Our hotel is in a side street just off Nevsky Prospekt which is StP's main street and the centre for shopping, sightseeing, restaurants etc.
The majority of the buildings' facades are very ornate, albeit a little tired.
But this rather austere looking one particularly caught our eye.
We are only a few minutes' walk from Palace Square which even in today's grey drizzle is utterly breathtaking. The entire Northern side is taken up by the main façade of the Winter Palace.
The most magnificent of Russian palaces, completed in c1760 it was home to nearly all the Russian Tsars from Peter The Great's daughter through to the end of the Romanov dynasty in 1917.
Turn 180° and you face the spectacular crescent shaped General Staff Building (completed 1829) which pre revolution housed the various ministries.
I tried a couple of pano shots on my phone to try and convey the sheer size of the square (the Winter Palace isn't curved though).
Both these wonderful buildings are now part of the world famous Hermitage Museum.
And at least the puddles gave me a chance to be "creative".
By now we were starting to feel our early start and so headed back for a bite to eat and an early night.