We were blessed with an amazing contact in Transnestrea. He not only obliged to cart us to and from the grocery store, but also took us to Odessa on a day off. Alexie was a great guide and companion for city exploration. He read us signs and information that were only for the Russian reader, suggested restaurants and shopping, and even walked around with us just for fun!
Odessa is a spread out city and difficult to fully cover in only one day; however, we tried out best. Jenna, Kristin and I parted from the group and walked over and through the city’s parks, churches, and markets. It was a blast!
Jenna made a video about it, so I’m sharing. What a day we had.
Highlights included:
sea port
yachts parked in black sea
old buildings
open markets
gorgeous orthodox churches
McDonald’s latte and warm chocolate chip cookie
running up the staircase
checking out Soviet Union relic-stamps, coins, military medals
getting lost in city park
buying Soviet coins from man who gave us gifts (Paris Postcard and signed Valentines card)
PS: during the video I’m walking down the stairs, and they didn’t know why at the time. It was to start again. Part way up, Alexie told me that its good luck if you count each step…so I started from the bottom and started counting!
