Opera House Courtyard

 This pretty little courtyard sits right next to the Odessa opera house.  It's a nice place to sit, people watch, listen to practice, and drink a cup of cappucino.

Painted Board

I now have a new painted cheeseboard with bunches of pretty currants all over it.

Eggs For the Collection

More wooden eggs all decorated up pretty for my collection.

Buffalo Breakfast

We went to our favorite Odessa breakfast place, Buffalo 99.  I started with cappucino; Andreas had hot chocolate, called a babychino there.  His omelette was good.  My quesadillas - not so much.  Oh well, lunch was soon.

Big Dinner At Steakhouse

One night over Memorial Weekend we had an Americans-from-Chisinau gathering at Steakhouse.  We numbered about 15 people - in Odessa.  Kind of impressive.  Steakhouse is very good and we had an excellent waitress on top of that.  

I loved the little table floral arrangements - herbs in test tubes held up by drilled bone.  So cute!  Andreas had an odd cocktail that had actual wood chips in it.  He said it tasted very good.  I had a sgorpino which tasted almost as good as the ones Andreas makes.  We had prosecco; we had great food; and we spent about four hours there.  It was a wonderful time.

Break In

 Our trip to Odessa during Memorial Day weekend had a downside- our car was broken into.  The only thing stolen was the dashcam, worth much less than replacement cost of the window.  We found out about it at three in the morning when the hotel front desk called us.  The ride home was very noisy with plastic taping up my window.  Odessa police and the hotel were very nice about the whole thing.

Pretty Pansies

Pretty and dimensional pansies on the side of this building look so cute with the ivy growing between them.

Odessa's Book and Bicycle Bar

 We decided to stop in at the terrace of the restaurant with the bicycles around it during our first evening in Odessa.  The drinks were top notch.  The food, not so much.  I started out with a mojito.  We were given a free bouche of bread with babaganoush.  The salads were good.  It was the hot food that was the problem.  It was just bland and uninspired.

At the bottom you can see our flight of twelve different tinctures - homemade type liquors in different flavors.  My absolute favorite was the raspberry.  Andreas rounded things off with a chocolate shake.

Had To Have It

We were at the outdoor market in Odessa when I saw this passport cover.  I have never used a passport cover, considering them a painful nuisance.  This one's beautiful design changed my mind.

New Tool

I collect hairsticks that I use as laying tools.  This latest hand carved piece was bought in Odessa when we were there for the weekend a couple of weeks ago.  It's got a lovely satiny finish.

Supporting The Troops

There are a bunch of little tables set up around downtown Odessa selling trinkets and baked goods for the troops.  You give a donation and pick something.  I picked this.  I thought it was charming and I do want to support the Ukrainian troops.

Painted Egg

This egg was bought in Odessa at the outdoor market.  I liked the look of it and added it to my egg collection.

Cold Morning In Odessa

Our February visit to Ukraine was cold, but not as cold as February can be.  It was also a sunny, if windy, day without precipitation.  These top photos were taken by the Potemkin steps.  The duke's statue has been made into a memorial of locals who have been killed in the current war.  The bottom three photos are of the galleria at the end of Deribascaia Street.