Welcome To Yalta Ukraine - Day 87

(These Ships Were On The Pier, Possibly For The Winter)

(These Ships Were On The Pier, Possibly For The Winter)

(Livadia Palace)

(Livadia Palace)

(Room In Livadia Palace Where

Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin

Discussed

The Fate Of Post-War Europe)

(Conference Room In Livadia Palace Where Post-War Agreement

Signed By Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin)

(Churchill, Roosevelt And Stalin)

(Outside The Front Of Vorontsov Palace)

(Outside Back Of Vorontsov Palace)

(Outside Back Of Vorontsov Palace)

(Anne Marie with Alexander Who Pointed Out Many Of The Buildings Of Yalta In The Background To The Two Of Us)

(A View Of Yalta From Our Verandah)

(Another View Of Yalta From Our Verandah)

(View Of Coastline Taken About One Hour Prior To Arrival To Yalta)

(Anne Marie with Pianist John Mentis)

(Balalaika Bash)

(Balalaika Bash)

(Balalaika Bash)

(Beverly and Curtis)

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

A few of you have asked about the weather in Odessa. It was on the chilly side. While the temperature got up to around 50 degrees Fahrenheit it was windy making it feel cooler. With that said, the weather was what we assumed it would be when we first prepared for the trip and we consider ourselves very fortunate that we did not have any rain. We have been blessed with very wonderful weather for this entire adventure with the coolest weather so far having been in Key West, Florida. Go figure. Since we knew that we would only visit a few areas during the course of this adventure that would be on the cool side we didn’t take as much warm weather clothing as we might have if this was a shorter cruise and just to a cooler climate. We each did take our fleece jackets which we are wearing underneath our World Cruise Jackets and we did bring gloves.

Before dinner last evening we sat with some friends in the Crystal Cove and we each had a glass of Perrier while we all shared our experiences and observations from Odessa. For most of us, this was our first time to Odessa. We also spoke with one of the entertainers who had visited Odessa many years ago. We all noted that the downtown area was quite charming but that many other areas looked in disrepair. Evidently, even the downtown area has been going through a renovation for several years as it too had many buildings that needed renovation. One could see that this area has economic challenges unlike some of the more vibrant areas we have visited over the past thirty days. Unlike say some of the countries that we visited with their rich Oil Reserves this was not the case with what we saw over the past two days. We were glad to have had the opportunity to visit Odessa and to learn about its history and what took place here during World War II.

Last evening the two of us enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Silk Road Japanese Specialty Restaurant. Once again Alberto was our waiter along with his wonderful assistant Sonny. We enjoyed sushi, sashimi and for our entrée we each enjoyed the Hot Soba Noodles served with a broth along with scallops. Keith also had steamed vegetables and we had a nice fruit plate for our dessert. After a fairly cold day in Odessa, it was nice to have such a nice meal. As often as we have dined at Silk Road we thoroughly enjoyed the entire dining experience from the Japanese Cuisine to the wonderful service to the overall ambience of this dining room.

After dinner we attended a show that was put on for all guests on the ship. This is something special that is done on each leg of the World Cruise. One of the nice things is whether you take one leg of the World Cruise or additional legs or the entire World Cruise there are some special morning, afternoon and evening programs and entertainment that are held for everyone. This evening’s show was written and put together with participation from many members of the entertainment staff. The theme has been based on what area of the world we are sailing. This evenings shows was called Balalaika bash. It included performances by The Crystal Ensemble of Singers and Dancers, the dance duo of Curtis Collins and Beverly Durand, the vocal Sounds of Serenity quartet group, Colin Slater who is the pianist in the Avenue Saloon, John Mentis who is the pianist in the Crystal Cove, assistant Cruise Director Scott Mitchel and Balalaika Instrumentalist, Lev Zabeginsky a regional performer who was brought on board for this show. In addition, three of the Crystal Ensemble Male Dancers happen to be Russian (two have been on board since Miami and one recently came on board), which added to the performance. We had a wonderful time attending this performance. It is truly amazing how such a terrific evening program can be produced, rehearses and then performed as a one time event and one would think it has been in production for months. Our thanks and congratulations go out to each and every member from Crystal Cruises who was involved in this show. It was truly wonderful. Bravo….Bravo…..Bravo……

We both slept extremely well last evening as we sailed to our next port of call.

