Art Hostel Sofia

... Bulgare ;-) (comme en témoigne les vidéos)
Le lendemain matin nous avons parcourus les crêtes a la rencontre de paysages magnifiques. Une petite session d'escalade nous a même permis de parfaire nos corps d'athlète.
Sur le chemin du retour, nous nous sommes arrêté dans un restaurant afin de découvrir la cuisine Bulgare, que de bonne découvertes d'une gastronomie fine et ...

... bus in Serbia, mounted on the wall next to its elk skulls and rifles. What are the chances!? After a painfully and deliciously spicy pepper-chicken soup at the Bulgarian Mos Eisley Cantina, (which I bravely finished all of, and proceeded to enter a shamanic pepper-trance), Tim and I flagged a ride with an enterprising Bulgarian who claimed his car was a "Taksi". For four euro, he took us 500m into the next town ...

... for foreign visitors, such as Golden Sands and Sunny Beach, the letter being the largest resort with the longest and widest strip of beach. Its hotels look out over the sea among dunes and it is known as the sunniest resort in Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Black Sea coast has been inhabited since time immemorial, with earliest records dating back to the 5th century BC. Situated in the southern part of the Bulgarian Black Sea Riviera ...

... time we should have been at the border so I open the door and my Serbian friend is there, offering me drugs again. I think when said 'maybe later' to get rid of him, he took it literally. But then I realised why he'd befriended me earlier on when his mate asked if I could hide their massive stash of cigarrete cartons under my bed during the border crossing. A definitive 'no' and then back to bed to ...

... and NY. Seeing as I was still sick with a red, runny nose, I knew I had no mojo and there was no point flirting with anyone. Plus Mari had already mentioned her boyfriend arriving the next day. We met a couple Irish travelers at the pub and they joined our group and came back with us to the hostel at the end of the evening for more drinks. The night ended with me, Mari and the Irish sitting around the downstairs bar and Dave sulking in the corner. I thought it was a fun ...

... it's quite disturbing to see the events unfolding in the ME. It's hard to believe I was there only a short month ago during a time of relative calm. I can't help but follow the news closely and have thoughts pop into my head throughout each day. I feel very fortunate that I had the opportunity to be there and meet only a very few people that will continue to be impacted.

More randomness later from Plovdiv or Veliko Tarnovo.

... by 2 hours, we finally boarded our plan to Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. We EVENTUALLY touched down in Sofia and were met by our resort rep and waiting coach. On the way to the resort (90 minute transfer) we were kept well entertained by some very bad Bulgaria commentary, some huge potholes but even more so by Ryan's dodgy chair ...

... I fell in love with the Danube! It is wide and pulses with life. The whole country was verdant and lush with agriculture, trees, orchards and even a few vinyards. I came to understand experientially why the Neolithic people called the River and the earth the Great Mother. The Vinca site was a little disappointing because there was very little to see except for the site. They set up their musuem in July and August. We heard a fascinating presentation on ...