Yalta Exploration

We met Galya, her husband Kostia, and the two girls at the orphanage today at 9:00am for a full day of sight seeing in Yalta. It was a beautiful drive along the Black Sea coastline and the terrain changed from more rolling hills to high craggy cliff faces as we approached the sea side town of Yalta.

Kostia was our safe and expert driver and David and I were enjoying the views, when thanks to our trusty translator Galya we learned the girls were not faring so well as they struggled with motion sickness. We rolled down the windows for fresh air, and even stopped a couple of times (though one stop was a routine police check and more nerve-wracking to us, but no big deal to Kostia who had all his papers in order) when finally on the third stop our poor youngest slipped out of the car in record speed and was very sick. We all felt so sorry for her!!! Papa and older sister made a quick walk to a mini-mart up ahead and returned with plenty of water and a big back of plain crackers to help our little one. She was a trooper and on we went with no more mishaps thank goodness!

Our destination for the morning was the unbelievably beautiful Nikitsky Botanical Garden, established during the time of the czars in the late 19th century. The garden had a marvelous conifer collection with trees from across the globe. Because it has been there for over 100 years, the collections are mature and the fully grown. The arching allees were nothing short of spectacular. Initially, we were a bit skeptical about visiting a botanical garden in the winter, but even without the blooming annuals the displays were well worth the visit. To David's great delight (and relief), the girls loved the place, and wanted to take pictures of what few flowers (e.g., snowdrops and viburnums) there were. They asked lots of questions about the numerous cones and dried fruits of various sizes and would have stayed there all day if we had had the time!!

For lunch we drove to the central tourist area of Yalta that lines the Black Sea with a beautiful promenade that had great views of the water on one side and was lined with shops and restaurants on the other. It was great fun to walk to the recommended restaurant and be a part of the fun. One could imagine it being even more beautiful in the summer months and a delightful spot to holiday. Galya helped us purchase some motion-sickness pills at the pharmacy (an upscale version of Walgreen's) and we administered a dose after eating hoping it might make the ride home more bearable for the girls.

Next we went to the Lavidia Palace, fabulous seaside dacha of Nicholas II, last czar of Russia. The place is most famous for the meeting of Churchill, Stalin, and Roosevelt near the end of World War II. This is where they got together and basically decided the fate of Europe for the next 50 years. We couldn't get inside, unfortunately, because for some reason they are closed on Wednesdays. Anyway, we enjoyed strolling the grounds and relished the vista and aura of history.

Finally it was time for the ride home, and a bushed bunch were we!! Not much conversation on the ride home as all but Kostia (our safe and conscientious driver!!) stole a few winks of shut-eye without mishap on the last leg of our adventure. Thanks a million to Kostia and Galya for their incredible tour of lovely Yalta!!