Nord Plovdiv

... we put on our itinerary but did not book accommodation, transport etc in advance. We initially felt in the planning stages that we would see how tired we were and how much we could cram into a day in Sofia.

Going to Plovdiv was to prove to be one of the best things we have done. The Old Town was incredible and we stayed bang in the middle of it. The cobbled streets and incredible restored buildings were like nowhere we have seen in a while. There ...

... Bulgarian culture and religion were preserved during 500 years of Ottoman rule, so most of them are located in some out-of-the-way, mountainous region, and this monastery is one of the major ones. Inside its chapel is a 500 years old icon of St. Mary which is said to have healing power so there was a line of people waiting to pray in front of it and touch it.

I went back to the city and ...

... too much trouble then headed into Plovdiv with our trusty tourist map. It has nice wide boulevardes with some modern stores, lovely parks, outdoor cafes and also an Old Town area. The Old Town was fairly spread out and walking was quite difficult on the large stones of the cobbled lanes. There were some interesting buildings and also some Roman ruins, the usual ...

... notes out of his wallet as keepsakes and the he was gone. The rest of the journey was routine although we did wonder for a bit if we were on the right bit of the train when it split in two just before the border. Fortunately we were and soon we arrived at our destination of Plovdiv. There was no specific reason why we had chosen Bulgaria's second city to stay we had just heard from a few people that it was nicer than the capital Sofia and it was a bit nearer Turkey. Our directions to ...

... had no green card insurance. As our paper work from the rental company was not green we had to pay 100 euros to cross into Serbia. Ouch! As we were unable to go any other route we were stuck with paying it. Grumpily we drove through and found the roads poorer than anywhere so far. Not wanting to spend time here we drove through the day on towards Bulgaria where we passed the border without problems. However the roads were dreadful, full of potholes, uneven and slow ...

On the way to Plovdiv, Bulgaria, I met an interesting Japanse. He was living in Istanbul and studying Turkish at a international language school. After he worked for an NGO in Afganistan for 2 years, he came to Istanbul to study Turkish. He told me that he would like to work in Turkey in the futere. I just listened to his talk and learned a lot about Turkey. I also learned that yogurt was originally from Turkey, not Bulgaria, which ...

It's been a great visit so far, The first weekend I was here myself and Svetla went on a 2 day coach trip with her former teaching coleagues, because they are teachers the trip was subsidised by the government which meant that the cost of the trip including coach and hotel stay was very cheap!!!! On this trip we visited the Bachkovo monastery, an observatory, a small historic village, stayed in a great hotel up on top of a big hill above the town of ...

... exterior they are simple enough, but a few interiors could be described as garish. There is a lot of wood and it mostly painted in bright colours. We weren't allowed to take photos but the painted columns did remind us that Roman cities were probably not as drab as the grey stones that remain of them. The last point of interest we tried to visit closed at the same moment we arrived. Another old Roman theatre (I am pretty bored of these but they are a tourist's staple). We met a ...

... Bulgaria on the road from Istanbul to Sofia, its capital. Hilly, leafy and most certainly Communist bloc, it didn't greatly impress me until I found the Old Town and hobbled up one of the gnarliest cobbled streets I've ever seen. Sure I've visited other Old Towns on this trip but this is one of the most ornate, whilst definitely being the most dilapidated ...

I am very frustrated at this moment as I typed for 30 minutes straight, only to lose all my precious words. Fortunately for me, it only costs 30 cents for 45 minutes at the computer. You may wonder why I am in an internet cafe, blogging in the middle of the day during my adventure here in Bulgaria. One, it takes me back to my time in Korea...and two, I bought a notebook yesterday, but I find that writing in it does not give the same feeling of freedom in writing down my thoughts. I am ...