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| BEAUTIFUL KYIV! |
Hooray! We have
finally made it to Ukraine. We arrived
on Wednesday afternoon in Kyiv without any problems whatsoever. Our taxi driver, Sergii, was very kind and
we stayed in the heart of Kyiv two doors down from some hotel where famous
people must frequent. I say that
because, there were always teens hanging around with cameras eagerly awaiting
an arrival or departure from the hotel. In fact, on Thursday there was a motorcade and security all over the place. Hmmm….maybe it was Jennifer Lopez (poplular here) or maybe
the President of Ukraine. Who knows! Anyway, it all added to the excitement of
being in Kyiv. This city is
BEAUTIFUL! The architecture, the shops,
the people, the artists selling their works, the classically trained musicians
playing in the streets...the
fashion! Ukrainians in Kyiv look great
in their high fashion clothes! Even the
food was exciting. Sushi bars everywhere,
authentic Ukrainian dishes, and even an Italian/Mexican restaurant. It’s all a bit romantic (even our apartment was inspiring!) Everything inspired me
to make an authentic Ukrainian dish that Uncle J. shared with us back at home. I figured if it really truly was an authentic
recipe (and I'm was sure it was!) then all
the ingredients should be found easily at the grocer a few stores down from our
apartment. Sure enough! Mike returned with everything on the list,
but with a bonus. The store had pink
horseradish sauce instead of white which made the dish look even better! Thanks U.J. (it was a perfect way to
celebrate our arrival into the country Mike’s grandparents were born in! 
The last full day in Kyiv, we took the Metro and bus to an
open air history museum about Ukraine’s different regions. It was HUGE and we couldn’t see everything. The museum was very informative and kid
friendly AND of course we couldn’t leave without visiting the part of the
museum that gave an example of the region of Mike’s families’ heritage. We had a great time there and it will be a
treat to visit Kyiv again.
Oh yeah,and being an
admitted McD fan and a mom with little children, I have to mention that we counted 4 McD’s in
Kyiv and two parks. But we only had time
for 1 McD’s and 1 park! The price was
about the same for both – feeding 10…$30;
going to the park – free! The
children are very comfortable being here and remember many of the locations
from last summer. They’re good
travelers and a very adventurous bunch of kids!
On Saturday, we had to say goodbye to beautiful Kyiv. That was a difficult thing to do. I probably liked Kyiv a bit more than the
others. I was getting a little spoiled
and unfocused.
