Harmony Bankya

... hmm that can of coke cost us 2 pound 50 (I though Bulgaria was supposed to be cheap!!) and she couldn't give us some coins. got change in the exchange office then as we went to the pay phone I saw my dad outside. Didn't even need the damn change! hugs kisses hellos then in the car to start the 5 HOUR car journey to Srebarna...argh! On the told the father about the most expensive can of coke in the ...

... are alowed to be taken. Anyway got a nice few photos from the outside. After this, we went to visit the cave where he lived as a hermit. This was about a 300 metre walk into the forest, which looked lovely with its display of red and gold leaves. Birches, elms, maples, poplars and oak predominated the hillsides. Patches of green could still be seen where firs and pines were trying to grow.

... think a great deal of the place on our first visit. We are here reluctantly only because there's a cheap flight out to get us on our way to South America. I even paid an extra twenty euro on the tickets so Claude didn't have to spend her birthday here such was the esteem with which we viewed it. And yet somehow, this time, we have had a blast. Staying in a different part of town is one factor, and all part of the random selection that ...

... the tourists we are. A stroll in the Sofia City Gardens follows (some playing on swings is involved) and we pop into a Russian church on our way to Sofia's crowning glory, the Alexander Nevski Cathedral. Consistent with the day's theme, the interior is dark and gloomy, but outside....it is clear the cathedral's architects had entered a competition for most-domed building the world has ever seen. They're popping up everywhere. I shudder to think of drawing such an edifice on AutoCAD. I ...

... out to sell doilies crocheted by dutiful wives. I will remember Sofia lovingly for its fine kebab shops: the one thing that Claude spent her time avoiding as a central priority. We each keep a diary of this trip, and in completing hers she asked me if i mentioned our first doner meal in my pages - of course Ý had. Where she noted nothing but dietary concerns, I had scratched in oily little love hearts. Lemon juice, yoghurt and - oddly ...

... the transport equivalent of a five-star hotel with the rich and famous stopping in for a meal before or after their decadently expensive train journey to or from Paris, Rome or Vienna. Nowadays the rich fly and the middle class drive, leaving the train for the likes of us. Indeed, a quick look around the small assembly of passengers waiting to board the 22:00 to Sofia reveals mainly backpackers and a few other budget types, certainly no celebrities or high rollers with top hats and ...

... that I was quite the tee totaller. The next day was a day with many good intentions, none of which came to fruition, the only achievement for the day was my managing to get my laundry done. We were joined that day by an older guy from the Netherlands, who accompanied us to our favourite restaurant and then joined in our card games, seemed harmless enough, until that night when everyone was having trouble sleeping as it appeared that someone had left a Harley Davidson ...

... picked one from Lonely Planet) and that I got checked in ok (it was now 4am). The sun was just beginning to rise over the Black Sea so I stayed up a little longer to watch that then crashed. Eventually I woke up and took a look around town. Sozopol has an old town area that's kind of cute. There are a couple nice beaches separated by a peninsula. Both have all kinds of restaurants/bars setup along the beach. I spent the afternoon just laying in the sun on the beaches ...

After breakfast we met our city tour leader Nona and drove in the centre of the city. We walked around and had an informative tour about this city. Saw the statue of St Sofia and an old round Roman church of St George, which is the only building from the 4th century that has not been destroyed. Saw guards in front of the presidential palace and ...

... first stop was for lunch at Doy Doy, where I had a tasty eggplant puree dish that wreaked havoc with my stomach a few hours later. Then we walked through the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar before crossing the bridge to the Karakoy neighborhood. This part of Istanbul is distinctly different from Sulatanahmet - less touristy, but more continental. We strolled along classy Istiklal Caddesi all the way to Taksim Square, where we stopped for coffee at Starbucks (an enormous multi ...