TOUR 6 days / 5 nights «Gastro and Wine tour along the routes of Ukrainian Bessarabia»
DAY 1
Pick at Odesa airport.
Half Day (3 hrs) city tour of Odessa city center. The center of the city was designed according to a classic city plan with wide wooden streets that extended to the south of Primorskiy Boulevard. The architectural ensemble of the city includes marvelous buildings constructed in the beginning of the 19th century, wide embankment area covered by the shadows of the trees, a wide park that extends up till the very sea shore and the Potyemkin stairs. There are 193 steps in Potyemkin Stairs, constructed in the period between 1937 and 1941, that begin right at the footsteps of the Monument to Count DeRishelier (the found of the city). There is a statue of Pushkin and British cannon gun, taken in 1854 during Crimean campaign, located at the eastern side of Primorskiy Boulevard, right in front of Odessa City Counsil. Another wonder of Odesa is Vorontsovskiy Palace located by the western entrance to Primorskiy Bulevard. Vorontsovskiy Palace , being a former residence of Odessa Governor, was constructed in 1826 in classic architectural style with Oriental architectural details in its interior décor.
Opera and Ballet Theater is one more shrine of Odesa. The Theater was designed in 1880s by Austrian architects Felner and Gelmer in Habsburger baroque style with Italian renaissance architectural elements in its exterior and interior design.
During the excursion you will be able to visit Assumption Cathedral and see its famous ancient icons. Construction of Assumption Cathedral started in 1855. Once finished, this Cathedral became the biggest temple of the territory of the former Russian Empire. The high of its bell tower was upto 56 meters. The Cathedral accommodates upto 5000 people at a time. There are lower and upper parts of the Cathedral. Heritage of Christianity of the Southern Ukraine - Kasperska Icon of Saint Mary – is located at the Assumption Cathedral. During times of war , the Cathedral was sheltering quite a few religious groups in Odesa.
Option dinner at FRUMUSHIKA restaurant (address : 15/1, Raduzhnyy massiv, Limanka, Odesa). Tasting of different meals of Bessarabia and Moldovan cuisines.
Check in to ALEXANDROVSKIY hotel in Odesa. Overnight..
DAY 2
08.00 – 09.00 : Breakfast at the hotel followed by the check out.
09.00 – 12.00 : Transfer to recreation complex FRUMUSHKA-NOVA (7 km away from Starosillya and Vesela Dolyna villages, about 220 km away from Odesa).
12.30 – 16.30 : Excursion program to the recreation complex FRUMUSHIKA-NOEV (wine cellars, wine tasting, gastronomic brands of “Frumushika”, park of Soviet sculptures and other attractions), which includes:
- Lunch (meals prepared according to traditional recipes of Bessarabia);
- Visit to the world's largest statue "Shepherd Frumushiki-Nova"
- Visit to an open-air ethnographic museum "Bessarabian village Frumushika-Nova";
- Visit to the park-museum of sculptures "History of the Bessarabian land";
- Visit to the park of Soviet monnuments and sculptures ;
- Visit to the Memorial Hill;
- Visit to the ethnographic exposition in the museum "Bessarabia, 19-20 centuries";
- Visit to wine cellars with tasting of a wide range of locally produced wines;
The wine cellar was one of the first 3 buildings of Frumushika-Nova in 2006, that was built togetehr with a winter shelter for sheep and the first shepherd's house.
Andriy Diomidovych Palariev supervised the construction of the cellar (width - 5 m, length - 25 m). He followed a military engineer-sapper guide-book in order to construct the vault of the wine cellar. Folk from the neighboring village of Starosillya assisted him a lot while the construction took place. Mr Palariev promised to buy wine grapes at the most profitable price from these people if the cellar is ready by August the 1st. Skillful leadership, high skills of the builders and good motivation did their job. The basement was built in 45 days.
Guests are invited to taste variety of dry red wines : Cabernet, Merlot, Saperavi, which have scent and taste of oak bark, blueberries, currants, cherries, black pepper and vanilla, as well as that of dry white wines: Citron, Riesling, Sukholimansky, Aligote, that have flavors of apples, apricots, and sometimes peaches with an exotically sweet floral, nutmeg, honey and citrus flavor bouquet.
