ELENA VESNINA BLOG. "THERE ARE PLENTY OF GOOD RESTAURANTS IN SOCHI".

SOCHI, Russia 
Elena Vesnina was born in Ukraine but moved to Sochi at a young age and still lives there. With the Winter Olympics about to get going in the beautiful coastal city, we thought it would be a good time to ask the mega-talented singles and doubles star to talk to us about Sochi - in particular... 
The best restaurants. "There are plenty of good restaurants in Sochi," Vesnina said. "Some of my favorite restaurants are Blue Sea, La Terrazza and Brigantine. 
There are some more nice restaurants above the river and by the seaside as well. They're really cozy with really good Shashlyk - like Shish kebab. It's delicious there. Kaukaz kitchen is very popular in Sochi. And the vegetables are also really good in Sochi because it's a really warm climate, so go for the salads and the soups. The Borscht is incredible, and Okroshka soup is really good too - in the summertime it's very nice to have this cold soup." The best place to relax. 
"Of course it's at home - in my house, with my dog!" The weather. "Usually it's very warm," she said. "It's very hot and humid in the summer, but right now it's more like 10 degrees, which is pretty warm for this time of year - usually it's lower. In the Red Valley, where the Olympics will be, it'll definitely be cooler.

But it won't be -30 like in Moscow! It'll never be like that. "It's a very nice climate in Sochi - it's a very soft climate." The best thing to do on a day off. "It depends on my mood! It can be shopping, or just relaxing on the beach. I love swimming in the sea. I love all of the fun things to do at the sea too - I'm a big fan of jet skiing. 
Or I can just spend time with my dog and my family at home, relax, cook some nice breakfast or lunch for them, then go out and spend some time with my friends and go to the cinema. So one of those things probably!" Her favorite place in Sochi from when she was growing up. "Definitely my first tennis club. It wasn't even a club actually - it's a park, Riviera Park, and there were three clay courts, so my parents bought me a racquet and took me there. It's a beautiful park with tall, beautiful trees where the courts are.
There's a lot of other things to do there too - a roller coaster, games for the kids - when I was working hard on the courts they were all having fun around me, and I wanted to go and have fun too! But I really have so many great memories from that park.