From the Sea to the Mountains and Back Again...

The endless summer sky and hot sun make for an un­usual backdrop to mountain tops. We spent the morning sunbathing on the beach and swimming in the warm sea, then decided to spend the afternoon skiing, taking the picturesque mountain road up to the famous Krasnaya Polyana. This ski resort has been in the news a lot recently as the location for the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi. It will be the main arena for the sporting events. Krasnaya Polyana has developed rapidly: in just a few years, wooden buildings and rickety fences have been replaced by hotels and cottages, modern tourist.

Sochi is the only northern city in the world that has subtropical climate.

….bases with a whole industry of leisure and entertainment around them. The pistes of the main Caucasian ridge are considered among the most prestigious in the world, and the snow remains here until the middle of June. happy, and had chestnut honey, bilberry, raspberry, feijoa, blackberry and dried quince jams, washed down with some of the local herbal tea. This is a truly unique drink with a deli­cate aroma, an intense amber color and a remarkable flavor.

The ascent was incredible: the chairlift took us high up into the mountains where the setting sun painted the impos­ing, snow-covered mountains in shades of red. Back down at sea level, we sat, tired but

Sightseeing

Nothing beats swimming in the sea and sunbath­ing on the beach, then retiring to the nearest cafe to escape the midday sun, and have a fresh seafood salad washed down with cold beer, while admiring the extraordinary sea views laid out before you.

landscape and living sculpture with its numerous foun­tains, caves and lakes. Even when a tree has to be felled, ugly stumps are carved into sculptures or used as flower containers. This is quite cha­racteristic of Sochi.

We took our evening meal in the northern district of Bolshoy Sochi, the Laza- revskyi district. It is here, at the Dagomys plantations, that the most famous northern tea in the world, the Krasnodar tea, is grown. At a tea tasting in a cozy tea house, we concluded that this drink was better even than Chinese and Ceylon tea.

The Sochi Arboretum is one of the city's key land­marks. It was founded at the end of the fourteenth century and preserves an atmosphere of calm and order. Every corner of the subtropical park has been lovingly rebuilt and cared for, and it forms an incredible landscape and living sculpture with its numerous foun­tains, caves and lakes. Even when a tree has to be felled, ugly stumps are carved into sculptures or used as flower containers. This is quite cha­racteristic of Sochi.

Romance, restaurants and the surf of the gentle Black Sea

Only several hundred kilos of this product are produced each year, but it is of the ut­most quality The tea is not for everyone, however. It is only for those who can appreciate why a 100 g pack of green, yel­low, red or black tea in an origi­nal handmade cylindrical box in one of a selection of woods costs a minimum of 10 dollars apiece...

We ended our day in the village of Loo. Locals like to have a little fun with visitors, interpreting the name as meaning "I love to spend vacations alone". In fact, this place was quite lively, a "Little LA”, a nighttime city of lights, entertainment and music.

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