I am so lame, I know. I try to keep up with my posts on here but ridiculous things like "work" and the like are always getting in the way. Anyway, before I end up waiting until NEXT new years, I thought I should post about the rest of our trip to Bulgaria, which was made even better (I think) by the trials of getting there.
Since the snow was minimal (although it didn't seem too bad to me, on the bunny hill, on my first day skiing in at least 5 years, Chris and Nam weren't too fond of skiing over rocks and grass on their fancy skis and snowboards) we spent alot of time at the nearby hotel's spa, sitting in the sauna and getting massages. There are certainly worse ways to spend a vacation. After we finally settled into our hotel and spent a little time on the first day at said spa, we hit my new favorite restaurant, Pitsina Kruchma. DuWane and Chris knew of this place from last year's visit, and the owner of the restaurant recognized them too. The hospitality at this restaurant and in much of Bansko (much unlike the hospitality of the Bulgarian customs agents) is Turkish-like in how at-home they make you feel. When we walked in, the place was nearly empty, but the "best table" was in front of the fireplace. It had a 'reserved' sign on it, but the owners' daughter came over and told us, "My mother wants me to tell you that you guys should sit here by the fireplace, but that our friends from Sofia are coming in a few hours. I'm telling you this not because we want you to move, but because they will join you. They're all very nice." And sure enough, after an AMAZING meal - they have these potato-cake things with ham and cheese and all crispy on the outside, and surprisingly good domestic wine, not to mention HUGE portions (after Nam finished this dish, he started in on the half of my garlic and cheese stuffed fish that I couldn't eat!)
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- the friends from Sofia arrived. We had already had a couple bottles of wine and, as for how the night progressed, I think the photos can tell it better than I can:
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(that's the owner I'm dancing with...)
You get the idea, it was a perfect night and the perfect antidote to our hellish travels!
The next day was our one day of skiing, and it was also New Year's Eve! While on the slopes, Chris and Nam met an American couple, Lori and Dave, who are doing the International teaching thing, like we are, in Cyprus. They said they approached Chris because he was the only person on the mountain Telemarking, and I'm so glad they did! We met up with them that night - I felt terrible that we said we'd meet them before midnight, but due to the dinner we ended up having (see below), we finally got to the bar at about 1:30...
For dinner that night, we wanted to go to a traditional Bulgarian Mehana, much like the night before, but they are really working over the tourism thing, and while our first night's meal cost us about $12 apiece, all of the restaurants wanted at least 50 euros, and sometimes more, per person for a meal. So we found a pizza place that was completely empty and not doing the prix fixe thing, and went in. Another serendipitous find, as the food, both my pizza (wood fired) and the guys' food (all Bulgarian stuff) were wonderful! The waiter
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was a really nice guy and told us that he'd give us a free bottle of champagne if we stayed through midnight. We were having such a great time that we decided to do that, and were again, were so glad we did, as I've never experienced a New Years quite like it. The owners' of the restaurant and their family were all dining next to us, cheers-ing us (Nazdrave in Bulgarian) and dancing around, lighting sparklers. Then we went outside to watch the fireworks displays, which were great, but not as good as the show of one of the owners or perhaps a family member, who was shooting off a gun to ring in the new year
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After that, we took a bunch of pictures:
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and watched DuWane get beaten by a stick (I guess it's Bulgarian tradition that kids make 'wands' from sticks and decorate them and go around whacking people with them for good luck)
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Then we left to meet our new friends who, thankfully, waited around for us!
We had a great night that night, and the next day just walked around Bansko (I won't fully detail the disaster Chris and I had trying to find lunch. It was like the border crossing part II. Suffice it to say, it took four hours and we ended up with crepes. Great crepes, but crepes.)
The next day, the four of us and our new friends set off in search of some thermal springs that Lori had heard about. It turned out that it's a pool in a hotel that has the mineral water, and not some natural, gorgeous spring, but we grabbed a few beers and hung out in the warm water for hours. Here are some pics:
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We're all very coordinated...
Oh, I forgot to mention the weird parade we saw while waiting for our 4 hour crepes...Men walking around covered in animal skins pounding drums...Sounds strange. and it was. But it was very cool looking too.
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and my favorite...
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The next day or so progressed about the same way, kind of lazy, good food, good wine, it was nice. When we left to head back to work, we took one bus to another bus to the border and it took only about 7 or 8 hours to get there. When we got off the bus and got to the car, Chris sort of walked ahead of us to make sure it was there. I see him throw down his bag and curse loudly. I walk around to see what the problem is - there's a boot on his car. I was afraid we'd just have to drive back with it, a la when Homer Simpson got booted in NYC...thump...thump...But Chris, as determined as I've ever seen him, walks over to the tire, kind of shimmies the boot, and it pops right off. Fine Turkish construction if I've ever seen it...If there's anything I regret, it's not taking that boot with us. But I did take a photo for posterity:
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Oh yes, and one other thing. I'm not sure if it was mentioned in Chris' summer details about Bulgaria, but apparently Bulgarian women are the most beautiful women on the planet. This is the first thing his friends told me about when I asked about their roadtrip this summer. And I'm not kidding. Anyway, the Bulgarians must take some pride in this. It's been awhile since I've been home, but I seem to remember that the "women" signs for bathrooms in the US are nowhere near as "developed"
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Compare:
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