We packed the car & headed to Odessa - a port city on the Black Sea (and incidentally where our 40' of belongings spent a good month last year) - with our friends the Bellis
The 475km trip (~300 miles) was on what Logan described as the nicest highway he's ever driven on in Ukraine. Reminded me of a flat version of Wisconsin......
....extensive fields & loads of farm stands
(with pretty fab prices - 2 medium watermelons for just $3)
...and bored kids in the back
(we LOVE you iPad!)
But, alas, we are not in Wisconsin. So there are some deviations to report....
....the teeny, tiny farm stands - 'Babushkas' with single pails of potatoes
(wow - practically a strip mall!)
....a 110km/hour freeway peppered with middle of the road cross walks
....and plenty of hitchhikers
(any car is fair game - people commonly 'hail' regular cars & negotiate a fee for a lift)
5 hours later, the city itself is old & quant with a good vacation feel nightlife....
But the real surprise was the gem of a hotel where we stayed. It was not the easiest to find (unpaved windy roads with serious potholes, no signs etc) - but well worth the search...
With its own private beach
For lots of jumping waves (albeit pretty 'refreshing' water)
Very lightly populated given Ukrainian schools started - but still colorful people to watch...
(these guys' beach gear was 3 dixie cups & a bottle of hootch!)
Even a daily, blonde streaker.....
OK, so the streaker is Gio - Clara & Paolo's son - whom we all adore. He has a propensity to strip and we like to say 'speaks in ALL CAPS' - makes everyday a party!
But even better were the 'beach toys' provided....
While the water was a tad too rough for the water tramp, it didn't prevent them from letting people play on it (no pesky rules or attendants)
Look closely and you'll see Zoe mid flip courtesy of her brothers tad too rough leaping catapult. She completed the flip, caught a few feet of air and landed on the sand with a thud (photo taking stopped to ensure nothing broken)
And it gets better....
Seriously! It is a bouncy castle ON THE BEACH - we got through about 4 magazines a piece!
So while there are some funny things about Ukraine, when it comes to entertaining kids & facilitating R&R these people are BRILLIANT!
Here's to road trips with friends, the beach & counting down to the first day of school!
I loved Odessa! Still working on reading through your blog, but it keeps reminding me of Ukraine. Have you taken a train to anywhere yet? That is the only way we traveled anywhere out of Kyiv because we didn't have a car. The compartments are pretty fun to kids (getting to sleep on moving bunk beds and a food car). If you do, just make sure you either know what to say before going to the train station to get tickets or have someone who speaks Ukranian or Russian get your tickets for you. My dad accidentally bought one way tickets in three different compartments across two cars for my family the first (and only) time he tried getting tickets by himself. My dad and brother ended up in a compartment with Sergei and Sergei who had a barracuda. At least it was interesting :) Sorry for all the long comments by the way.
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