Commemorating the 1932-33 famine

Holodomor - death by starvation, in which an estimated four to 10 million people died during the forced collectivisation of farms in Ukraine and the seizure of all crops by the Soviet Authorities. It is commemorated annually; a somber, but beautiful, event, with thousands of people lighting candles in St. Sofia Square and in front of the nearby Mikhailovsky Monastery.

We went (a bit late) with our friend Erin, of Laos fame, who was in for Thanksgiving from Paris.








Afterwards, we headed down into Podil, the old merchant/port part of town and now a trendy area of cafes, bars and restaurants. You can take a funicular from just behind the Monastery. And so we did.



Our destination was El Asador, an Argentine steak house. Pretty good stuff. Empanadas, Chorizo, Provoleta, and Steak. The chimichurri sauce was electric green, but not bad.

As Erin was loading her bag into the cab to go to the airport, we realized we had no photos of all of us together from the weekend. And so, cab driver became photographer.



He decided that the point of view wasn't so great, and maybe we should go to the boulevard to get a better photo with the trees stretching into the distance. We decided against it. What better backdrop than a beauty salon for such beautiful people?