Goodbye to the cats of Bulgaria!

Yurdana says that 55% of Bulgarians smoke, and maybe that’s true, but the 45% non-smoking population is nowhere to be seen. In cafes, outside on the streets, near churches, well, we’re only surrounded by the smokers. At our last hotel, we happened to be staying there in the company of dozens of soccer teams, and, as part of their athletic training, they hung around outside the hotel, smoking cigarettes. By the time we checked out, even our non-smoking hotel room smelled like one of us was hiding in the bathroom, sneaking a smoke.

We made a brief stop in the seaside village of Nessebar, located on the Black Sea. Nessebar was settled at the end of the Bronze Age – making the village over 3000 years old. It’s famous for having lots of churches, with over 40 still surviving, in whole or in partial ruins – and this in a town of about 14,000 people. Here’s a couple of the churches:

This is the Christ Pantocrator, from the 14th century:

Here’s the Holy Savior, from 1609:

And here’s the St. Sofia, from the end of the 5th century:

But there’s more to Nessebar than fabulous historical churches because, in addition, should you like to do your fur hat/fur coat shopping whenever you’re in a beachside community, with the temperature hitting 80, you are in luck with numerous stores like this:

And if counterfeit goods are on your list, ditto. From Ray-Ban to Louis Vuitton to North Face, Nessebar is your spot. But the ordinary traveler will enjoy the village as well:

From Nessebar, we got back onto the bus and headed to our next city: Varna. I worry that I’m misleading you a bit at this point, with these amazing pictures, and you’re all going to book trips to Bulgaria right away and then come back and yell at me that I’ve misrepresented the visual landscape of the country. So I’m going to pause here and show you the lowlights of Varna, from crumbling communist architecture to cement pedestrian passageways. I’ll start with the view from our hotel room:

And then there is the passageway in front of our hotel, which takes you across the street to the Sea Garden Park of Varna:

But once you’re through, you’re right here on the Black Sea:

And then walk a few minutes the other way, and you’re on the main pedestrian street of Varna, and you encounter the most charming dilapidated buildings:

And then you walk a little farther, and Yurdana shows you the Roman Baths of Varna – from the 2nd century – so they’re 2000 years old, just sitting in the middle of this neighborhood:

This picture might explain why the rehabilitation of Varna is so slow. These two men are laying that road by hand:

Back on the main square, you stop in at a Starbucks for a soy macchiato, and, as you wait in line, you notice that the Starbucks is built right over the old Roman city and they’ve just incorporated it right into the decor and inserted viewpoint in the floor: (exterior pic not mine, but that’s my Hoka in the second shot!)

Varna also has the Mother of God Cathedral, from 1886:

I want to tell you about the coolest thing we saw in Varna, but I need to fill you in on another travel partner thing I’ve noticed. With Ron, you can rest assured that he will never, ever take a picture of his own free will. If I need a picture taken, I need to put the camera in his hand, make sure the lens is open, and hope he points the camera in my general direction. Grace is truly a capable photographer but, as we travel, it becomes clearer and clearer that she’s not that interested in documenting the historical things we see and, instead, she’s taking cat pictures. Here are a couple of shots of Grace – right in front of some pretty major historical/archaeological sites, with her camera pointed in the exact opposite way:

And here, right from Grace herself, is an offering from the photos she is taking on her educational historical odyssey across the Balkan countries, which she wants me to share with you:

As promised, despite all the amazing photo stops in Varna, the thing that I’ll remember forever is that Odysseys Unlimited arranged for us to ride our big bus up into the hillsides above the city for a dinner at the private home of Dimo, who runs the Varna Wine Club on his fantastic property. Hidden behind an electric fence, in a neighborhood of half-built homes, Dimo has created this little restaurant:(photos of Dimo not mine)

And you think it’s the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen and the evening could not be anymore perfect…until the delightful Dimo himself comes out and starts talking about wine and music and the joys of a good, relaxed meal, which he has, somehow, single-handedly cooked, plated, and served, all smiles on his face, as Etta James plays on the turntable.

That’s it for fabulous Bulgaria – in the morning we head up to Romania and I’ll talk with you in a day or two. I’ll leave you with this – the ultimate cognitive dissonance restaurant for me – the place sells only two things: my favorite treat and the food I am most allergic to: