Roadtrippin' through Bulgaria

Day 5

Our morning began with a tour of the American University of Bulgaria. It was much like a typical university setting with the buildings and and classrooms. One thing that we did notice that would be a great addition to campus would be a coffee vending machine. Now don't scoff, this is nothing like the coffee that one gets in a hospital setting where it is watered down and doesn't really resemble coffee at all. I got a cappuccino for 0.60 leva (0.42 cents in US dollars) and it was so tasty; I think it would be a great addition.  We then began our journey from Blagoevgrad to Bansko.

Bansko was a quaint little poetic town in which the writer of Bulgarian history was born. We walked the cobblestone streets and explored some of the shops in the town. We continued to visit another church. {interesting fact: there was a rule that the Bulgarian churches couldn't not be taller than the Turkish mosques.}

We then walked onward to find our lunch spot for the day, 
Todorina Kashta in which we have had my favorite lunch so far.

We had a Greek salad along with a main dish that was a
mix between a beef stew and a chilli made with peppers and onions and mushrooms and for dessert we had
Yogurt with blueberries that reminded me of Chobani with fruit on the bottom.

Next we embarked on 3 hr ride to the town of Plovdiv. There we were able to see lots of different styles of architecture in the Old Town as well as the Roman Stadium.  We also had the opportunity to watch a woman make clay pottery. The pieces she makes are so beautiful and are very durable.

Before heading back to the hotel we had the opportunity to stand at the Roman Stadium which overlooked the town as the sun slowly set in the background.

Dinner for the evening was located conveniently around the corner where we enjoyed a variety of items including stuffed chicken, pork fillets, ice cream cake, Banana Hawaiians and even had some sheep brains (the taste was not bad but the consistency of mashed potatoes really threw me off).

Bulgarian word of the day: Mnogo vkusno - how tasty!!!!

Day 6

Wow this was a loooooooong day...

... We began with breakfast in Plovdiv and then traveled onward to the town Nova Zagora in the village of Karanovo. Here we visited the Village Mound which was one of the mounds in the village that had been excavated and showed the stages of development of the region dating back to the Neolithic era.

Following that we then visited a traditional Bulgarian house where we enjoyed a spread of traditional Bulgarian dishes that were all homemade. We enjoyed some fresh homemade feta cheese, Banitsa,Kebabcheta, Tutmanik, and Airan.

After we were completely stuffed we were able to watch how to make the bread and were able to shape the dough into various shapes.

We left the small village to journey onward to Nessebar which borders the Black Sea.  The town is split into two main parts: a more commercialized and newer town and an older more historically preserved town. The two parts are connected by a bridge that sits over the water and separates the two sides.  Here we saw more cobblestone streets and were able to stand on the shore of the Black Sea. It was so refreshing to walk along the streets and breath in the fresh salty air. It was awesome to get the opportunity to have the Black Sea touch my fingertips as  I walked on the sandy shore.

For dinner we had fish. It was in a tomato based sauce with cheese and potatoes on the side. For dessert we had crepes with chocolate... YuM!

Since it was still early yet we decided to walk around the town some and headed down to view the Black Sea. It was very calm and quiet but not as pretty of a view in the dark as it was in the previous city of Nessebar. 

Next it was time for Galaxy bowling where we all let loose and enjoy some downtime ----and In case you were wondering bowling is the same as it is in the United States.

After a very long and eventful day it was very nice to literally fall in my bed!

Bulgarian phrase of the day: Edno, dve, tri -- 1,2,3

{ Contributed by Lauren Chambers }