Crimea Trip Photos

I finally got around of sorting Crimea photos from a trip two weeks ago:

• for Crimean landscape and road photos please see: http://picasaweb.google.com/gordie26/CrimeaRoadPhotos?authkey=Gv1sRgCOiVnvjK2PKzHg&feat=directlink
• photos of Livadia - the palace where from Feb 4th -11th 1945 Roosevelt stayed and in which Yalta (or Crimean) Conference took place. In Livadia Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin signed communique on formation of United Nations. Before the Revolution the palace was a "holiday palace" of imperial family. Thus there is some logic in a palace exhibition set up: on the first floor photos are related to the Conference and on a second floor photos to the imperial family. http://picasaweb.google.com/gordie26/LivadiaYalta?authkey=Gv1sRgCMDi4tW479_7Ig&feat=directlink
• people in Crimea love pets; there are everywhere - around stands, in shops, in parks, in hotels. My favourite photos are of Gosha (a dogie) with a cat. They are true lovebirds: http://picasaweb.google.com/gordie26/CrimeanDogiesAndCats?feat=directlink
• Alupka is a spectacular palace of Prince Michael Vorontsov; the governor-general of New Russia - territory which in imperial Russia included part of Ukraine and Crimea. He is also known as "creator" of Odessa. M. Vorotsov was married to Elizabeth Branitsky, a daughter of Alexandra Branitsky (one of Potemkin nieces and "the lady in waiting" of Cathrine the Great; she made Alexandryvka Park in Belaya Cerkov). Elizabeth Vorotsov allegedly had an affair with Pushkin while he was in Odessa. The gossip is that Pushkin fathered one of Elizabeth daughters. The palace has spectacular staircase in the garden with six lions sculpted in Carrara marble. Each lion is different. My favourite is a sleeping lion. http://picasaweb.google.com/gordie26/Alupka?authkey=Gv1sRgCNmwxeDox-yjWQ&feat=directlink
• Bakchisaray - was a a seat of Crimean Khans. It is built by Crimean Tatars and according to wiki it is one of three Muslim's palaces in Europe the other two being Top Kapi and Alhambra. The palace is also famous because of marble fountain about which Pushkin wrote a poem. When Cathrine the Great conquered Crimea she gave an order to destroy all Tatar settlements - except Bakchisaray. http://picasaweb.google.com/gordie26/Bakchisaray?authkey=Gv1sRgCIemjb3Zr8jR_wE&feat=directlink