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Published: October 11th 2007
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We went to breakfast today with high hopes. I told the lady who was serving us that I was vegetarian and she nodded with understanding. First course was a weird uncooked aubergine, tomato and mayonnaise dish that neither of us could eat. It was such an unusual breakfast dish that we thought it must have been leftovers from the night before. The next course was even more unusual, it was a steak with rice and parsley. I reminded the lady again that I was vegetarian and she took it away. I realised I wasn't getting anything instead so I nipped to the toilet. When I got back, the steak was sitting on the table in front of me. Rob had said I was a vegetarian and she had shrugged and left it there anyway.
After our disappointing breakfast we decided to find the ferry that would take us to the Swallow's Nest. Yalta is a major port for ferries heading to many different destinations so you can understand us struggling to find the right ferry port. When we did the ferry was about to leave so we jumped on and sat in the outside bit.
The ferry rode along
the coast which was fun because the waves were big and we got the full effect of them. I absolutely loved it but I couldn't help imagining how much Rach would have hated it. It took about half an hour there which was amusing because most tourists didn't even stay that long there. The Swallow's nest is a tiny building built in the shape of a castle which is positioned precariously on top of some craggy rocks over the sea. It is very cool from a distance but up close it is very disappointing. From the ferry you climb a set of steps up to the castle. At the top of the steps there were two BIG guys waiting to charge us to get past, we knew it was a scam but there was nothing we could do. It was only 30p each but it really agitated us that they just got away with it. The Swallow's nest itself was actually just restaurant which was entirely disappointing and made the trip feel like a bit of a con. However, the views from the castle were phenomenal and the ferry trip was great.
Back in Yalta we were both starving
so we went to two places we knew served vegetarian food and they were both shut. We looked around for a while but our only option would have been a proper meal which we didn't want to do. We are not proud of what we did next, but please understand that desperation drove us to do it. We went to McDonalds and bought some fries and a muffin.
It wasn't too far from sunset so we sat on some steps to the sea and watched the jellyfish until the sun set. During the time at Swallow's nest, we realised that the black sea is full of jellyfish. Once you have seen them, you realise how many there are and it is quite overwhelming.
Our evening meal had easily been decided on. A pizza place called Mama Mia's was recommended in Lonely Planet and we'd walked past it during the day and knew it existed. We arrived fairly early around eight and pretended not to notice the stench that was coming from the back room. I ordered a pizza and Rob ordered a Lasagna neither of which they had. I attempted to order another pizza but they told us
they weren't doing pizzas today so we both ordered risotto. They were both nice but tiny portions and they didn't have any of the side orders we wanted. We left the restaurant forty minutes later still with a full evening to kill and a little bit peckish.
In the spirit of Ukrainian youth we purchased some bottles of beer and some strange flavoured Crisps and found a rather choicy spot. We sat on a bench by the sea again, but there was a busker playing the guitar above us. We had plenty of privacy but music to listen to as well. It is quite amusing listening to buskers because they Sing lyrics to songs as they've heard them and not as words, so occasionally they are just singing nonsense. The funniest song was "Alice" because the crowd joined in and the words became unrecognisable. We sat listening to the busker till midnight and then we stayed a bit longer. We only left because I became increasingly desperate for the toilet.
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Kate
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Swimming with the......
So you didn't fancy going 'Swimming with the jellyfish,' then? It would have been a bit different to common or garden swimming with dolphins. Love mumxxx