Boy o boy is time dragging it seems an eternity till we move and what's worse we have put our move back 3 weeks for family reasons. We are now planning on leaving the UK on December the 27th and weather permitting arriving in Bulgaria on the 1st January. Oh well new year new start and all that.
anyway plans are forging on Bailey the pampered pooch now has his passport. EBay is my new friend in buying all sorts from first aid kits to plant seeds off it and we are slowly selling the contents of our house on it. Our dining table and chairs went last week which was great timing as we had friends round for dinner we normally eat with trays on our laps anyway. At least they didn't come this week or they would have nowt to sit on.
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| He 's containing his excitement |
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| One for chopping logs and one for kindling |
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| I got some GB Stickers for Vladi the Caddy |
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| Some seeds for next year. |
It was Saturday the 6th October and we headed back to Bulgaria the flight was on time but we had to wait a while for our hire car at Sofia not the usual standard of service we have had but at least we got an upgrade to a clio estate, then we set off for the long drive to our house.
That night we went out for a meal but the nearby restaurant had a wedding reception on so it was a quick trip to a nearby supermarket and frozen pizza and wedges quick and easy and an early night as we were all shattered.
The following morning I was up early at 5.30am yes there are two of them in a day . It was so much colder than when we were last there in July but as the sun Rose it turned into a gorgeous day of 24 degrees centigrade.
We headed off to show Ross and Megan the big city and had a great day looking round with a lovely lunch Sat outside one of the many restaurants.
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| Me and Julie lunch at La Strada |
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| Ross chilling by the fountain in the main square |
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| Julie being a tourist |
After a look around the city we headed up for a look at the Danube and watched the world go by for a bit, then home via the supermarket for a few bits for tea.
Monday was off to Popovo for a look round a banitsa breakfast and we found a good butchers shop where the lady spoke a little english so we decided to have a BBQ for tea she was really helpful telling us what was good and what was not good we will be going back there.
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| Improvised BBQ |
We made a BBQ out of half an oil drum and sat and watched the stars in the sky before retiring to the house and trying out our petchka which soon became that hot we had to open the door to cool down.
Tuesday was a trip to nearby Cherven which has a medival castle on its hill and has some stunning views.
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| Ross on the medival castle walls |
There is a small cafe bar in cherven so we stopped for a spot of lunch and bumped into some English people who live nearby so it was good to chat and get some valuable tips about life in Bulgaria.
Back in the home front everything in the garden seems to have grown since we were last there especially the weeds. We will have a big task on our hands next year taming it but we will have the time.
We bumped into Ivan our neighbour who stopped as he drove past for a chat. Him in Bulgarian me on Google translate, God knows what he thinks in on about half the time. We were outside the house when he drove past with his rap music blaring in his car, not what middle aged men are expected to listen too but he is very friendly and remembered our horse incident from july.
The following day he stopped as I was walking up the lane and showed me his car full of vegetables he was off to some market to sell them either that or he was going to a vegetable convention somewhere I suspect though he was off to market. He is a lovely guy.
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| July |
I
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| Now |
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| Overgrown gate between two of our fields |
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| Ross looking up to me in barn roof |
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| Snake city central |
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| Walnuts we have two walnut trees |
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| Don't think our grapes will win many prizes this year but wow are they sweet |
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| Found this in the house apparently Niki Lauda has had a crash |
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| Sledge in our barn roof |
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| Our local shop/bar |
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We met this lovely lady in the bar in July she greeted us like long lost friends.
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| It's a rat race here |
Sadly Wednesday came too soon and we had to leave. We had decided to break the journey back to Sofia with an overnight stop in Lovech so we didn't have a mega early start to our day.
We had a couple of drinks in Lovech and a lovely meal it was over too soon.
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| Me and Julie in Lovech. |
Well next time we are in Bulgaria it will be to live.
If you are going to be driving from the UK to Bulgaria, then I am pretty sure that you will be coming through the Kalotina checkpopint. This on the main road from Belgrade in Serbia to Sofia. In fact, this road is the main route for road traffic into Bulgaria. Anyway, our villa is about 2km from the checkpoint, so please drop in. Have a rest, a shower and something to eat! We have now retired to Bulgaria and we were planning to spend the winter in Veliko Tarnovo, but our apartment does not have any insulation yet and we do not have a garage. Please could you send me your e-mail address and your phone number for when you will be in BG?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the offer Simon our route isn’t finalised yet but we will not be going through Serbia because of our dog. We will most likely be skirting Bucharest and entering Bulgarian at the bridge at Rousse.
ReplyDeleteThat is the long way round! Actually we have an apartment in Veliko Tarnovo, but I think that we will be spending the winter in Kalotina. Our house in Kalotina has insulation and the apartment does not!
ReplyDeleteGoogle maps has it at 80 miles less than going through Serbia so it’s the shortest route actually. Anyway there is no rush for us to get there and we are looking forward to seeing Romania we have heard it is a beautiful country.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark, great to see more pics. Taking the Romania route is ideal, beautiful countryside and decent enough roads. Bit hairy round Bucharest which we did for our first trip but crossing at Vidin is easy though a bit further up for you. Definitely no need to take the Serbia route. Give us a shout if you need suggestions for stopovers on route.
ReplyDeleteHi Sally. We’re looking forward to the mountains in Romania, I think Serbia takes us well out of our way I will just do Bucharest with my eyes shut it’s how I normally drive anyway !!!. We will get some suggestions for stopovers off you thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'll take that kind of rat race any day! I love seeing your place. It has so much potential. Such an exciting time for you. And it sounds like you are doing a really good job of getting prepared for your move. The time will be here before you know it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Leigh, it’s like stepping back 40 years in time it’s great. It feels like home already when we’re there. So much to learn though, but exciting times.
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