Lunch on the Balcony, Part 1


Lunch on the balcony of our villa in Kalotina is a multi-sensory experience. You can only have lunch out on the balcony when the weather is good. Well, we have had more than a week of rain and grey skies, so yesterday it was such a pleasure to have our lunch on the balcony, as we usually do in the summer.
Firstly, my dear Irisha's Clavinova will be playing some piano music. It is not quite the same as having a live pianist playing a selection of different tunes, but it is almost as good. It is nice to listen to the Clavinova tinkling away, while sipping a glass of wine.

 Then, of course, there is the food, as well as the wine! My Chinese friends will want to know all about the food, of course. We hardly eat any rice when we are in Bulgaria, but we do scoff our way through mountains of new potatoes and yummy Bulgarian bread. And the salads! The onions are big and sweet, the tomatoes are cheap (the other day Irena bought three kilos for one lev - or 4RMB, is you are in China!) and the salty brinza cheese is good too. Ham is usually good in Bulgaria and, if you are lucky, the sausages can be great. Olives? Yes, we are going to have plenty of them, as Bulgaria is just north of Greece. 
And did I mention the wine? Maybe I did and I will say something more about that now. Usually we go to Metro buy those three litre boxes of wine because we do have a glass (or two) quite often with our lunch. Wine in Bulgaria is an affordable pleasure. If it is a hot day, then a pleasant, slightly-chilled white wine will be in order. Sometimes we drink Chardonnay (very nice with fish) or more often it is a German-style white wine called Esselsmich (Donkey's Milk) from Targovishte.


My dear wife, with the fruit of her labours: lunch!

Last, but by no means least, there is the peace and beauty of the Bulgarian countryside. Recently the frogs in our irrigation channel have taken to croaking rather loudly during lunch, but actually it is quite a pleasant and happy sound. 

I remember the old saying, God made the countryside; Man made the town. Well, I know which I prefer.

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