Bulgaria part 2
Trip Start
Aug 25, 2008
1
13
15
Trip End
Aug 25, 2009
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Sofia,
Bulgaria
Monday, December 15, 2008
The interesting thing about language is that you never know how much you know until you are put in a new situation where you know nothing. Hannah and I have been in Turkey for about 3 months now and I have the basics of the Turkish language down: is there/are there, where, what, when, why, basics for transportation, as well as many of the most common verbs. I would classify my comprehension as basic and my speaking skills as a step below basic. Still, I can walk into any store and feel comfortable finding what I need, and If I can't I can ask where and how to get there. Not the case in Bulgaria. Fortunately, as I said before, many people speak English.
We settled on a restaurant called Olives, which had a very American, chain restaurant, feel too it. We were hungry enough not to care so we went in. And they had a menu that was in English so that's a plus. I am not ashamed to say that 90% of my meals involved pork. After living without pork chops, pork roast, ham, and bacon for three months, I was ready to splurge. Dinner was good. It was somewhat predictable; kind of like when you go to a Friendly's, maybe not authentic, but good. After that we went wandering around the town. The city, as I said before, was a little disappointing. Hannah and I love Historical sights, but other than a few museums and several churches, the capital was lacking in historical monuments. Although, considering that we have been in Istanbul, arguably the epicenter of historicity, my opinion was skewed.
Honestly, Sofia was more about the nightlife than the history, so we were looking forward to going to Plovdiv, a city that can trace it's roots back to 7,000 years ago. Anyways, back to Sophia. The fruit vendors to not shout out as they do in Turkey, but they do have many of the same fruits. I was surprised to see strawberries, avocados, kiwis, oranges, nectarines, and fresh berries. I am not sure where they get their produce from, as it was snowing in Sofia and long past a growing season.
The second day was much the same as the first. We slept in late, drank coffee, and enjoyed the view of the mountain. Rachel and Barbra wanted to go shopping, so Peter and I went back to Olive's with Hannah and had some drinks for a few hours. It was nice to relax and have some idol conversation. We met back at the apartment and decided to find a place that was authentic Indian food. When we got to the place, there was a sign outside that was different than in the travel guide, so we milled around wondering what to do next. While we were waiting, we bumped into a couple of Frenchmen who were looking for the same place to eat. Together we decided this place was non-existent and continued our search. We settled on a place called Mozzarellas, which ended up being really good. Hannah ordered pasta, I ordered pork chops, and we split an order of calamari. It was a great meal and the five of us spent less than 100 dollars including drinks. Afterwards, we wandered around and found a couple of bars, then went home. We went to bed early because we had to leave by 11am and it was going to be Hannah's birthday so we geared ourselves up for a big day.
