Pereyaslav Khmelnytsky

We decided to take a day trip yesterday because it was such a beautiful day. Today is Orthodox Easter followed by May Day on Thursday, so the city has cleared out! Traffic is non existent and I think it will be for another week.

Pereyaslav Khmelnytsky is about 50 miles east of Kiev. Historically it was an important city in the Kievan Rus. In 1654, Bogdan Khmelnytsky, a Ukrainian Cossack who protected Ukraine from the Poles, signed a treaty in Pereyaslav Khmelnytsky swearing Ukraine's allegiance to Russia. And the rest is history!

While there we visited the town center and later the architectural museum. The town was pretty empty since it is Easter weekend. The museum is smaller than the one in Kiev, but a lot more interesting.

A memorial to soldiers killed in World War II

We returned to Kiev (thankfully we made it alive) a different way than we went. We discovered that we spent the day about 15 miles from Ms. Olga's summer house! We will go out to her summer house in a couple of weeks. The drive back was horrifying. Traffic was pretty steady in heading east and west. I am amazed we didn't see any accidents. The people out driving were passing other cars, trucks and buses without giving too much thought to safety. We did see one accident when we got back on the main highway. Apparently a car was trying to turn into a gas station and took the turn too fast. They ended up crashing into the guard rail. The passengers and driver got out of the car and sat by the side of the car waiting for the insurance person to show up. While they sat, the drank beer and had a good laugh. Makes you wonder if the beer was the cause of the accident.

I followed this guy for a long time--more to protect him from other drivers than anything else. He was a brave man driving on the mail road with no helmet!

I continue to wait for the lilacs to bloom!

A Spring day in Kiev

We decided to take advantage of the sunshine and take some pictures of the blooms! There weren't too many gardens in bloom yet, but we found plenty to photograph. Enjoy!

Standing out in a crowd

She sells balloons, seeds, nuts, and cigarettes

The Rada

A full playground

Magnolia in bloom

Laura Rose (11)

Benjamin (10)

Guess who we chatted with this morning?

President and Mrs Bush and Secretary Rice stopped by Kiev on their way to Bucharest, Romania for the NATO summit. We met these folks three years ago in Riga, but wanted to say "hello" again. The kids were excited. Last time we met them, Laura shook the President's hand while Ben stood by and looked terrified. Recently, before the visit was announced, Laura chose Secretary Rice as her "favorite" leader. She wrote a speech about Dr. Rice's life and accomplishments. I thought it would be a great idea to try and arrange a "meeting" of Laura and Dr. Rice. After a lot of back and forth with Embassy personnel and Dr. Rice's people, all we could get was a "we'll try to get her a picture with Dr. Rice."



This morning after the President spoke to the crowd and went to take his pictures with the children, Dr. Rice shook people's hands and made small talk. When she got to where the children were, she asked a classmate of Laura's, Landon, where she was. She said she wanted to meet Laura! Landon told Laura and she went to Dr. Rice. A picture was taken by someone else and we are waiting for it. Once I get it, I will post it.



One thing President Bush said to the group this morning that really stayed with me was "Thank you." He thanked all the Americans for serving our country and he hoped we were as honored by the privilege as he was to serve. He said we should all go home and call our family and friends at home and tell them that the "ole President" was in town and he says, "Thank you for your support," of all the Americans who serve abroad.



So, we all four say to you, our family and friends, thank you for your support of us over the past 16 years as we have lived abroad and experienced more than imaginable. We all appreciate your love and support!

Here she is! Laura met her "favorite" leader, Dr. Condoleezza Rice