Second day in Yalta. Main visit was to the Aloupka Palace, built by Prince (Count?) Michael Vorontsov, who was apparently richer than the Czar. The picture is of a ceiling in one of the rooms. Although it has the appearance of wood, it is actually papier mache and is original. While many other palaces were looted and badly damaged after the revolution, this one was protected and preserved as a museum. Today we left Yalta at noon and will cruise overnight to ...

Arrived in Yalta early this morning. Yalta is probably the most beautiful place we have visited on this trip. it was a playground for both the Russian Imperial Court under the czars and the communist leadership in the USSR. We visited the White Palace this morning that was a summer palace for Czar Nicholas II. It is probably best known as the site of the summit (Feb 4 - 11, 1945) where Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin met to divide up Europe after WWII. Yalta...