Odessa, Ukraine

I woke up nearer to 10:00 than to 09:00 today and slowly got ready. After showering, dressing, and packing my bags, I went outside after noon to enjoy Odessa for one last day. I walked by Vorontsov Palace and on Primorsky Boulevard, returning to the Potemkin Stairs to take some photographs from the harbor across the street. I then walked past the City Hall and Odessa Opera and Ballet Theater before turning southward to the Odessa Passage. I was still on the lookout for a cheap place to buy some additional clothes (I didn’t want to pay top-dollar for overpriced designer wear), but never found it inside the center of Odessa. I then walked north again and stopped at an Irish Pub, which is so in name only, and had a hamburger with French fries and half a liter Guinness (Guinness beer was the most Irish thing about this place). After lunch, I wandered around the town some more before returning to the hostel to research some of my future plans. While in the common area of the hostel, I talked with an Asian American who had been traveling around on and off (between college) for about four years. We had a long conversation and it was interesting to hear someone else’s take on requirements for a wife (we pretty much agreed on this topic, in terms of common interests (should be similar), hobbies (can be widely different), and values (should be nearly exact)), his favorite country (being an Economics major and Asian, he really liked Singapore; I, however, really like freedom and could never live in Singapore longer than a week – besides, their casinos sucked), etc. After 18:00, the Asian-American met up with a friend and they left to eat dinner; I stayed at the hostel for another thirty minutes before I followed suit. I walked out to Primorsky Boulevard again to take some photos of it at night (with all its Christmas Tree lights strung up) and passed by a political rally held at the top of the Potemkin Stairs, next to the Duke de Richelieu Monument (depicting Odessa’s first Mayor); I’m not sure what the rally was for, but there were religious figures and flag wavers as well as a small crowd and video cameras recording the event. I then walked around for a while, ending up at Primorsky Boulevard again (this time with lights turned on) and saw the rally was still there after me being gone for almost an hour (they were singing songs at this point). I finally ended up at another Irish Pub for dinner (this one was slightly more legitimate based on their menu; however, they too did not offer bangers and mash, colcannon, Irish stew, black pudding, nor shepherd’s pie – also, neither restaurant had traditional Irish music. WTF?!). Oh well, I ended up having a turkey sandwich, spicy chicken wings, and a liter of Guinness beer. After dinner, I returned to the hostel and waited there until I had a taxi come at 22:15 to take me to the Odessa Railway Station (it wasn’t too far away, but it was cold outside and I didn’t feel like walking). Once at the railway station, I found the train to Kiev, boarded the sleeper car I was assigned to, and found my bed (in Second Class). I then made my bed and laid down in it. The train then departed the station and I went to bed shortly after the porter came around and collected everyone’s tickets.