Odessa!

This past weekend we took a road trip down to Odessa with the McDougal family. But before we get to all of the beach shots, here are a few images from the last few weeks....

Here was a typical scene from our three day drive back to Kyiv. Enzo, having discovered that the best A/C vent was in the front, took up residence between Paolo and me. If you look really carefully you can see Gio's tiger earphones in the back....

First night back in Ukraine (but still a day to go to get to Kyiv) and Gio orders a banana split. The waitress seemed to have no problem with also serving Gio the included glass of cognac.  This is Ukraine, after all.    

Our return to Kyiv was not exactly welcoming with these new signs in our park declaring dogs no longer allowed. We are pretending to not understand the signs (and the strange 119 grivna fine, about $15).  So far, everyone else seems to be ignoring it, too!

Gio was happy to get back to his sand digging in the park.... 

....which is exhausting work.

And reuniting with Grace was the best part of returning here.

These two like to do EVERYTHING together!

And so now, back to our trip to Odessa.  We had been toying with the idea of going.  Gio's school opening had been delayed a week due to construction delays, the weather was lovely and, well, it was really time we explored more of Ukraine.  Luckily the McDougals were thinking the same thing so we schemed together. All the hotels were full until Logan's assistant found one at the last minute so within 24 hours we were packed, our pets squared away (Enzo with our nanny to her summer place in the countryside) and we hit the road Friday afternoon.....

Gio promptly fell asleep 10 minutes into the road trip.  This kid does NOT miss a nap. 

The drive was easy as there is a road right near Gio's school, called the "Odessa Road" that, well, goes to Odessa.  It is a straight shot through endless fields of corn, sunflowers and potatoes (last one is a guess on my part).  There were Ladas parked all along the road with people selling produce, mostly watermelons, walnuts and apples.  I did not take any photos of this...sorry.  You might want to check Merilee's blog (see to the left up top on my blog the "fellow travelers" section.  The McDougal blog is called "Family Overseas Adventures"  WELL worth checking out! Or click here....http://mcdougalfamilyoverseas.blogspot.com/.  So, we arrived, after getting a bit lost once we arrived in Odessa (thank you, iPhone, for saving us there!) in time for a late dinner which consisted of mostly Gio racing around the restaurant (fully clothed, at least) with 9-year-old Quincy, nearly-7-year-old Xavier and 5-year-old Zoe chasing after him.  Yes, it takes 3 older children to corral the beast.

And then we woke up to this.  Bliss.   

Gio and Paolo spent most of the morning in the waves, returning to the sand only when Gio's lips were entirely blue.  

Here is our resort.  We were lucky that it was not very full so we virtually had the place to ourselves...

well, except for these 3.  VERY Ukranian men.  

NOT so Ukrainian.  I love that Logan makes Paolo look like a shrimp. And Paolo is 6'3"! We are big fans of Logan for many reasons but he has a special place in my heart because he makes M&Ms for a living.  Yum.  

Here is 5-year-old Zoe.  She put up with 3 rambunctious boys all weekend. What a trooper.  

Xavier and Quincy.  Gio was beyond thrilled to have two "bog boyz" to himself all weekend. They were remarkably tolerant of the attention.  

Here is that Ukrainian fellow again.  You really cannot get enough of him, can you??

My sweet Italian husband working hard on a sand castle.
Gio thoroughly enjoyed destroying it.

Not only did we have the beach nearly to ourselves, there was even this giant bouncy structure for the children. 

This being Ukraine, the towel/jet ski/bouncy house/lifeguard fellow turned on the blowers and then walked away to let the children have at it.  No rules, no time limitis, no nagging adult supervision.  Or, in kid-terms, blissful anarchy.  

Gio loved the random giant pile of sand in the back corner of the beach. 

Another activity Gio indulged in was filling this kiddie pool with sand. Again, no one seemed to mind. Having no grumpy babuskas around or rule-imposing lifeguards made this beach great fun for the 4 children we had brought along.  

Once lips lost their blue hue, Gio was right back in.  Luckily for me, Paolo was always willing to go in with him. 

There was also a lot of sand play.  What did the 4 adults do with our children so well occupied? Well, we had quite a backlog of The Economist, New Yorker, People and US magazines to get through.  A tough tough weekend for all.  

Saturday evening we headed in to central Odessa to check out the scene. Here we are at the famous "Odessa Steps"." You film buffs may recognize them from the 1925 film "Battleship Potempkin":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps-v-kZzfec

which inspired quite a few other movies....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yH1tO2D3LCI&feature=related

The children were not so impressed with walking along such cinematic hallowed ground. Balloons and pizza were more exciting for them.  

After dinner we strolled along the promenade.

Someday Gio will really resent me for all of the embarrassing shots I share with the world.
What else are mothers for, anyway?

Sunday morning, back on the beach. 

Note the matching swim suits.  Sometimes I just have to do stuff like this.  

This vodka bottle washed up as we were looking for sea glass.  A reminder that we are in Ukraine.  

Everyone in!

Well, except me.  Sort of a wimp about cold water.  

Bye bye, beach.  

We hope to come back!