Sofia

On the first day in Sofia, Tisho brought us a typical Bulgarian breakfast which was a pastry with Bulgarian cheese in it (which is similar texture to feta, but the taste is stronger) and the drink called Boza which is made of wheat with a milky texture and has a small percentage of alcohol in it, it was very rich tasting and filling.

After breakfast we got dressed and walked downtown. Once downtown we walked along a yellow brick road, saw the opera house and many churches (old and ancient). We walked by a few kiosk or bazaars on the street. One of them was a row of old ladies selling their doillies and table cloths. We stopped at one of the ladies table and she was determined to sell and give us stuff. She couldn't speak any english but with body language and Tisho, we could figure out what she was saying. "10 for 2 leva!" And she gave us each a doilly free. All the other ladies were staring at us, envious of this little old lady getting all the business.

We walked a bit further and Anna Vala found an old accordian. She felt that she HAD to buy it so gave in, but only later realised that there were accordians for sale all over and the one she got wasn't very good quality. Oh well. There were also many war items for sale, pins, clothing, helmets... many from communist times.

We did a bit more shopping and touring around, then headed to meet with Annie and Tisho's friend for dinner at this vegetarian restaurant. I forget the name of the place, but it was really nice with some picnic tables outside, and a colourful bathroom. Probably was one of the best meals I had in Bulgaria.

Then we had to head back to Tisho's place to pack up for the long bus ride to Nesebar. We pack our bags, then grab a taxi to the bus terminal to catch the bus for midnight. The bus was packed and they kept the lights off so people can sleep, but it is impossible. The bus stops halfway for a pitstop and we line up for the bathroom, I share my tissues with Anna Vala and Becca, since there was no toilet paper (which seems to be a rare luxury in many parts of eastern Europe). Then back on the bus. I think I may have slept 1 hour, but once the sun starts rising you can finally see the landscape. Fairly flat prairie land and you could see the sea approaching.

The bus drops us at around 6:30am in Old Nesebar, which is on a small island attached to the main land with a land bridge. The town itself was built around 600BC, so the buildings are very old with many Roman and Greek influence. The town was quiet so early in the morning (the earliest we would see the town for the rest of the week). It took us a while but we finally found our guest house and once we were assigned our rooms we crashed on the beds.