2024 October 28 - Architecture Overkill and Light Shows

 We had decided to head out early because rain was predicted for this afternoon. Breakfast was included with hotel room so we went downstairs to the restaurant where a breakfast buffet was available. I couldn't get over all the offerings. There was a coffee stand with all kinds of coffee, teas, fruit juices, a refrigerator with different kinds of milk and yogurt. We went down 2 steps and there were bread, rolls, croissants, pastries, cereal. On the other wall were the hot dishes - omelets that looked like scrambled eggs, different fried meats each day, different vegetables, French fries. Next came the luncheon meats, cheeses, salads, tomatoes. I know there were more options that I am forgetting. I've never seen so much for breakfast!

We took an Uber down to the Old Town and started exploring - it was early - places weren't open - there were only a few tourists around - it was great! The restaurant workers were cleaning and delivery vans were dropping off supplies. I apologize in advance for all the pictures but it is Bucharest or "The Little Paris."

We started at the CEC Palace which houses the Savings Bank - one of the oldest financial institutions in Bucharest - a landmark building in Bucharest for its eclectic architecture. I don't know very much about architecture but I love this building with its glass dome!

Look at the details on this building - you've got to love it! And that glass dome in the picture below!

The palace was built on the site of the ruins of St John the Great monastery. The 16th century church was renovated between 1702-1703, with an inn where the most famous merchants lived until the end of the 18th century. The church was famous for the miracless that happened to the sick people who stepped inside. Later the church was left to deteriorate. In 1875 it reached the point where authorities asked for its demolition.

The palace was built between 1897 and 1900 as the new headquarters for Romania's oldest bank, the public savings institution - the cornerstone was laid by King Carol I of Romania. The land was bought and the building constructed with the institution's own funds.

The CEC Palace remained intact after two big earthquakes (1940 and 1977), after the Soviet bombing (1941), and after the Anglo-American bombing (1944). 

Tall skyscraper to the right.

I noticed that the old building was reflected in the newer glass building on the right so I wanted a picture of the reflection.

Farther to the right as you look at the Palace, you see a beautiful old building with a modern larger than life advertisement beside it. 

To the left of the Palace is another beautiful building, but look a little farther left below and you see an ad for Head and Shoulders Shampoo!

Just look at the details in this corner of the building.

"That's Amore!

Pizza Italiana"

on St Stavropoleos

Sectorul 3"

These beautiful buildings are wrecked by graffiti.

Even the undersides of the decorative work are decorated! Look at the roof above and under the balcony below.

Stavropoleos Monastery dated from 1724 - it included an inn on its property which was a common practice at the time. It quickly became one of the wealthiest churches in Bucharest thanks to its many rich worshippers. Unfortunately, the monastery deteriorated in the 19th century due to fire, poor administration and earthquakes.

The old monastery and inn were demolished at the end of the 19th century, but the church was restored and the monastery rebuilt in the early 20th century. The small inner court became an open-air collection of stone crosses and fragments of churches that no longer exist in Bucharest. In fact, between 1904 and 1940 the church only functioned as a museum.

I walked up onto the porch and realized services were going on - I knew I could not go in but hoped for a quick peek in through the door. A woman came up to me and said that a funeral was going on and no visitors were allowed. I took a quick look as I walked across the porch down into the courtyard where there were old headstones from other churches.

We did come back later in the day - the inside was spectacular - so many old frescoes and paintings. I lit a candle for a special intention. 

I am so busy looking at the ground because of cracked and missing tiles and cobblestones that I happen to notice sewer covers! I couldn't get Google Translate to tell me what it says.

Just a random door that I liked.

A different sewer cover!

Just because I liked the design of the door and decorative trim above the door and scroll on the columns.

There were hundreds of loose dogs and cats every place we went in Romania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia. Apparently they are not neutered so they just keep multiplying. Some cities chip them and vaccinate them but not all. Some are so shaggy and dirty I felt like giving them baths and haircuts.

