Сочи и Туапсе: Sochi & Tuapse

Every now and then I stop and think to myself, "Did we really go to Russia?"  Honestly, I sometimes find it hard to fathom that we really went! But we did and I'm so glad we were able to go.  Now to share the more of the journey with you (or really just to blog about it so we have it recorded somewhere).
Sochi and Tuapse were our last two cities in Russia.  They were also two cities I was especially excited to see; I'm not sure why, maybe because of stories Tim told me from his time there.



SOCHI:

 Yes, there are palm trees in Russia. And yes, Sochi will be hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics. After seeing the picture you may be skeptical, but I promise it's true. Sochi is lush, green, and about as south as you can go in Russia.  However, there are tall mountains around the city were many of the events will be held (this should take care of the snow aspect of the winter games).




Sochi was just a day trip during our time in Tuapse.  Make that a rainy-day trip.  It is definitely a place I want explore again, but I felt good about what we did in the time we had. Especially with the rain. In all honesty, I'm afraid this was not one of my most stellar days.  I felt like I complained a lot (I definitely did in my head which was not helpful) and was a bit down about things.  My Toms were soaked and I was trying not to let wet feet bother me, but I was not being very successful.  Looking back I remember a lot of really great things about the day.
They include:

Beautiful buildings, the voskal (train station) and sea voskal (port/ harbor)

Sochi Sea Voksal

a couch and cheesecake in a mall

McDonald's

random sculptures and beautiful parks

Taking the bus to the end of the line (it was brilliant idea, see the city and stay dry!)

Experiencing a new Russia treat: small chocolate covered mousse bars- super rich, super good.

Joking about the rain.... but seriously...

"Someday we're going somewhere like this.  Minus the raincoats."

 Tuapse:
I absolutely loved Tuapse.  It was one of those things were I knew I was going to like and then was surprised how much I loved it in the end.

Tuapse is set on the Black Sea, with rolling hills and lots of foliage.  It is incredibly beautiful.  We stayed with a wonderful member, enjoyed time visiting different families, and never had a shortage of delicious food and gracious hospitality.

We mixed our exploring and visits with a bit of down time. All in all I think we ended up with a good combo and got a great feel for Tuapse.

The view from where we stayed was very beautiful.  Notice the boots I'm wearing just one evidence of the hospitality we enjoyed! They were loaned to me because everyone was worried about my feet getting wet, they were definitely appreciated and I did surprisingly well walking in them.

Of course we took in some vistas of the Black Sea.

Rain or shine the market is up and running!

The most phenomenal bread!  I may or may not have obsessed about this bread.  I was so excited to get it and it did not fail to exceed all expectations.  It is actually a type of lavash from Armenia.  They slap the dough rounds on to the sides of a fire stone/cement oven, pull the cooked rounds off by poking a hole in the middle, and then hand you the fresh bread! AMAZING! I don't think this explanation does it justice, but just imagine warm, soft, and the perfect flavor.  One downside was that it's not very polite to dig in as soon as your hands are on it.  Tim got me to wait until we found a bench in a near by park.

I could barely stop eating to get a decent picture, but some how I managed to wait two seconds before digging in full speed.

All throughout Russia we encountered stray dogs.  I feel like America and Russia have a similar number of stray cats in cities, but the number of stray dogs in Russia was nothing like I've ever seen before.  This sweet guy had an owner, but acted much like a stray and joined us on a hike, looking for signs of food every second.

One of the best adventures in Tuapse was a short hike to some ruins in the hills just outside the city.  The forest was beautiful and the ruins were pretty cool.

Seriously, the green of the foliage was just a bit more intense than foliage we find around here.  None of these pictures have been photo shopped.  It really is that bright green and it was gorgeous.

Really in the end, as with each city we visited, it was the people who added such a special and personal touch to our time in Tuapse.  They are all such wonderful, giving, and loving people.  They opened their homes and hearts to us.  They shared of their time, resources, and selves.  I am so grateful to know these amazing people and to be able to call them my friends.

 

The Tuapse branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.