Tuesday 30 July 2013

Sunday 28 July 2013

Bulgarian line dancing and hot coals


We woke up in Sunny Beach to begin our last full day , which is a bit like the Southend of Bulgaria. It was nice to feel at home for a few hours on a late night stroll watching some fine English ambassadors getting drunk and swearing. Bulgarian people don't let this spread across your country keep them contained there like monkeys in a zoo.

I found out Bulgarians insult people by saying "you drive like an Albanian" well Albanian roads must constantly be like Mad Max. I saw some interesting driving on our three hour journey back to Stara Zagora, with some overtakes where people missed each other by the width of a hair. We stopped for a break and I took a nice photo of the awesome Bulgarian landscape, the yellow in the background is a massive sunflower field.....



The last afternoon was like being in a game show like "Challenge Anneka" only renamed to "Challenge Eva". Minus the helicopter we were flying about the town completing tasks including visiting the doctors, trying to find a missing ID card, getting documents translated and trying to recreate a picture of Eva posing when she was 17.  Just a shame we got the wrong tree, will have to try again.



This made us slightly late for an evening spent with Eva's friends at a traditional Bulgarian restaurant in the hills. This is where we got to walk across some hot coals, in our shoes unlike the bare foot crazy old lady.




The night was finished off joining in with what I can only describe as Bulgarian Line dancing. Everyone holding hands, four steps right, four steps left, little jump and a kick. Eva's friends said I was good and got the hang of it quick, I wasn't the best so these comments summed up their great Bulgarian social spirit.



I was super tired the next day when we rushed to the airport with Eva's Mum and Niece so we could bring them back for a little holiday....................






Wednesday 24 July 2013

The Black Sea and Nessebar

My third day visiting Eva's home country was a three hour drive to the coast of The Black Sea with her sister, her boyfriend, niece and nephew. No one knows why its called The Black Sea but it could be because to the Greeks it was to the north which on the compass is black.

Packed Car
On the way there we drove past millions of beautiful sunflowers being grown on farms and elegant storks were flying across the road,. up into the mountains we went and lovely young ladies waving at us driving past. Whys that? are they just being nice? Why are they in the lay-bys all the way out here? Gypsy prostitutes apparently.


First stop was a secluded beach where we did some kite flying, which is one of my favourite things to do. This kite was one we brought for Zarko as a present.


I haven't swam for 16 years but decided to join in swimming in The Black Sea not a bad place to start again, and I want to carry on now I am back in England. I cant imagine Riverside Ice and Leisure matching the setting though. If you type Daniel Craig in swimming trunks it seems to keep confusing my picture below with scenes from James Bond, sorry Daniel.


In the evening we went to a town call Nessebar which was an old port with interesting buildings and lots of tourist shop, where we took some nice pics.....








Monday 22 July 2013

Stara Zagora : That's not a Cheeseburger !


The aim of my first full day in Bulgaria was to explore Stara Zagora which is Eva's home town 
and to meet her family.

The view from Molly's flat.

It started with a breakfast food called banitsa which is like a really thick croissant with cheese in it, and when I say thick I mean like the earth's crust thick. It was nice but I didn't like the two drinks it came with which seemed to be a liquified weetabix and salty milk. I know I the only other country's I've been to are France and Birmingham but I think I can safely say Bulgaria are somewhere near the bottom of the breakfast drink league table.


I wanted to get out there after breakfast and experience the country so I did what any tourist would do and went for a haircut. Eva wanted to go to her "local" salon so that's what we did. Best haircut ever with the barber telling me exactly where his English counterparts were going wrong. The answer to my hair shooting off in different directions all my life was in Eastern Europe!!

This is also where Eva's sister Stella, her boyfriend Peter, niece Ina and nephew Zarko who were all smiley and happy people. Look at Peter he is massive would of made a great WWE wrestler.....Ladies and Gentleman making his way to the ring and weighing in at 400lb ts Peter the destructoooor !! He was a big friendy giant though not a baddie. Bulgarians are real social animals, chatting in the park and playing chess like in the movies If they didn't talk so much and being as big as Peter they could have at some point in history taken over the world.

Peter and Stella

They took me for a lunch and I asked for a cheeseburger, accept what I got wasn't a cheeseburger... there was no burger in it. Cheese but no meat, instead chips. I thought "burger was the meat part of a ham or cheese burger???

For those who might of come here looking to learn about Bulgarian town life and not debate what a burger is here's some pics of a church and stuff...........I met Evas mum and friends, more to come about them in the story of my trip to Bulgaria amongst other subjects.


Stara Zagora High Street:




Church:




Communist Block:



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Saturday 20 July 2013

Busy, fast and excellent two and a half weeks.........

Ive just had the busiest, fastest and most excellent two and a half weeks with my Bulgarian girlfriend Eva. 

This is Eva and I in an Asda Supermarket in England at the end of our holiday, were doing her shopping before she goes back to her job as a live-in carer.


This is where the two and a half weeks began, on my first aeroplane trip destination ... Bulgaria!!!


I was scared before getting on the plane, how can you not be knowing sometimes when a plane crashes it can glide for 10 minutes before hitting the ground and exploding!!!!! Luckily it didn't crash but did go right  and left up and down alot before we landed in Plodiv, where I got hit in the forehead by a giant flying beetle.


We got picked up by Eva's friend Molly and taken to her flat where we were to stay for four days. I've been to France so on the way to Molly's flat my eyes were mesmerised by how different everything was.. upside down letters, communist cars and buildings. Awesome, and felt so far from home. I kept wondering if my passport was in my suitcase in the boot of the car, what if I got lost? what if I lost my passport? I would be stuck and I dont know how to read anymore!!!!!

This is the Stara Zagora the town I woke up to and is from where I will continue the story on my next post.



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