We stayed overnight in Sochi and awoke Sunday morning to a beautiful day! WINDY and cool, but sunny and cloudless! We started out by going to the Olympic Park! Very fun! We walked around there and then to the nearby beach. It was a rocky beach, no sand in sight. Our guide was a bit elusive about the shopping opportunities on Saturday. She just said that we would do shopping on Sunday. Well, come to find out, there are no souvenir shops in Sochi. I was surprised after being in St. Petersburg this summer and seeing their well planned souvenir shops. So, on the way back in to the town from the Olympic Park, we stopped at the train station to look around. That is the only place the guide thought we might find something to buy. I found a few things in the 20ish minutes we had there. (Good thing I am a fast shopper!) After that we went to Mt. Akhun. We went part way by bus and then had to switch to minivans for the rest of the ride up due to narrow, winding roads. Once there, it was an up the stairs hike to the top of a lookout tower. The views were gorgeous! The cloudless day was perfect for seeing Sochi and the surrounding countryside. There were a few shops there and I bought a couple more treasures. I also got a yummy pastry at the bakery. Most people I travel with won't try the local food because they think they will get sick, but I just go for it! The pastry was very good, better than most of the stuff that I have eaten in Europe. I think it had more of my favorite ingredient (sugar!) than most pastries I buy outside the USA.
I really enjoyed this stop on the trip. The weather and sites today more than made up for the nasty weather on Saturday.
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