Day 131 - Sofia to Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Saturday, November 10th, 2018.
Today we got up at 8:00, had breakfast and got ready to go. We left the apartment at 11:00 and our host called us a taxi. We waited on the corner, watching people pass by and stare at us, since we obviously look like tourists with our big duffle bags. We made it to the bus station and Gregory ran to get the tickets for the 11:30 bus but he didn't have enough cash so he had to go to the ATM, get money and then get the tickets for the 12:00 bus. It was better that way anyway because we had time to buy lunch for the ride.
Why can't food be cheaper in the US? I got a nice sandwich with plenty of chicken, ham and tomatoes for about $1.50. The best thing about these prices is that I don't have to make lunches at home. That's a real vacation for me! The bus ride was smooth, actually too fast. I took a nap, ate, and read a little bit and before I knew it, we were in Plovdiv, the oldest city in Europe!
We took a taxi to our apartment and waited for our host to let us in because our check-in was at 3:00pm. The place is really cute, except for the bathroom because the shower drains into the center of the bathroom floor! I can only imagine the mess that we are going to make!
After hanging around in the apartment for a while, we walked to the pdestrian zone. We crossed a bridge that was made up of shops and cafes, and in ten minutes we were in town. The most impressive thing that we saw was the Roman amphitheater in the middle of the area and there is a cafe where you can sit and see the ruins. Also in H&M -- yes inside the store -- there are more ruins downstairs!
We went for our traditional cappuccino, and we spoiled ourselves and shared a chocolate and strawberry crepe. Gregory was looking through the performing arts program and saw that Cosi Fan Tutte was playing this evening! After that, we walked to the theater to find out prices. When we got there, we didn't know what to do because the opera was in Italian, but the (subtitles) were in Bulgarian.
Opera is hard enough to understand, let alone when the only explanation is in a foreign language and in Cyrillic on top of that. We decided to go anyway, mostly because it was Mozart. We read a brief synopsis so we wouldn't be totally lost. Well, I guess it wasn't that successful. Sunshine hated it and was falling asleep. Daniel was a sweetheart that said he could stay for Act 2 because he knew that Gregory and I wanted to stay. Anyway, we ended up leaving at intermission because Sunshine was hating it more than school.
On our walk home, we ate doner kebab, extremely delicious! Next to the kebab shop was a grocery store so we ran to get breakfast for the next morning. After getting groceries, we walked around a little more and admired the Roman stadium in the middle of the street. We made it home around 10:30pm. I stayed awake until midnight watching the History Channel which I love and I never get to enjoy at home. I'm really enjoying myself and doing what I feel like doing.
Today we got up at 8:00, had breakfast and got ready to go. We left the apartment at 11:00 and our host called us a taxi. We waited on the corner, watching people pass by and stare at us, since we obviously look like tourists with our big duffle bags. We made it to the bus station and Gregory ran to get the tickets for the 11:30 bus but he didn't have enough cash so he had to go to the ATM, get money and then get the tickets for the 12:00 bus. It was better that way anyway because we had time to buy lunch for the ride.
Why can't food be cheaper in the US? I got a nice sandwich with plenty of chicken, ham and tomatoes for about $1.50. The best thing about these prices is that I don't have to make lunches at home. That's a real vacation for me! The bus ride was smooth, actually too fast. I took a nap, ate, and read a little bit and before I knew it, we were in Plovdiv, the oldest city in Europe!
We took a taxi to our apartment and waited for our host to let us in because our check-in was at 3:00pm. The place is really cute, except for the bathroom because the shower drains into the center of the bathroom floor! I can only imagine the mess that we are going to make!
After hanging around in the apartment for a while, we walked to the pdestrian zone. We crossed a bridge that was made up of shops and cafes, and in ten minutes we were in town. The most impressive thing that we saw was the Roman amphitheater in the middle of the area and there is a cafe where you can sit and see the ruins. Also in H&M -- yes inside the store -- there are more ruins downstairs!
We went for our traditional cappuccino, and we spoiled ourselves and shared a chocolate and strawberry crepe. Gregory was looking through the performing arts program and saw that Cosi Fan Tutte was playing this evening! After that, we walked to the theater to find out prices. When we got there, we didn't know what to do because the opera was in Italian, but the (subtitles) were in Bulgarian.
Opera is hard enough to understand, let alone when the only explanation is in a foreign language and in Cyrillic on top of that. We decided to go anyway, mostly because it was Mozart. We read a brief synopsis so we wouldn't be totally lost. Well, I guess it wasn't that successful. Sunshine hated it and was falling asleep. Daniel was a sweetheart that said he could stay for Act 2 because he knew that Gregory and I wanted to stay. Anyway, we ended up leaving at intermission because Sunshine was hating it more than school.
On our walk home, we ate doner kebab, extremely delicious! Next to the kebab shop was a grocery store so we ran to get breakfast for the next morning. After getting groceries, we walked around a little more and admired the Roman stadium in the middle of the street. We made it home around 10:30pm. I stayed awake until midnight watching the History Channel which I love and I never get to enjoy at home. I'm really enjoying myself and doing what I feel like doing.
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| Waiting for our taxi |
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| We stayed on September 6th Street in Sofia. |
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| Welcome to Plovdiv |
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| Crossing the bridge to go to the pedestrian street |
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| Don't touch his cheeks! |
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| You can't see the Roman stadium but it's right behind us (below street level) |
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| Tourist office, getting info |
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| There it is! |
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| There are Roman ruins under the H&M store -- it this awesome or what!! |
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| Bulgarian bagpipe player in traditional costume |
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| Street art |
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| Plovdiv rocks! |
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| Yes, you can climb all over the Roman stadium! |
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| Roman ruins in the middle of the street in downtown |
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| Cafe just across from the Roman stadium |
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| Like taquito stands in Mexico, kebab stands are everywhere! |
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| Enjoying dinner after the opera, Plovdiv style |
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