Trimontium Plovdiv

... your head its more universal but coincidently come the next country i become wrong, we have come to find that this is the only country where when you shake your head no it means yes and when you shake your head yes it means No. That clears that confusion up, and here Nay means No and in Greece Nay means Yes, and everything is in symbols I'm afraid to talk for I might be saying Yes, please!

... whole process is starting again. The website took our credit card number and issued a receipt which we had to pass onto the guesthouse!

2. When someone tells you to catch a bus from Sofia to Plovdiv stick with your convictions and use the train!

NOW FOR THE GOOD BITS

The travel from Sofia to Plovdiv was pleasant and the scenery lovely. Our only regret was that we did not catch the train!

Plovdiv was always one of those places ...

The second reason I went to Bansko was the 5 hours' narrow gauge train trip that goes though the mountains, from here to Plovdiv, where I would catch a train to Istanbul, and I am happy to report that it was not a disappointment - so I didn’t go to Bansko for nothing. At 2 minutes before 0700 the train pulled out of the city that was blanketed by morning mist with just a few passengers on ...

... The hostel was really a converted flat, decorated in IKEA style furniture with a young couple running it from one of the rooms. We showered and retired after a big trip.
May 29th - Plovdiv to Istanbul
Unfortunately, today it rained. This was a bit of a pain as we had to wait all day to catch a night train to Istanbul. Thankfully, the young couple in the hostel were really nice and said we could come back and hang out with them for as long as we wanted. We had some Bulgarian ...

Saturday 16th May. We packed up and were on the road reasonably early and headed towards the border of Croatia where we crossed the border and drove through past Zagreb and towards Serbia. All was good and roads were fine though we had to pay tolls along the motorways we soon added up but it was a quicker way to drive there than the free regional roads. At the border of Serbia things got interesting as the border controls insisted we had to pay insurance as they said ...

... with Geoff and young James in tow to have a few drinks and then head up to Pamporovo where the nightlife is better for a bit of a last night fiesta. No problem, Doug and I arranged to come along. Everyone had a few drinks here and I didn't even realize that James was only 16, he seemed (emphasis on seemed) to handle his drinks fine. In due course, we headed off to pamps and went into an Irish pub called Dak's' where James quickly went from, 'fine' to, 'total pain in the ...

... I carried our luggages downstairs. Laura actually cried. The one thing that stopped me from crying too was that we were going to see each other next month at University. Still, the group dynamic won't ever be the same again. I am actually glad that Stan and the Turkish boys left before me because saying good-bye to everyone at once would have left me a big mess. The check-out process consisted of simply giving the night ...

... the time of his rowers. We had his junior rowers, loading boats for us and helping us get all set up. After the row we stayed a very long time mesmerized by the junior rowers preparing for competition. We learned so much by just watching! Lunch was there along the shores of the channel and then we returned to Plovdiv for a walking tour of the old town. I must tell you. I MEAN old...600BC. I am writing this from an internet cafe at the ...

... hostels here are really good (and cheap!), you meet lots of really cool people here. For the past week or so i have been travelling with Germans, Poms, French, Spanish and Canadian backpackers, as well as the odd Aussie and an old Kiwi couple. The only down side is getting used to the Bulgarian bathrooms, the toilet and shower are together (as in literally on top of each other), and most toilets are of the ol' hole in the floor variety. You really dont want to drop your soap.

... guides for whom one could have asked. I checked into my hotel, paid the foreigner rate (don't get me started) and we headed out for the city. We walked straight through until 1am! We ate a gyros-like meal that had chicken meat instead. I believe it was called Duner (closest pronunciation). Yummy. My guides took me past the ampitheater, to scenic overlooks that tested my fear of heights and up and down the uneven stone-paved streets. It was so beautiful and again, peaceful, my word ...