So many gates are similar to this one everywhere we've been - some are highly decorative - some plain. But in Bulgaria we noticed that the open spaces in the gates have been covered - for more privacy I suppose? They don't want nosey people like me looking through the gates.

The back of the National Museum of Romanian History.

Another church I tried to visit but a service was going on.

Original bell from bell tower.

Pretty obvious - services going on - please be quiet! Google Translates: "We only talk to God."

This is where I would have lit another candle if I had been able to go into the church.

We were prowling around the streets of the old town. Kind of an eclectic bar.

JB looking to see if he can get into the Maximum Security Prison of Sexy Womans. Sing Sing.

The Irish quarter! 3 Irish bars on this street!

We came back here to eat. Fish & Chips on the menu!

This is the place that the waiter and busboy both told Tina that they had no ketchup. Leave it to Tina who spied a bottle of ketchup on an empty table and grabbed it.

I wish I could have seen the whole mural on the roof - this street was spectacular.

I took a couple of pix to show the graffiti that defiles these otherwise beautiful buildings. There is lovely street art in each country but the graffiti and dumping of trash is very sad. I said to JB that these countries need to start Tidy Town campaigns to clean them up. While I am at it, the smoking is so annoying! It is everywhere - there are no non-smoking areas that we found - the first thing the waiter puts on your table is an ashtray. Cigarettes and vaping seem to be major pastimes. The European Union encourages non-smoking and other bans, but I think it is up to the individual countries to institute non-smoking policies

More graffiti on the left.

Beautiful building and roof.

 

Look at this gorgeous building's details then take a right turn here for the art museum celebration of women.

This is an art museum decorated in pink - an Art Safari of Women.

Queen Marie of Romania was the daughter of Duke Alfred of Edinburgh - 2nd son of Queen Victoria. Her mother was Grand Duchess Marie, the daughter of Alexander II of Russia. She married Ferdinand, the heir to the Romanian throne, and they had 6 children. When King Carol I died in 1914, Ferdinand and Marie became King and Queen of Romania. Queen Marie was an artist and was very interested in politics. She did a lot for Romania which apparently is why she is included in this celebration of women.

We walked by this beauty on our way for coffee.

The Rembrandt Hotel is beside the well know and popular Grand Cafe Van Gogh.

 

We couldn't get a seat inside without a reservation - the hostess told us that some people make reservations up to 2 years in advance! A place to see and be seen I guess.

My black breakfast tea in a Van Gough mug. I noticed that the black tea in this area has a slight taste of mint to it. Nothing like Barry's!

We got to see the inside when we used the rest rooms.

There were copies of Van Gogh's paintings everywhere.

Colorful cafe.

This was a great little museum. The owner has set up the apartment as an upper class Romanian home around the turn of the century. He had all kinds of furnishings, clothing, pictures, everything and more that a home would have. He still had a pull chain toilet which actually is not that unusual for this part of the world. He had so much history of Romania that I could have sat and talked with him for hours!

Heading out of the alley where the Little Paris Museum is located.

More sedate but gorgeous architecture - I loved the gates!

Another little beauty with new windows!

A branch of the National Bank of Romania. Check out the door and the  descriptive arch. 

"Supplier of the Royal House of Romania" per the words surrounding the coat of arms. The Rooster and Cat on either side of "Home Beer Original Recipe 1879." Caru' cu bere means beer cart? This is also a very well known and popular destination - you again need reservations to eat inside so we were able to sit outside because it was still early.

We ordered the Papanast/Romanian Doughnuts which is a Romanian specialty.

This is an individual serving that we split 3 ways! Not quite as good as I had expected. The 2nd picture shows the ashtray that was on every table - Dunhill.

We stopped inside a former market that now has cafe/bar after cafe/bar after cafe/bar!

I love the details on this building! We were heading back to the Museum of Romanian History.

Map of the Old Town.

