Apart Hotel Flora Residence Borovets

Hello again from a sodden Bulgaria. After months of prep and weeks of intensive effort today the Trussell team actually managed to distribute some Christmas boxes. As the muppets would say: Yayyyy!

For Sophia, Lizzie and Valya the day started in a leisurely fashion at the House of Joshua (HoJ) as Mimi and Rich started work in Sofia. Every year the Trust transports hundreds of boxes for a group of churches from Devon who have had a long ...

... A lot of the people that we talk to are really very touched by the generosity of those who have made the boxes and many wonder why we are even interested in them or those they are responsible for. Many of the children we will visit over the next two weeks are the forgotten members of a society that still has so many unanswered questions about itself after the collapse of communism 20 years ago. The legacy of those decades spent ...

... erilise hoolega oma põlve hoidnud, oleks neist suuskadest talle kindlalt väheks jäänud. Kuna jõudsime ennast valmis peale 12, saime osta poole päeva pileti, mis maksis 28 levat. 20 olime ennist maksnud ka varustuse eest. Esimese lifti järjekord oli tõeliselt pikk. Kui lõpuks kondliga tippu jõudsime, leidsime, et nüüd oleks aeg juba lõunat süüa. Mägibaarides on enamasti vanemad meesteenindajad, kellest esmapilgul ei saakski ...

... All the money generated by Second Chance goes back into the Bulgaria projects to help the Trussell Trust Bulgaria to cover its running costs. Meetings with Mr Petkov to finalise our distribution plan and then Galla our accountant followed and all is in order and ready to go. We are now about to set off to give Christmas Boxes to the children of Gurkovo Orphanage, so better get off the computer - can't wait!

... Trust has built The House of Joshua, which serves as a kind of halfway home between school and the real world for graduates of Lipnitza. Currently there are five young adults living in T.H.O.J, four of whom are in full-time work and are seeking to find a place of their own before too long. Before the existence of T.H.O.J, children would too often finish school and have nothing to do. With the help of T.H.O.J ...

We hired the same driver to take us to Koprivshtitsa, which was the home to many of the central figures in the April Uprising for Bulgarian Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1876.While the uprising was quashed, it led to the eventual independence in 1879. Cute little village with preserved houses of the patriots, but I wouldn't make a special trip.

... avail of!!! up early in the mornin and off to the slopes, spent all day on the slopes with an instructor who i have to admit, i probably tried his paitence to the limit! Towards the end of the week i became half decent and wasn't too bad goin down the BABY slopes! and experience which ill always remember and hopefully be brave enough to try again in a few months time!

Koprivshtitsa is an absolutely lovely village about 1 hour by train from Karlovo. It's a beautiful place for day hikes. During the weekend it does get very touristy. Koprivshtitsa is a historic town in Sofia Province, central Bulgaria, lying ...

... of the best runs with nice wide open red runs from the top of the chair lift to an awesome little green path through the forest. Kev, Ryan, Terry and I found the biathlon shooting range and after honing our shooting skills proceeded to get horribly lost on the cross country skiing sections which are REALLY not suited to snowboarding. 45 minutes of walking around the forest saw us back at the gondola however. We decided to attempt one of the drag ...

... green slopes that we had done on the first day just to see how far we had progressed, the answer, lots, we were getting well good!. One thing I haven't mentioned on here yet and I will now, is our general dislike of snowboarder. This has been developed over the course of the week and I will justify it now. Firstly they seem unable to stand up on there feet for more than 30 seconds before they stack and normally take out some unsuspecting skier. Secondly they are unable to get ...