Sofia Guesthouse

got to the airport at half 4 in the morning, flight left on time at half 6, 3 seats between the two of us wohoo i can stretch out!

Got off the plane and was sooo excited I was going to see my dad in the next half hour I wanted to just leave the bas and get outside and meet him!! gray had to calm me down a bit!

Once we had bags we went to the entrance and turned the mobile on...argh it ...

... br>There's not a huge amount of sightseeing to be done for the 3 days I'm staying here before heading down to Istanbul to meet Sherry, Jo and Rachel in Istanbul, so that's all I've got to say about Sofia for now, though I might have more to add if I take the hiking trip to the nearby mountaintop monastery tomorrow.

My inclination would be to stop writing at this point, but what kind of Brown grad would I be if I shut up just because ...

... Thus a proud tradition finds fertile soil in the Balkans, that of the British ex-pat, scattered far and wide across the globe, putting down roots wherever the soil is deep enough to park an elbow and the beer strong enough to mitigate any regrets. This has been going on for years, as much a part of the Pax Britannica as limes and baked beans. I doubt sterling will drop so far on FX markets to change that any time soon. Sofia's not bad ...

... had to stop for inspections. Soliders came onto the train to check our passports several times, and we got finally got some more stamps! We didn't really know what was going on for awhile because the train would stop and then reserve and go back the way we had came. Jared and I were so confused. We eventually started moving the right way again and stopped at the border for a second time. This time though, we had our passports taken away for a long time and I was worried we ...

... the aim to simulate the architectural glory of Bysantinum. Other interesting sights to see in in the city center are Narodno Sabranie square (National Assembly),a large cobbled square with Parliament building on the south ,and on the north a with 14 m monument showing Tsar Alexander II of Russia on the horseback. Nearby is also beautiful Russian church of St.Nicolas,National Art gallery and Ethnographic ...

... a wall of cigarette smoke. Through the haze I could just make out a hippy looking fellow sedately puffing away his long term health with great content. I headed sheepishly to the bed, already thinking of ways to get out of this scenario. I had just endured two indescribably smoky hours with Pat and Dot on the train, and my lungs could not now take a whole night in this smoke-filled dorm. After five minutes of the usual introductory speeches - during which time ...

... to stay at a place...so don't stay at Internet Hostel... The lovely part of Bulgaria and Sofia are the cheap eats...and the signs which are more or less only in Cyrillic of course... For 5 euro you can have a MASSIVE meal! I was barely spending anything on eating and still leaving with a half full plate... Plus there was a delightful veg restaurant, where for 7 Euro Sam and I got 5 veg courses! Wow was it ever good! Anywho time to move on from Sofia

... next to the Synagogue. It was clean and spacious. Both cooked food and raw ingredients are sold there. It looks like a smaller and less touristy version of the Grand Market Hall in Budapest, the first Eastern European city I visited this year back in May. However, unlike the one in Budapest, there were hardly any foreign tourists in this market hall. Unlike Budapest, Sofia, or even the whole Bulgaria is still waiting to be ...

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... endearing "nuances" that make ex-pat living so rewarding. I love being given change in band-aids, chewing gum, or whatever is available when proper change isn't. I love seeing giant bears crossing the main street of Sofia (at the crosswalk, of course). I love having my fortune read weekly by a guinea pig named Gabriella. I love walking outside on a crisp winter day and smelling the burning coal everyone still uses to heat their homes (yes, I know how ...