borders setting off each picture.

It had been an overwhelmingly full day for the team. They went to the Peterhof Palace which is a symphony of tsarist grandeur, also referred as the 'Russian Versailles.' The palace is an imposing building, although with just 30 rooms. The gardens are spectacular but as it was raining they did not see much of it.

Murukesh had invited the team for dinner at a restaurant called 'Bollywood Nights.' Meenakshi and the team felt grateful and congratulated him and his wife on their wedding anniversary.

"The food was amazing and the rasam was to die for," exlclaimed Meenakshi. "Owned by Devaraj Baul, it was a perfect place for a perfect Indian meal that I won't forget, anytime in the near future," she added. The day drew to a fitting finale with a splendid musical performance by the girls.