I'm taking too long with this, really... no good excuses. New Year holidays and the repairs in my flat are not sufficient, really. Anyway, let's get on with it. Here's the second part of my first day in Odessa - the second day will be in the next update.

We were nearing the Black Sea, and this is the City Hall, I believe.








Walking north-west towards the famous steps.








A famous hotel, though I can't remember the name.








And now, the famous steps - with a missing person in the middle.








From the bottom. They are rather large. Those of you who remember my Eurotour posts will remember me on the Spanish Steps in Rome, and I mentioned going to Odessa one day. Well...






Next to the steps: trains.








We're now going onto the pier sticking out of the north-eastern part of Odessa, and you can see the steps in the distance (and a bird in the foreground).






Here we have the seaport - or 'morskiy vokzal' ('sea station') - and that helpful information board can tell you what is around here.







Woo, strong baby! I'm sure there's some deep meaning behind this sculpture, but it just freaked us out.







The Hotel Odessa. In case the photo doesn't make it clear, this thing is big.










A rather fuzzy photo looking out into the port.








There are loads of boats, big and small.








All over the place.








Unsurprisingly, there are also pigeons.








There's a little chapel here, too.








And some big cranes for getting stuff onto (and off) ships.











"Bye, daddy!"











Yes, it's a nice statue, remembering all the people setting sail from Odessa.







The hotel again.











Back on terra firma, somewhat. This is the statue of Duc de Richelieu, who is very important to Odessa. Thing he may have founded it or something. I'm probably way off there, but still...









A very military-looking truck nearby, saying something like 'victory will be for us!' on the side. Weird.







Vorontsov's Palace, I believe.








And there's this load of columns next to it.








A closer look. Popular with skater boys, obviously.








Continuing our walk north-west, this is the Teschin Bridge, which is notable for one thing...







...loads of locks on the side. Apparently it's to symbolise the long-lasting relationships between couples.







'Sasha + Yulia = Love'! It's worth pointing out that Sasha is both a boy's and girl's name.







Impressive... wish I knew what it was.








We went back towards town to get something to eat.








On the way we saw some rather elaborate building decorations.











And this made me laugh.











Everybody wanted their picture taken next to this monument. I think it had something to do with Russia.










Alas, night drew in, and the lights came on. It wasn't Christmas - it was April, actually - but the trees were covered with lights all the same.






Lovely.











And so to bed. You'll find out about the next day very soon.