We went into the Museum of Romanian History - I couldn't do the whole museum - my bones were aching. So we decided to head back to the hotel - the problem was that a lot of streets in the Old Town were closed off. So we walked to a street that seemed to be open and called an Uber even though there were taxis nearby. Uber is less likely to rip you off unlike taxis.

We rested up at the hotel and called an Uber about 7:30 to take us to the fountains for the water and light show. The street in front of our hotel was closed as was the square further up - apparently several areas of town close off the streets on Saturdays and Sundays.

The square we were going to was packed! There were so many fountains in the Piata Unirii. At 8 pm the music and colorful lights started. It was a cool and windy night so the water from so many fountains was spraying everyone. The music was upbeat and the lights and fountains were synchronized to it. It was pretty spectacular. It lasted 45 minutes and everyone immediately headed out - no applause or anything.

We headed across the street and called an Uber - JB positioned us so that the Uber would have to drive down the street to the House of Parliament which we could see lit up from where we were standing. What a monstrosity! Such a waste of money that could have helped so many people. The Uber driver told us that all of the 1000+ rooms are used. 

Apparently after an earthquake in 1977, Nicolae Ceausescu, the Romanian Communist leader, was inspired by his friendships with the Chinese and North Korean leaders to build his own imposing palace in Bucharest. He built it on the highest hill in the city. He bulldozed entire neighborhoods - it is estimated that 20 churches as well as temples, factories, hospitals, and the homes of 40,000 people were destroyed. When he died, there was talk of demolishing the 60% of the building that had been built in 10 years. But it was decided that this would be too expensive so the leaders decided to complete the building and put it to public use. 

The Uber driver dropped us off at the hotel. I went into my room but JB and Tina walked up the closed street to see what was going on. We agreed to head to Therme tomorrow and then on to Transylvania!

2024 September 27 - Another border crossing into Romania and an unfriendly receptionist

We packed up and left our Sofia apartment this morning. We were heading for Bucharest which is only about a 5 hour drive but there is a border crossing which can always delay the drive. I am surprised by all the road construction that is being done in Bulgaria - there are some pretty good motorways and smaller roads. And when we had crossed the border into Bulgaria yesterday, there was a massive undertaking at the border there. Most if not all the road works have signs that the European Union was supporting the projects. But I recently read that Bulgaria has only used 4% of the allocated money from the EU since 2021! And some of that EU money will soon expire unused! Bulgaria was facing huge protests before the last Presidential and Parliamentary elections - the government threw billions of levs - Bulgaria's currency - at businesses, tourism, health care workers, and agricultural enterprises despite increasing the country's annual deficit. But I think they did use the Recovery funds that the EU gave out during Covid.   

Lukovit in northern Bulgaria - stone house and building beside a service plaza on the highway.

I love the architectural details and the stone work.

Lukovit was conquered by the Ottomans by the 1400s - the Turks tried to force everyone to convert to Islam but they were not quite successful. In 1860 there were 250 Muslim families and 260 Eastern Orthodox families in Lukovit. After the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottomans, all the Turkish families moved out of town. 

We stopped in Rousse/Ruse in northern Bulgaria for lunch about 3 pm - it is the last Bulgarian town before crossing to Romania. Ruse is one of Bulgaria's largest cities - it is located on the Danube River and became a trading center with the rest of Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. It is known as 'Little Vienna."

There was plenty of parking - we parked on a Main Street near the Western Union where Tina later changed some money into Romanian Leus - $100 equals about 177 Romanian. It was 89 degrees Fahrenheit so it was a very hot walk to the street with some cafes/restaurants. 

We stopped at La Strada Restaurant in Ruse - despite the heat we sat outside to enjoy the slight cool breeze.

I had a salad with tomatoes, cukes, peppers, apples, pears, grilled chicken and pita chips with a little lemon vinaigrette dressing. I think JB is eating something like a shopska salad but with added ingredients. Very tasty and refreshing. We ordered homemade lemonade with ginger - but the ginger was overpowering so I stuck with water.

We continued on to the Bulgarian border with Romania. We didn't have any issues with the officials but there were hundreds of container trucks backed up to get through to Romania. We got through quick enough because cars, buses and trucks all have separate lanes, but then we were stuck in ungodly traffic to get onto the bridge over the Danube River to Romania. It is an old bridge built around 1952 and was being repaired so only one side of traffic could go at a time. At one point an official waved us into a new line of traffic - we moved way up front to make a new line for the cars because the back up at the crossing was so bad. We watched a cyclist ride right up to the point where the officials had stopped the traffic going over the bridge. It was 10, 15 minutes before our line of traffic began merging and moving up to start over the bridge. They were holding trucks and buses back. That bridge looked very old and rickety - it didn't seem wide enough to hold one line of traffic never mind traffic going both ways - and there are so many container trucks going in every direction! There were  trucks and some cars still coming over toward us, but they let cars start over to the Romanian side. I don't know how that bridge held up with all the weight on it from so many trucks!

We passed through the border here in Rouse and were lined up trying to cross over the Danube River over this bridge - you can see a truck on the right side of the picture approaching our side. An official came along and signaled JB to pass the car in front of us and move up to the front of the line because the border control was backed up with cars. We finally crossed over the bridge and entered Romania.    

Look at all the trucks coming over the bridge!

We managed to find Hotel Berthelot in downtown Bucharest. We didn't know where to park because there was no parking anywhere - JB live parked while Tina and I went inside to register. The receptionist was not very friendly - she gave me my key 301 and told me that it was on the 1st floor - Tina got room 303 and was also told it was on the 1st floor. She was not the least bit helpful re parking. I went to check out the room and planned to go back down to help bring up the luggage. I found the room 301 on the 3rd floor and tried the card 4, 5, 6 times and the door did not open. I tried 303, 307 in case that was a 7 and not a 1 - no luck - I went down and tried 101 since she had said it was the first floor. I went back down to the desk and told her that the key did not work - she started yelling that of course the key would work - I said I tried 301, 307 and even 101. She was fussing and nasty but gave me another key. I was heading upstairs when JB texted asking where I was - I texted that I was heading back upstairs because my card had not worked. He and Tina met me outside my door - I just wanted a witness in case it did not work again but they took the key and opened the door. JB dragged my suitcase in as Tina inserted the card into the holder inside the door to activate the lights. I was in a terrible mood by this time. They left and I fumed - I have traveled in the US and to Ireland, London, Italy, Spain and had no problem with a room key unless I demagnetized it by putting it near my cell phone. That receptionist was nasty not only to me and Tina and then to me but she was also nasty to the person ahead of me when I went back down. On the other hand JB said that the employee in charge of parking was super nice and even brought the bags up a flight of stairs. He'll get a special mention in my satisfaction survey and even on their Facebook site.

The hotel is actually to the right but I was taking a picture of the details of the house beside the hotel. I loved the architecture I'd seen so far!

We were amazed at all the buildings we saw that are covered up because they are being renovated! This one was across the street from the hotel.

We had eaten not so long before we arrived in Bucharest so we opted to stay in and get an early start in the morning in case it was raining in the afternoon then we might go to Thermes, a famous spa, in Bucharest. 

2024 September 26 - Wonderful day - Bulgarians are so nice!

We slept in a little late today because we were meeting a former J1 visa worker that both JB and Tina knew and worked with on Cape Cod. We didn't have to meet him until 10 am for brunch. We took an Uber to The Old Lady Restaurant - Tsvetelin  and his friend Kostadin met us in front of the restaurant a few minutes later. Both worked at a European airline but at different times. They are now working at the same airline as stewards and doing office work for the airline as well. Tsvetelin has a masters in Aviation Management I think and is doing some work for the company in quality control? Kastadin studied Graphic Design and is designing a new safety card that explains what to do if you are a passenger in a plane and there is an emergency. Both would like to find full time jobs in the fields that they studied. Both are coming to the US in January - Kostadin has a work visa. We'd like to help them find some leads if possible. 

