Yalta and Odessa, Ukraine

We travelled into the Black Sea to the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine. Our first port of call was Yalta, and our second, Odessa. Both are attractive cities of historical importance still recovering from the Communist influences of the Soviet Union, and now, regrettably, no longer open to tourists due to Russian incursions.
 

The port city of Yalta has a modern seafront promenade featuring designer shops and American fast food.

Livadia Palace was the last Tsar's vacation residence. It was host to Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt for the Yalta Conference in 1945, in which they planned the division of Europe at the end of World War II.
 

Vorontsovsky Palace  in Alupka was home to Prince Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov, Russian Field Marshal known for his exploits during the Napoleonic Wars.
 

The Palace is a mixture of Middle-Age and Moorish design and is surrounded by unique botanical gardens.
 

Since the 19th century, when VIPs came to cure their illnesses, and later communist-era citizens who got the privilege to go there, the Crimean area has been a Riviera-like vacation resort.
 

We travelled by funicular up Ai-Petri, a spectacular limestone peak from where we had a panoramic view of the Black Sea and the Crimean coastline.

At the summit plateau, there's a tiny Tatar hamlet, where the people make a living selling food and drink and offering guided pony or camel rides.

Handicrafts include sheepskin clothing, curly-toed shoes and embroidered bags.

Ekaterininskaya square signifies the founding of Odessa  in 1794 by Catherine the Great when the Russian Queen decided her empire could use a port on the Black Sea.

Spasso-Preobrazhenskiy cathedral, constructed in 1795, was one of the biggest in Russia. It was ordered dynamited by Stalin in 1932. It has been gradually rebuilt since 1999.
 

The Potemkin Stairs  are a formal entrance into the city from the direction of the sea. The 192 stairs leading from Prymorsky Boulevard down to the sea were constructed from 1837 through 1841.
 

Deribasovskaya Street is a pedestrian walkway in the heart of  Odessa. Next to the street is Odessa's first park, which was built shortly after the foundation of the city in 1803. This park has a fountain, bandstand, and several monuments.
 

Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater (1809) once echoed with concerts conducted by Peter Tchaikovsky and ballets featuring Anna Pavlova.
 

Ivan Martos's statue of the Duke of Richelieu stands in front of one of the many neoclassical style buildings.

The "Golden Child"  statue by  Ernst Neizvestny stands at the Port entrance.
 

Craftspeople continue the tradition of carving and painting Easter eggs and nesting dolls.