Since we had a fairly early tour we decided to take the morning off from normal morning workout. We had breakfast delivered to our room at 6:00 AM by the evening room steward who handles this deck delivered breakfast. Everything was perfect and we each enjoyed a nice breakfast in the room as we got ready to visit Yalta, Ukraine for the very first time.

While enjoying breakfast we watched the beautiful scenery as we continued to make our way to Yalta. The coastline was very picturesque with its majestic and colorful mountains and the towns built up along the coastline.

We arrived to the Port a few minutes early and the view was wonderful. Our Butler Alexander, stopped by for a few minutes as we decided to order salad entrées to have in our room after we get back from today’s tour and he pointed out some of the buildings that we could see from the Verandah. Alexander has visited here many times. Many of the butlers on the ship have been with Crystal for many years and Alexander is one of the senior butlers. Many times they are able to give great advice about what to see and do in ports. This is very helpful particularly when visiting ports of call for the very first time.

Yalta is located on the southern tip of the Crimean Peninsula. Mountains, vineyards and orchards surround Yalta.

Yalta was popular with the ruling elite of Russia but its fame came from the historic conference between Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt in 1945 where the post war map of Europe was decided.

We took a shore excursion that took us to the Livadia Palace and the Vorontsov Palace.

As we walked off the gangway and onto the pier we saw an unusual site with several boats just sitting on the pier. Possibly they were removed from the water for the winter. The weather seemed to turn colder as the day unfolded.

The Livadia Palace was built in 1911 in the style of the Italian Renaissance. This palace was the summer residence of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II. This palace was also made famous as it served as the venue of the historic Crimean Conference of 1945 where Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin met to discuss post-war Europe.

En route to the second place we also had the opportunity to stop to view the unusual Swallow’s Nest Castle. Our next stop was the Vorontsov’s Palace. This tudor style residence was once home to one of Russia’s most wealthiest person Count Vorontsov. Construction of this palace took well over twenty years. The palace has a blended style of Gothic and Moorish. When you first enter the palace it is rather simple but as you go from room to room it gets more and more magnificent. The outside of the Palace is more impressive from the back of the Palace and also offers beautiful views of the Black Sea.

We thorougly enjoyed the tour. The Vorontsov Palace was clearly the more magnificent of the two palaces we visited but the Livadia Palace has the historical significance. We had one of the best tour guides we have had which really can make a tour that much better.

Yalta is truly a beautiful city. It has very windy two land roads and beautiful views of the Black Sea. Its landscape is very picturesque. It has a variety of buildings many of which are quite beautiful. We passed several beautiful churches. This is a city we would love to go back and spend more time visiting. One can walk to nearby shops and cafes from the pier.

Since we knew that we would not get back to the ship until around 1;45 PM as we mentioned we pre-ordered salad entrees to enjoy in our room upon our return. We could have gone to one of the other dining venues that was open but thought this would be easier all the way around which it was. We each enjoyed a nice salad entrée as we spoke about all that we had seen during our tour. It was a wonderful tour and we are thankful that we had the opportunity to visit these historical sites and this beautiful city.

In the afternoon Anne Marie took a long walk and Keith did some reading and writing and spoke with a few fellow passengers.

This evening we will dine in the Main Dining Room and then afterwards attend the show. We will post more this tomorrow.

Later this evening we will be moving the clocks forward one hour as we sail into yet another new time zone. L

TODAY’S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY…….

“Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.” - Colin Powell

Keith and Anne Marie