Butterfly Apartment Sofia

... work we didn't get it set up to work abroad...oops. go outside to find the father...he's not there. ask where to get change and get pointed to a small exchange office. decided that we'd just get a drink at the cafe and get changethat way, picked up a can of coke and went to pay for it....5 LEV. gave a 10 and got a 5LEV note back. but we need change please....go to the bank we don't give change ...

... I ate lunch and dinner there.<br><br>When I was back in the hostel its owner convinced me that rather than going to Bansko in the southwestern corner of the country, deep in the mountainous area and the site for a future Winter Olympic, I should do my hiking in an area called the 7 lakes which is closer to Sofia. To go there involved 3 changes of buses but he got it all written down for me so I went to bed thinking that the next day would be a happy day of hiking.

... my excuses, edged uneasily from my seat and said goodbye to them (they'd refused my offer to buy them both drinks, good people- I don't want to be seen as a round dodger, it's just really hard to buy them outside Britain). I stumbled out of the pub and, after taking a few seconds to remember what country I was in, headed back towards the bus station. I got as far as the Happy Bar and Grill before remembering the first Irish pub I'd wanted to visit. So, against my ...

... sold cider.  For what we paid for our last bottle of it in Santorini, we could buy 4 of them here.  Also, our hostel gave us a private room with free internet, all-you-can-eat breakfast, and dinner (a bowl of pasta and a beer) all for about 30 Canadian dollars - and this is one of the more expensive ones.  From here we are catching an overnight bus to Bosnia to check out Sarajevo for a few days before we head to Croatia. Megan and Kevin

... book. I suppose I had to come across a hostel with roaches at some point in my hostelling career but I was hoping I could get away with it for a bit longer. As long I don't find the bed has fleas or bed bugs....... I've jinxed it now havent I? It has been boiling hot in Sofia, at least 30-32 degrees, although its dry heat here unlike the UK so although you are sweating like mad you don't really feel it too badly. On the Saturday I tried going round most of the ...

... We ended our short time together before his stop speaking of health care and potential alternatives to the American health care system. Before he left he expressed what a delight is was speaking to me and said he knows so much about our health care systems and socio-economical factors because he has a PHD in American Healthcare Systems and takes frequent trips to Washington DC on business and east coast to teach seminars at Universities around the ...

... the yellow brick road. Oh ...

... I get it. Shaking your head no means yes. Maybe that's why when I wanted some water and shook my head yes they thought I meant no. Oh what a foolish knave am I. 2) Your train is a relic of the 50s, the WC is a hole onto the tracks, and they try to seat 4 where there is room for 3. When your train gets hit by a projectile (somebody threw a rock?) the window breaks. This then results in a 2 hour delay while authorities figure out what to do, but nobody bothers to ...

... all college kids celebrating graduation day, which at least explained why all day I had seen honking cars festooned with balloons and yelling kids, but which did not have the feeling of a wedding, since no one way wearing suits. It was fun, although the music is genre-bending - the DJ played everything from hip hop to Glenn Miller. Monday was intentionally slow, since my bus left at 7:25 a.m. Tuesday morning. Next Stop - Belgrade, Serbia (Hi Spanky!)

Yesterday, we spent six hours on buses, to walk around a monastery for an hour and a half. Somehow, such things make sense. Because, after all, it was the BIGGEST monastery in Bulgaria and the NUMBER ONE spot for pilgrimages in the country, or so I've read. Getting there was maybe not half the fun, but it took half the time. First we had to take a tram to the bus station, then we had to take a bus to Rila Village, then we ...