Off To Odessa

 We drove to Odessa during the last week of August, since there were two! holidays during that week here (National Language Day and Independence Day).  We stayed three days and had a wonderful time.  Odessa doesn't look like an eastern European town; it was founded as a free port just before 1800 and was planned by French and Austrian architects.  This is the opera house.  Our apartment was about a block and a half away from it, so it was one of the first things we saw.  The opera house was built in the 1830's and is still in use today.  The architecture is gorgeous.