A Shock

I have written here about my day in Kyiv but, on Friday evening, I am still reeling after the decision of the Parliament in Barcelona to declare independence. But it won't happen because, at almost the same time, the Government in Madrid activated Article 155, direct rule. But there is no knowing what will happen in the streets. I am shocked that we have come this far. See my previous post to realise what a disastrous path independence would be. Anyway..... back to Ukraine! Read later about the painting!



Monday morning, I woke to very pleasant weather, I went down to breakfast. I had decided to visit the house of Yanukovytch, the previous president of Ukraine. I decided to follow Marta's advice and look for a kiosk selling a tour of the house in the main street of Kyiv, Kreshatyk. I had left my phone charger and personal hotspot in the train which brought us back from Lviv. It had a very short USB cable so the hotspot was hanging above my head to the right. So it is was easy to miss. Normally I would put it in my bag. And I fancied a coffee. I found both destinations right next to each other. I bought a coffee which was delicious and then went into the Citrus store. Citrus is rather like PC World but they specialise in phones and tablets. I bought a charger and two USB cables. Then I went to a Kyvstar shop to check the balance in my phone because, from now, I would be using it for tethering to replace my lost wifi hotspot. That is a better idea anyway, so I didn't miss my little gizmo!
Just then, Marina phoned me and said that she would phone a taxi for me to go to the house but first I had to find a convenient place, easy to identify and with easy parking. I went down to the far end of Maidan where there is a very quiet area in front of McDonalds. But we got very mixed up about where the taxi would come and my phone battery was almost exhausted. Now the screen was blanking out to save energy. In the end, I never found the taxi, my phone was dead so I abandoned the trip. Marina meanwhile was getting frustrated because she couldn't contact me. I decided to forget the whole idea, better to do it in the summer, I decided.
I walked back to Maidan Metro and took the train to Dneiper by the river. The station was open and windswept. I enjoyed the view and then went back one stop to Arsenal'ad. I wanted to see a sunken cathedral but I wasn't exactly sure where I was going. I saw a Kamyucha restaurant (Камюша) which is where I went with Marta the previous evening so that was where I had lunch. Chicken Kiev and the same super cherry juice that I had with Marta. Now I was able to charge up my phones, one with a Kyvstar SIM, the other is my regular Spanish phone which I use for WhatsApp, using wifi.
I tried to contact Marina, I think I sent a message. By now it was getting rather cloudy and cold and I was getting rather dispirited. I decided to go back to the hotel where I had stored my suitcase after checking out and have a tea in the restaurant. And I could charge up my phones.

Then at about 6pm I walked back down to the station to take the Sky Bus to the airport where the Ligena Hotel mini-bus would pick me up. I chatted to Marina in WhatsApp while I was in the bus. I got to the hotel around 8pm, had a super meal, chatted to Marta by phone while I attempted to eat!

Next morning, I took the shuttle bus back to the airport. I had plenty of time and I stopped to marvel at a super exhibition of paintings in the air-side (so I was relaxed having passed through security and passport control) I have added a couple of photos. The artist is Antonyuk Andreu Danilovich (Антонюк Андрей Данилович). I am sure Marina will correct my conversion into Latin text!
Unfortunately, the flight departure was delayed for an hour but it didn't really affect my plans. We arrived back in Barcelona in time for me to catch the 15.40 AVE to Girona. I then went to get my hair cut and I wandered around until my Meetup group at 7pm. There was no time to go back home and then return to Girona. I have a slight problem with two of my members who don't get on very well (understatement!) so that is preoccupying me a little.

It is funny because I am writing this on Friday back at the hairdresser, this time having colour added because I didn't have sufficient time on Tuesday. On the 9th of November I go abroad again, this time to Thailand and the Philippines. This morning I went to the inoculation centre at Hospital de Salt to get my injections up to date. We talked about malaria tabs but the consensus is that, providing I am usually in the city such as Bangkok or Manila, the risk is small and it is better to take precautions against getting bitten, such as using a repellent. He suggested a couple of products. Last time I took this trip, I saw very few mosquitoes. I see  more in Spain, admittedly they don't normally carry malaria. The other danger is Dengue Fever which doesn't sound very nice. Here are the photos....

 

Here was a promotion for Ukraine Post but all the post cards had been used!