Bulgaria with Noodles

Yesterday, in the afternoon, I got back from the airport. I think that my brother Andrew really enjoyed his little holiday in Bulgaria. It was the first time he had been here, so it was quite unusual for him. Yes, Andy and I did some of the things that we did when Peter was here, but we also did some new things as well. It was not interesting for me to see Tsaravets, but he really had to see it.  We also went to Emen Canyon and Tryavna, so we could have the excellent Indian meal that poor Peter never had the chance to eat! Savoya Spice is only open for a few days each week. The onion bhajis were particularly good.  Andy also cooked a superb lasagne and we  scoffed that one evening with my friend Adrian.  We also had lunch at a new restaurant in Arbanassi, “The Wine Club”. It is really good and I want to take Irena there. After lunch, we went for an amazing walk with Adrian and Sisi, his doggie, along the cliffs that overlook Veliko Tarnovo. Absolutely incredible view...

Peter took some great photos of our house when he came to stay with us in July. This is a great photo of the "garden side" of the house, with the terrace and patio.  This is a great shot of the front of the house. The old wagon wheels look rather good, I must say.

Apologies for not having written any entries for my blog for absolutely ages. Well, not much has really happened. Yes, the ghastly war in Ukraine drags on and my brother Andrew is coming to Bulgaria for the first time, but otherwise not much is happening. I have just about recovered from the minor surgery I had, on a nasty little lump on my back. I went to the hospital (that is bolnitsa in Bulgarian, in case you did not know) to see Dr. Ivanov on the Tuesday and then went to the surgeon for the op. on the Thursday. None of this UK and NHS nonsense of waiting months and months for an operation. The doc only gave me a local anesthetic, so I was conscious all the time when he was doing his thing on my back. Laser surgery seems to be very good, but there is one downside, namely the horrible smell of burning flesh. Yours. I had some stitches and a dressing was applied. No showers for about three weeks. Well, I had the stitches out a couple of days ago and it is all healing up very well....

Peter Adams is one of my oldest friends. When we first came to Bulgaria from the UK, Peter came with us and did most of the driving. Peter and I were at teacher training college together, more years ago than I care to remember, and he has recently retired from teaching at Littlegarth School. Well, it was good to see him again after nearly three years. We discovered a very good Bulgarian restaurant in Elena and we also got out our old inflatable kayak, in order to do a spot of boating on the reservoir near Elena. Vincent and Mariana kindly invited us round to their house for a swim. And yes, we did have quite a few good meals in some of the restaurants in Veliko Tarnovo.

Yeah, life's a beach, baby. Cue The Sloop John B or I wish They All Could be California Girls. I have to be honest: we did in fact spend quite a lot of time on the beach.  The good news? The water is gloriously clear, perfect for snorkelling. The bad news? Nearly all of the beaches are pebbles, there are no corals and the fish were not up to much. There is one beach that is supposed to be sand (really it's just smaller pebbles) and there we had lunch at the seaside taverna. Well, just about everything in Greece is flipping expensive, once you are used to Bulgarian prices. Lunch was nearly sixty euros for the two of us (ouch!), but hey, we were on holiday. The Greek salad was good and Irena's fish was HUGE.  My calamari was pretty good. They even allowed Tina into the taverna.  Although the beach was decidedly pebbly, the water was beautifully clear and actually quite warm. Now, despite popular demand, here is yet another video. Sorry about that.

The Sanctuary of the Great Gods on Samothraki is the island's No. 1 must-see site for Archaeology and History fans. It really is quite extensive and covers a surprisingly large area. (Dogs are not allowed, so poor Tina had to stay behind by the entrance.) So who were these "Great Gods"? Well, no one really seems to know. They were not the standard Olympian ones. However, the fact that no one knew their names did not stop Samothraki become a religious centre in ancient times, with Philip of Macedon (the daddy of Alexander the Great) meeting his future wife during a visit to the site.  No, it is not quite up to the Parthenon, as only six or seven columns are still standing, but it is all rather impressive nevertheless. It is also enjoyable to wander around the ruins more or less on your own, as there were only a few other people who were visiting that day.

I am a big fan of Auntie Bulgaria , Claire Ruston's excellent blog about all things Bulgaria-related. She wrote about her little holiday in Greece and where did she go? Samothraki.   It is an island, maybe thirty kilometres long, in the Aegean (that is the bit of the Medi in the corner, between Greece and Turkey). There is no airport on the island, so a ferry from the port of Alexandroupoli is the only way to get there. The crossing takes about two hours. The bad news? Our ferry was leaving at eight in the morning and so we very unwisely decided to drive through the night. Not a good idea. On the return journey, our ferry got back to Alexandroupoli at about seven in the evening, so that meant another night drive back to Veliko Tarnovo. I think that we finally came back to our apartment at about two in the morning. Our accommodation was the top floor of Xenia's village house. We were surrounded by olive groves. There was plenty of space, lots of cats for Tina to bark at and wond...