MY TOUR TO UKRAINE THIS YEAR

will not happen.  My travel agency informed my travel agent and me back in late November that they could not approve travel to Ukraine, for safety.  This was when the protest situation in Kyiv were still peaceful.  A wise decision, and the folks who signed up were relieved.   Hoping and praying that all will be ok for next summer.   See you then.

http://greatcanadiantravel.com/tours/europe-ukraine-culture-escorted-tour

GOING BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM

There is still time to register for this year's specialized tour to Ukraine (August 22-Sept. 8) with me as your "glorious leader" -- as one group named me. 

You can travel on your own (we all become friends and family) or you can bring a friend, relative, or significant other -- or a tribe -- as the Marykuca/Torbiak family did a few years ago.  This is Marvin's travel tale:

http://orysia.blogspot.ca/2012/03/my-good-friend-marvin-marykuca-wrote.html

please check out, and contact Martha:   

 http://www.greatcanadiantravel.com/europe-ukraine-culture-escorted-tour

GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM...

DO YOU WANT TO GO BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM?

Have you ever wondered about your baba’s and dido’s family back in Ukraine?  Is there anyone left after a century or more?  Where did they live?  What did their village look like?  Is Ukraine different now?

The answer to the last question is “yes” and “no.”  Your ancestral homeland is very modern, and yet quite traditional.  You will see both.  If you have no relatives there anymore, or are not Ukrainian, and just want to see and experience a beautiful part of the world, come along with me!

Join me on a specialized tour of Ukraine like no other.  We see people and places that will remain in your memories for a long time.  The scenery, the history, the culture, the people, the food, the drink, the art and architecture, the serendipity – all blend into a memorable journey.

If you’re interested in having family, extended family and friends go on “your” tour, we can customize it.  Not only will you see the highlights of Ukraine, but you will visit your ancestral villages and towns, meet relatives or people who remember them, and celebrate your ancestry.  If you want to join me on a regular tour, where we can visit your villages, that can be arranged.  And if you’re not Ukrainian, that’s fine, too – join us and become part of the family!

This will be my 15^th tour.  I have led folk art and culture tours to Ukraine almost every summer.  The folks who travelled with me are from all across North America, from the Northwest Territories to Florida and Iowa, and from California to Rhode Island and Nova Scotia.  Then there are the ones from Japan and Australia!  Now we are all friends, and I am blessed to have met and traveled with them.   We're off from August 22 to Sept. 8, 2013.  Enough time to plan.


Have added some photos --  urban and rural.  What a beautiful place!   More to follow.

The number in the tour is limited, so folks need to sign up with Martha Banias as soon as they can.

GOING TO UKRAINE - AUGUST 2013

We have the dates for 2013, folks!    Aug. 22-Sept. 8

Please check with Martha Banias at:

http://www.greatcanadiantravel.com/europe-ukraine-culture-escorted-tour


And if you have any questions, please contact me.


Some photos from Khotyn, a very old fortress on the Dnister River:

 

 

UKRAINE IN SEPTEMBER

Have to find time to post more often, right?  Too much stuff going on.  Recently finished a translation (Ukrainian into English) of an introduction to an album on a unique and prominent sculptor of the 18th c.  Maybe the book will be ready for the Forum of Publishers in Lviv in September.  Will post more info once I get it.

It just so happens that my trip to Ukraine coincides with this Forum (one of the largest bookfairs in Europe after Frankfurt).  What serendipity!  What could go wrong - books and Orysia!   Oy!  Anyway, really looking forward to the Forum, to being in Ukraine, and to meeting people and wandering the streets.   The last -- just love to do that.  Will start out early morning, have a coffee and/or breakfast on some patio and will watch the world go by.  Then, will just go off madly in some direction -- observing, photographing, reading the historic and cultural plaques on so many buildings, stopping for a coffee or beer, more wandering, deciding where to have lunch or supper.....   Just delightful.  I love it.  Will do the same in Lviv, Kolomyia, Kosiv, and Kyiv.  And there's so much more territory to cover in Kyiv!   Will also be presenting a lecture at the Ivan Honchar Museum in Kyiv - sometime at the end of September. 

This time, as before, will gather information and photographs for a number of articles - on travel, folk arts, restaurants, and whatever inspires me.  I think many non-Ukrainians "discovered" Ukraine during EuroCup, and are interested in learning more.  It is still a hidden gem for travel.

Will keep youse guys posted on my adventures.  And maybe I'll run into some of you there!