Bulgaria Day 4

We got up bright and early the next day and checked out of our hotel.

The view from our hotel - right next to the go-cart track!

This was our lovely bathroom in Plovdiv - no shower stall, just the shower head in the corner of the room - needless to say things got really wet in the bathroom!

After checking out of the hotel we drove up the mountains to the Bachkovo Monastery. I loved the drive up there, it felt like we were driving through the canyons in Utah.

They had a bunch of little stands set up by the parking lot of the monastery and were selling homemade jams, preserves, honey, etc.

 

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the monastery, so all I got were these shots of the outside and the entrance.

We loaded back on the bus and drove for a few hours, stopping in the middle of nowhere for lunch - this was the little rest stop cafe we stopped at. All the food was displayed in the glass case on the side of the road. 

 

It seemed a little strange, but the food was really good, I loved the Bulgarian salad we had everywhere we went - so delicious!

One last photo op before climbing back on the bus. 

It was a beautiful drive, but it seemed to last forever! We were so excited to finally see the Black Sea - we thought we were there, unfortunately we still had a few hours of winding mountain roads before we got to Varna. 

Dan got a little bus sick and wanted to die!

 

We finally made it to Varna! We were so excited to get off the highway and start driving through the town.

We checked in to our resort/hotel - this was the awesome view from our room of the Black Sea. We did think it a little strange that almost all of the surrounding resorts were empty!

After getting settled, we headed down to the dining area for dinner - all our meals were included at the resort. After the long drive, all Dan wanted was olives and dessert. He loved the all you can eat buffets!

After dinner we wandered around the resort for a bit, and went exploring down at the beach. The hotel was so typical of communist buildings - big huge spaces with no reason or purpose - just because things need to be big! Including creepy red hallways leading nowhere!

We were in the elevator and it just cracked me up - every single person was on their phone trying to send messages home or check up on sports/news. 

After chatting with mom and Julie a bit through FaceTime we crashed, Dan fell asleep watching a Braves game in our room! Notice, both the ipad and the iPhone were going when he fell asleep!

Bulgaria Part 3

We woke up bright and early the next morning and got on the bus to head to Plovdiv.

One last shot of the view from our hotel room. 

Bulgaria has some beautiful countryside!

 

Plovdiv is an ancient city with on old city center and Roman ruins. 

 

We walked up through the old city to the top of the old city wall - the view from up there of the new, sprawling city were pretty great. 

After stopping for lunch in a little cafe, we finished exploring the old city.

 

I loved the old architecture, to save space on the streets the upper levels were built out further than the main floor. 

There are a lot of Roman ruins in Plovdiv - including this great old Roman theater. 

 

 Our concert that night was at a college right next to the theater, Dad skipped the walking tour earlier that day, so I had to get a picture with him after the concert.

Of course, we went exploring again after the concert and had to stop for gelato.

Dan found a cool fountain he had to get a picture of.

More ruins we saw from the bus on the way back to the hotel.

Unfortunately internet reception wasn't all that great at our hotel, so everyone gathered in the hotspots in the hallways to check in with family. 

Bulgaria Part 2

Our second morning in Sofia started with a group tour.

We saw more of the ruins found when excavating for the subway. 

And saw the changing of the guards. 

 

One of my favorite things about Sofia was all of the different churches - Eastern Orthodox temples, Muslim mosques, Jewish synagogues - they all had a place in Sofia. 

One of our friends was told she had to find a certain Schwarma place in Sofia, so for lunch we went wandering through the streets of Sofia trying to find this place. 

 

We finally did, and it was worth it! So good!

 

The best part though was that while we were wandering I found a Russian store - I ran I quickly and found my favorite treat, made in Tula! I was so excited to get a пряник!

The beautiful view on our way to dinner. 

 

For dinner we went to a Bulgarian restaurant that did a traditional dinner with a show, folk songs and dancing! It was a lot of fun. 

Unfortunately we were all still battling jet lag - soon it was time to head to bed!