Ukraine VIII: More Odessa

Sunday the girls returned to Odessa and we went and had a look at the city. It's not as nice as Kiev (and much smaller), but it has its charm. Odessa was a city of international trade in the early 19th century, and the architecture is as Mediterranean as it is Russian. There are lots of nice, old buildings, although the whole place seemed more grey and worn down than Kiev had been.

The historical museum:




One of the nicer streets, this one leading up to the touristy center of town:




We walked around downtown and then headed for the harbor, which has some nice green areas and some interesting sights. There are several monuments to the famous writer Alexander Pushkin, who lived here 1823-4 and there is also the famous Potemkin stairs, leading down to the port. We walked down the stairs (and I bloody well walked them back UP again afterwards!) and went to take a boat trip around the harbor area.

A statue of the Duc de Richelieu, the French born first Russian governor of Odessa (yes, it's that Richelieu family - his great grandfather was a brother of the (in)famous cardinal of Three Musketeers fame):






The beauty and the beast at the top of the Potemkin stairs:



The other beauty and the (same) beast:




On the boat:



Nata is going to KILL me for posting these, but I think you'll all agree it's worth it: