Author: Noel

Good morning from Plovdiv!

With my new $7 SIM card in my phone, I now have 6GB of mobile data for the rest of my trip. Is that a bargain or what?

When I first arrived my airbnb hostess was not available so I hung out nearby on the main pedestrian street and grabbed a delicious gelato combo of coffee and dark chocolate with hot pepper and candied orange peel chunks. YUM! And such fun people watching.

I was comfy in my airbnb right in the heart of the art/cafe district called Kapana. The pocket park next door is home to skateboarding teens during the day, and at night it seems to host a late night (4am!) party, but fortunately the apartment is pretty soundproof with the windows closed, and has adequate air conditioning. The temperature us up to 90 degrees Farenheit these days. The building itself is really lovely and the inside is modern, clean, and well equipped.

I am thrilled to be in such a walkable area, with old buildings and cobblestone streats. There is a large area of pedestrian-only streets including the place I am staying. I walked for several hours last night checking out the district. The Dzhumaya mosque and one of two Roman amphitheatres are just a few blocks away. I had a delicious dinner right around the corner at a very popular restaurant called Pavash. I ordered grilled baby eggplant with carrot and a delicious glaze and pesto, and chicken livers with sauce and whole wheat bread. Dessert was dreamy creamy cheesecake on a chocolate crumb crust with strawberry. I sat at an outside table watching folks pass by. Mostly Bulgarians but many other nationalities. Since they were full, a nice woman came and sat with me while waiting for a friend to arrive. She is half-Bulgarian, half-Armenian and has been spending several years each in Colombia, The Netherlands, Istambul, etc. working as a sort of cosmetologist. It was nice to have a companion to talk with since I was feeling a bit lonely knowing I will be mostly solo traveling now that the Rose Valley workshop is over.

Afterwards walked some more and met an Italian couple, had a nice chat in Italian, turns out they live near Lake Como which is one of our favorite places in northern Italy.

I am on the lookout for ab embroidered Bulgarian folk shirt for myself, and I found two stores that carry them, but they were chintze and way overpriced.

Parking is an issue in Plovdiv – the main tourist areas are mostly off limits to non-resident parking (green zone) or have severe restrictions ($1.50/hr with many places max 2 hours, except for paid lots which sometimes fill up). I drove around a bit and found long term free street parking in the “Center” district about 5 minutes walk south of the “Old Town”, 15 minutes walk from my apartment.

I am about to head out for some sort of light breakfast followed by a free walking tour in English that was recommended.

I posted a number of pictures from yesterday on my photo album https://noelsk.smugmug.com/Photo-Galleries/BG-Rose-Valley-Workshop-2019

After a few detours I am now in my rental car outside Sofia airport, purchased my electronic highway toll “vignette”, got driving directions to Plovdiv using free wifi (available at all gas stations) and ready for a new adventure!

The last few days I have been having too much fun to take time out to blog. That seems to be a pattern for me.

I’ve posted some pictures from the past few days to https://noelsk.smugmug.com/Photo-Galleries/BG-Rose-Valley-Workshop-2019

Last night we had a visit from the folk dancers, singers and musicians from the village of Kliment which is about 3 miles south of here. It was a wonderful time, each group of folks we meet seems more friendly and animated than the last one. After an initial performance in the dance hall everyone moved outside and we danced in the courtyard of our compound. The colors and embroidery of their costumes were coordinated with the “rose” theme since we are located in the famous “Rose Valley”. The season for collecting rose oil from the local pink rose variety is nearly over. I got a chance to dance with the men of the performing group when I wasn’t busy taking videos to record the festivities.

The weather continues to cooperate, while it did rain a little yesterday night and it’s quite overcast now.

My right knee is a bit cranky but it hasn’t stopped me from enjoying the dancing so far.

I don’t have much more to add right now so I’ll go off to dance class before it is over.

Do utre … until tomorrow, when I will be off to Sofia to rent a car and continue my journey to Plovdiv for two days, and then onward into the Rhodope mountains.

имаме ракия

A toast to old and new friends.

Already the third evening of spirited dancing, and wonderful music.

I’ve posted some new pictures in my album https://noelsk.smugmug.com/BG-Rose-Valley-Workshop-2019/i-H2kp356/A

After major delays, missed connections, hours standing in line, and an unexpected overnight in Fankfurt, I arrived at Sofia airport 24 hours behind schedule. The memories of these travails would make for a story but they are already overshadowed by meeting old and new friends, taking in the sights and sounds of Bulgaria for the first time.

We came 2.5 hours east from Sofia to Karavelovo between the Balkan and Stara Planina mountains. The workshop began last night with a wonderful dance party lasting past midnight. After a chilly night, a good sleep, a hot shower and delicious breakfast I am ready for the first day of classes!

I posted a few first pictures on https://noelsk.smugmug.com/Photo-Galleries/BG-Rose-Valley-Workshop-2019, and will post pix and videos as time permits, and will post more updates here.

Dance class is starting so goodbye for now…. dovizhdane.

Noel

This afternoon we returned home to Lake Celeste. We celebrate the completion of this dream circle which included wonderful stays and visits with friends and family, 8700 miles of driving, seeing amazing new places, music and dancing, hotel rooms to hippy hangouts to hours of getting along in the car together… and so much more.  I still plan to write blog entries with pictures of much of our trip, begging your pardon as I was never able to make time during the journey itself. We christened our Sienna minivan “Argo”.  Below are family pix from the Grand Canyon south rim at sunset, and from the Route 66 car museum in Santa Rosa NM. Our cat is very happy that we returned. She doesn’t know about Balkan Camp.

So, yesterday we “did” Nashville properly.  Our sweet friend Amberly, who lives and works here as a professional violinist, took us all around Nashville like a pro tour guide.  We saw downtown, and she pointed out a lot of the venues where she has played.  She also took us to see the replica of the Parthenon near Vanderbilt.  We went folk dancing and then, for something completely different, went to see Jim Lauderdale at “Honky Tonk Tuesdays” at the American Legion Hall.  Though we’re not into country per se, we danced a combination of swing, zydeco, two-step, and whatever else occurred to Noel to lead me through.   Good times.  Finally, Amberly took us to Jeni’s, which is, hands down, the best ice cream ever!!!

Yesterday we met up with a folk dance friend of my parents named Amberly. She showed us around the city and we went to dinner and dancing. Sunset was really beautiful. She brought us to the Parthenon replica but we didn’t get to go inside. 

After that we went to a Jim Lauderdale concert and Craig Smith from Megadeath slayed on guitar. My parents danced and Sophie made some friends and found a cat to pet. It was a fun night. Today we’re going to drive as far as we can on the way back to NY. This trip has been so much fun, and we squeezed in so much in so little time. It really amazes me that we did most of what we wanted to do without a hitch. I am so happy my dad took the time to plan this out so meticulously. It has been such a wonderful and fun experience for me to see so many beautiful and interesting new places in America with the family I love so much!