The wine is made according to a traditional family recipe and is completely natural, without preservatives, from the best local varieties of grapes, which must be collected by hand. All wines are stored in oak barrels. This makes the taste of wine more noble, helps to preserve the natural taste. You get drinks with a unique range of flavors that can give a lot of pleasant moments and emotions. Guests have the opportunity to get useful advice on the choice of wine, as well as learn the culture of its use in Bessarabia. Even those who are not very fond of alcoholic beverages , will be greatly impressed by the taste and flavor of of Bessarabian wine as it is hard not to notice the skill with which these wine are produced and their high quality. This drink absorbs the energy of the earth and the warmth of the sun, a drink that comes out with new flavors every time.
Overninght at the complex FRUMUSHIKA-NOVA
DAY 3
08:00-11:00 : Breakfast at the complex FRUMUSHIKA-NOVA with traditional moldovaplatsinda. Check out of the hotel.
11.00-12:30 : Transfer to Sarat (4, Promzonna street, Sarat).
12.30 – 14.00 : Dinner and food tasting of Besarabian cuisine at BESARABSKIY DVORIK restaurant.
14.00 : Transfer to Strumok (Tatarbunarskiy region, 25, Sonyachna street).
15.00 – 17.00 : Visit of V.PETROV organic vineyard . Wine tasting of organic wines, vintage, culinary master class that will show you how to prepare dolma with kilian rice, bottling of your own wine
17.00 -17.30 : Transfer to Primorske village (Kiliyskiy region, Primorske village,2, Prikordonna street).
17.30-19:00 : Visit to green tourism farm and cheese production place, BRYNZARNYA. Visit to SLOW FOOD BESARABIA location
Culinary master class
19:30 : Cheese tasting and dinner – traditional cuisine.
22:00 : Proceed to Vilkovo.
Check in to DELTA hotel.
DAY 4
7.00 – 8.00 : Breakfast at DELTA hotel followed by the check out
9.00 - 16.00 : Tour of Vilkovo Lunch on the Island.
16:30 : Transfer to Ismail.
18.30 – 19:30 : Overview excursion of Ismail.
20:00 : Wine, food tasting and dinner at VINARIA wine cellar (51-53, Pokrovska street, Izmail).
21:30 : Check in to BESSARABIA hotel (2, Suvorova street, Izmail)
DAY 5
7.00 – 8.00 : Breakfast at the hotel .
09.00 – 09.30 : Transfer to Krynychne village. Approximate transfer time – 30 minutes.
09.45 – 11.45 : Visit to family vinery COLONIIST. (в 54, Bolgradska str., Krynychne), wine tasting.
12.00 – 14.00 : Visit to Bulgarian Manor of Tatyana Dukova . Master class of traditional bred baking followed by dinner
14.00- 14.30 : Transfer to Tabaki village.
14.30- 15.30 : Visit to crafting cheese factory SHCHEDRA OKOLYTSA. Cheease tasting in the cheese cellar.
15.30 - 16.00 : Transfer to Bolgrad village
17.00 - 18.00 : Visit to BOLGRAD vinery. Wine tasting.
18.00 – 21.00 : Proceed to BALKANSKI YASTIYA (81, Shidna street, Bolgrad). Food tasting, dinner, Bulgarian folklore
21.00 : Transfer back to Izmail.
DAY 6
07.00-07.30 : Check in from the hotel
07.30 – 08.10 : Transfer from Izmail to Oksamytne village (Villa Tinta vinery – 1-Б, Nova street, Oksamytne).
08.30 – 10.30 : Breakfast at Villa Tinta, visit to the vinery.
10.30 – 12.00 : Transfer to Dmytrivka village (11б, Gagarin street, с. Дмитрівка).
12.00 -15.00 : Visit to Cultural Center of Bulgaria in Dmytrivka village. Proceed to “Sovinyon” restaurant. Folklore program. Food and wine tasting. Dinner.
16.00 : Transfer from Dmitrivka village to Odesa village
General amount of kilometers during the route : 670,3 кm