Anyway the food was delicious and the conversation flowed. 

I got the scrambled eggs with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and sheep's cheese which came on delicious toasted bread. 

JB's Eggs Benedict looks terrific! You order what you want inside then they give you a number with the Old Lady and her cane on it. The food is delivered to the table. It is not fast food or prepared in advance so it takes a bit for the food to be delivered. We just relaxed over coffee while we waited. And it was well worth the wait.

After eating we all walked up to see Alexander Nevsky Cathedral - it was a couple of blocks away. Apparently it is a symbol of Bulgaria - it was built in 1882-1912 to honor the 200,000 Russian soldiers who died during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1879 - they saved Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. It was named for Alexander Nevsky who was a 13th century Russian Warrior Prince and Saint. 

The inside of the Alexander Nevsky Church was fabulous. I didn't take any pictures because unfortunately Bulgaria has some of the worst walkways - both inside and out - cracked, chipped and loose bricks, cobblestones, flagstone, and everything else - no handrails on some pretty steep stairs. I was busy looking around, up and down and trying not to fall - so didn't take pictures. But it was fabulous! We even went downstairs to the museum - unbelievable how old some of the frescoes and icons were.

During brunch John mentioned that he needed a haircut - Tsvetelin  and Kostadin tried to get him an appointment with their barber but he was booked up. So they offered to drive us to another barber closer to where Tsvetelin lived! Kostadin went to get his car and met us near the cathedral. We saw a different side of Sofia - the student area near the university. They explained where we were and what the area was like.                                                                               Kostadin could not find parking anywhere so he dropped us off at the barber's and said he would pick us up when JB was finished.  They both arrived at the barber shop before JB was finished and then offered to surprise us with somewhere nice for coffee. We drove a ways out of the city to a place on a lake but could not get coffee there unless we paid to use the pool! We drove a little further on but that place was closed for the season. We finally arrived at another restaurant that is also a wedding venue. It was situated on the same lake, and we had seats right at the window - what  great view! It was really lovely and surprisingly wasn't very busy. 

We had supper - my chicken caesar salad had very fresh lettuce, tomatoes and terrific shaved Parmesan cheese. The chicken was lightly fried.  We had coffee and some of us had dessert. It was a lovely time with Tsvetelin  and Kostadin - I can't believe they spent the whole day entertaining us! We saw so many parts of Sofia that we would not have ever seen without them. Then they dropped us off at the apartment to top it all off! I'll be forever grateful. As I said to JB when he asked me if I was sorry I didn't get to see the museums and churches that we had planned to visit, the museums and churches are full of history and will always be here - but when an opportunity like today comes around, you have to embrace and enjoy it - this was the living breathing Sophia.

This picture isn't very good but gives some idea of where we had dinner. You can see the lake through the awnings. I think everywhere seems fancier with white tablecloths and napkins - heavyweight utensils, china, glasses, and the sheer white curtains lent a nice touch.

JB and Tina were meeting other J1 friends - Tsvetelin  and Kostadin weren't able to make it when Tina invited them along. I declined the invite - it had been a great day but I was tired and presumed that JB and Tina could use some time away from me. So I stayed in and packed my bag because tomorrow we head for Romania!

2024 September 25 - They stopped us at the Bulgarian Border Crossing!

I was exhausted when JB tapped at my door at 5 am this morning. I had stayed up until after midnight so I struggled out of bed - I had taken a shower yesterday so I threw my clothes on, put my computer, chargers and a few other things into my knapsack. My suitcase was packed full and heavy - the temps were supposed to be in the high 80s for part of the trip but also in the 50-60s. Plus I always feel cold. So I packed lightly for hot weather including my bathing suit but I also brought a couple of pairs of pants and a couple of fleeces. JB loaded up the car in the dark and we were off - I was still too tired for a cup of tea and it was way too early to eat anything. 

