Outing to Chersonesus

Today was a stunningly beautiful day in Sevastopol, so we decided, with the help of our translator Galya, to have a family outing to Chersonesus, an ancient Greek settlement just south of town on the Black Sea. Initially our youngest didn't want to go, saying that she had been there before with her classmates and she would rather stay back for the Sunday art class. But even as we know she loves art, we didn't want to miss our once in a lifetime chance to share this World Heritage Site and Ukrainian treasure with her and her sister. As the day wore on she was nothing but a ball of enthusiasm and energy, and at the end of the day admitted that she was very glad she had come with us!!

It was our first trip on the bus and we enjoyed the splash of local color. The girls skipped their way up to the site as the sun shown brightly and we all luxuriated in the gorgeous day. Mom started playing the "What is this?" game in English with the younger daughter but soon had to bring Dad into the conversation when botanical knowledge became the genre.

When we got to the site the vista of an impressive city came into focus: large archways, complex water delivery systems, wine processing rooms and a Grecian temple complete with Corinthian columns overlooking the Black Sea. All the girls, including mom, enjoyed hamming it up on the stage of the Roman amphitheater. The first three photos are by David. Images 1 and 2 are of the Greek Temple and Image 3 is a view of St. Vladimir's church and the Black Sea in the background. The following two photos are by the girls. Image 4 is our oldest daughters first archaeological photograph recording cornice ornamentation from a building at the site. Image 5 is the younger daughters first botanical recording of moss with reproductive details. Of course they didn't talk a lot about their reasons for choosing these particular subject matters but we're sure this reflects deep and intuitive abilities and desires to explore the field of archaeobotany further!!!!

The tour ended with a visit to St. Vladimir's Church that was built atop the Grecian ruins in the 19th century. It was touching to see how much this visit meant to the girls as they lit candles to their selected patron saints.

After the site visit we went to a lovely restaurant under the guidance of Galya and Kostia. The food was exquisite and the coffee unbelievably rich. The girls, as usual brought their prodigious appetites and inhaled their meals, including sumptuous desserts, with gusto. We all had a wonderful time and a happier Valentines day we cannot remember. Thanks for listening...