As we headed into Bitola, I could see lights in the fields ahead. I couldn't figure out what was going on in the dark. When we got close to the lights, I was so surprised to see that it was the farmers out in their fields picking peppers and tobacco. They had their car lights shining on the fields so they could see their ripe crops. I can't even imagine getting up so early never mind picking red peppers in the headlights of my car. These poor people. 

Although it was still dark, there were quite a few lights on in the distance. Tina thought there was a bakery on the outskirts of Bitola that might be opening - we could get some fresh grub for the drive. She found the bakery and she and JB went inside. The food would be very fresh because the bakery delivery man was taking it out of the back of his van and bringing it into the bakery. It was just an ordinary van with some tools in the back. Once the bread, etc was delivered, 2 teenage girls and a teenage boy jumped into the back with their knapsacks. The driver took out the long pole that had been holding up the back door of his truck, threw it into the van beside the kids, and shut the door! What multitasking! A bread delivery van, a work van, and a "taxi! There were no windows in that van! I don't know how far they were going, but that road ahead of us was pretty bumpy! 

The lights of the city dimmed as we drove east out of Bitola and it became dark again. There were larger fields of red peppers and tobacco out this way. Again there were lights in these fields - cars and trucks lighting the crops for the people to harvest - except this time some of the men were wearing miners lights on their heads - you know the small light that wraps around your head and shines a light in front of you. I just could not believe it!! It was just after 5:30 am - the sun would start to rise about 6 am - and these people were out in miners' lights picking crops in the dark. Were they doing it before work? Or because there was so many fields that they had to harvest them before they were over ripe? Where was Tina's father to ask these questions - I'm sure he would know the answers.

We made a couple of pit stops along the way but finally made it to the Bulgarian border. It was a bit confusing at first to know where to go but JB just followed the signs for cars. The first stop was like an extended toll booth with a money collector at each end. The first window was the Macedonian customs, the 2nd was the Bulgarian customs officials. The Macedonian customs officer was outside the booth - he took our passports and car documents to look them over. He started talking with Tina who was in the back seat on the driver's side. When he looked at her American passport, he was jesting about her being a Macedonian American  - then he heard me and JB speak and he was laughing about us being real American Americans. He was very pleasant and told Tina about his children who were in different parts of the US. He waved us through and wished us a pleasant journey. JB inched the car forward to the next window. The Bulgarian customs official opened the window and took our passports and car information. He asked JB something - JB couldn't hear him and opened the door - he was leaning out of the car trying to hear the official - Tina opened her door and got half in and half out of the car because the car was so close to the building they couldn't fully open the doors. They and the official were all talking - at one point Tina said that she and John were like Dumb and Dumber - the official laughed at that. He waved us on to the next official. 

We moved on to the next official - he was less friendly - he looked over the passports and us - I again automatically took off my sunglasses when he looked into the car at me to compare my passport picture with my face. After a few minutes he told JB to pull up behind a Mercedes parked ahead of us and wait there - he took our passports and car information and went up to another building. We were laughing about being stopped at the border and wondering why - was it because I was on some kind of list for being blocked by Trump's campaign in 2020 for the negative observations I posted about Trump? Or because I had carried a carving knife and a bread knife - both brand new and in the original packages - in my luggage to Ireland after having the house renovated - customs had left a note in the bottom of my bag saying that they had searched my suitcase? That happened twice - 2nd time with a set of steak knives. Or was it because JB is pro-Labor and posts about that. We were laughing but it really wasn't funny. The official had our passports - we did not speak Bulgarian - we knew no one in Bulgaria. Thank goodness for Tina - Macedonian and Bulgarian are similar languages - she can speak Bulgarian pretty well. But what if they detained us - I had registered with the US State Department before leaving the US informing them where we would be traveling and giving Violeta as our contact person. I register in the State Department's STEP program (Smart Traveler Enrollment Program) any time I travel - these days you never know what could happen - if there is a problem in the country that you are visiting, the State Department sends you updates - if you have a problem, should you be detained at a border for example, you can contact the US Embassy in that country. Fortunately, a nicer official brought back all our passports and car info. In southeastern Europe where not every country is in the European Union, when you cross a border, you need special info about your car - green papers? something green any way! You need your license, an international driving license, car rental agreement. Anyway this official sent us forward to the next checkpoint where JB had to get out of the car and open the trunk. He was asked if he had anything to declare - liquor, fruits, vegetables, etc - he said no, the official looked into the boot (trunk) of the car and joked with JB before giving him the all clear - Tina asked him about buying a toll transponder - a device that is mandatory in Bulgaria (and it is also mandatory in Romania as well.) These can and should be bought online, but there is a small building on the right after you go through the border crossing where you can get one - you need your passport, papers for the car, and maybe your license and international license - I was in the car while JV and Tina bought it.

After that we were on our way to Sofia!

This is what greeted us shortly after crossing the border -McDonald's and a Shell gas station - I can't tell you how disappointed I was to see McDonald's signs throughout Bulgaria. 

We found our apartment eventually - we had to pick up the keys at the Coop Hotel - of course there was traffic and no parking - we circled the block several times and eventually pulled into the hotel parking garage - a gentleman came right over before we were parked to tell us to move but Tina fortunately was able to tell him that she had to pick up keys to our apartment in the hotel. He told Tina that she could go in but JB and I had to wait in the car. Tina came back in a huff - the receptionist at the hotel was nasty to her and told her that she needed the car info because we were parking at the apartment - she needed JB's info as well. So I was hostage in the car while they went in. They came back in a rage - the receptionist was not helpful - gave them no information and dismissed them. Not a nice Welcome To Bulgaria!

We seemed to drive around the blocks a few times again because of traffic and one way streets, but JB finally found it. JB unpacked the bags from the car, and we dragged them into the elevator. After a rocky start getting the keys, the apartment was vey nice - very modern. JB and Tina had the master bedroom with a private bathroom and a large TV. I used the common bathroom but had a lovely double bed room to myself with a  washing machine and a drying rack that we did not use. We had a nice kitchenette, a table with 4 chairs and a sofa with 2 round coffee tables. There was also a small patio off the sitting area.

JB noticed a bowl on the back of the toilet in the shared bathroom - Tina had turned on the hot water heater when we came in. Apparently sometime while they took showers, the hot wet tank had started leaking and overflowed the bowl on the top of the toilet so that the water was running down off the toilet onto the floor. Once the showers were over, the leaking stopped - so we just kept an eye on the bowl and emptied it as needed.

After we rested up for a while, we got ready to go out to eat. We decided to go to the Largo complex - this complex of government buildings was built in the 1950s following the bombing of Sofia during WWII. We weren't sure exactly how far a 15 minute walk to the Largo would be, so JB dropped me and Tina off then walked back to meet us.

When the Metro was being extended, the ruins of Serdica - the original name of Sofia - were found. They are now being excavated - they are from Roman and pre-Roman times - some run alongside one of the government buildings - more of the ruins are visible down in the Metro subway.

Roman ruins of Serdica run alongside one of the Communist buildings.

Stairs leading down to the ruins mid-left - stairs along bottom of picture lead to the Metro where more ruins can be seen. 

Former Turkish Mineral Baths now house the Sofia History Museum - it was built in 1913. Tina and I walked down here while waiting for John. I was surprised by everyone smoking and openly drinking beers - everyone drank coffee in Macedonia - so this was a big change.

These few pictures were taken along the street near the ruins. 

Street art near the ruins

We ate dinner at Mi Casa Restaurant which sits alongside more ancient ruins.

We decided to walk back to the apartment and on the way stopped for coffees and tea at a cute coffee shop - the kind of place you could stop in with your computer or meet up with friends and stay for a couple of hours. We had some dessert with our tea and coffees. The carmel on my apple pie was scrumptious!

I finished my tea and pie while John and Tina went to the market for some water and other supplies. We are constantly drinking water to keep hydrated in the hot weather. We walked home after that and hit the hay.