We arrived in Bulgaria at 1pm on Sunday. Steve, Tanya and Tanya's daughter Rosi were waiting to greet us at the airport. Steve and Tanya are friends from Christchurch. Steve is a NZer and Tanya is Bulgarian ... they visit Bulgaria every year in the Bulgarian summer and they have been inviting us to come and visit them here for a while. We knew little about Bulgaria and have never been here before, I am not sure that we would have even thought to visit if not for Steve and Tanya.They have planned a wonderful holiday experience for us and Tanya is very proud to show of her homeland and some of their favourite spots ... we are very grateful to be here with them.
We left for Albena and the Black Sea that night on an overnight bus ... very comfortable and arrived at our beach resort about 6am Monday morning. We had not slept since Friday night in the US so we were feeling pretty tired ... you know that feeling ... foggy head ... irritable ... not really able to make any clear or sound decisions due to lack of sleep. We slept really well Monday night! I left my gymstick on the bus ... Tanya was determined to find it and she did ... I would have given up but Tanya persevered and we found it on the same bus the day we left ... in the place I had put it. I can see Mike with a smirk on his face ... shaking his head and saying 'I don't know why she is taking that thing anyway ... I knew she would lose it!' My gymstick is an attempt to keep up some form of exercise while we are away ... yes I know, it is very OCD of me ... I see it as prevention rather than having to find a cure on our return to NZ.
Having Tanya as our guide is wonderful. As some of you have experienced you see a different side to a country when you have someone who speaks the language and everything feels a lot easier. We get the best of both worlds with Steve and Tanya ... we have Tanya who is Bulgarian and Steve who is Kiwi ... he fills the gaps for us.
Bulgaria is a travellers dream ... everything is so cheap in NZ$s eg our 4 nights accommodation ... with all you can eat and drink at the beach resort for 2 of us was about $NZ400 and is a 10 minute walk to the beach. Our taxi fare to the bus stop was about $NZ7.50 ... ice creams ... soft serve NZ75c approx and they are big. If you are travelling on a shoe string there are great beaches ... hot weather at this time of year ... the food is fantastic lots of yummy tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh goat feta, much like Turkey I imagine and cheap accommodation. Why not make Bulgaria a must see ... Lonely Planet loves it.
It has been sooooo hot here, we have sunned ourselves on the beach everyday. The Black Sea is so warm and no waves to speak of. We arrive at our seat and umbrella on the beach about 9am in the morning ... back for lunch at 12 ... too hot to sit in the sun ... back in the afternoon about 4pm and then back to our room to get ready for dinner about 6 ... a walk round the resort and back to bed to get ready for a repeat the next day. Pete has said several times he cannot remember a time he has had a holiday like this ... doing nothing but sitting on the beach reading and dipping into the ocean every so often. We have found it so relaxing and we have not had to think about a thing.
I have not seen so many bikinis on one beach ... nearly every woman wears a bikini and size does not matter ... they are beautifully tanned and look really good. Quite a change from NZ ... we would probably never have as many people on any of our beaches as there are here and they would not be so tanned ... some women would be wearing bikinis but lots would not. You can correct me if I am wrong. We have had a great time here on the beach ... the beginning of the next leg of our travels. Pete and I are both looking a lot browner and feeling relaxed.
Photos ...
We left for Albena and the Black Sea that night on an overnight bus ... very comfortable and arrived at our beach resort about 6am Monday morning. We had not slept since Friday night in the US so we were feeling pretty tired ... you know that feeling ... foggy head ... irritable ... not really able to make any clear or sound decisions due to lack of sleep. We slept really well Monday night! I left my gymstick on the bus ... Tanya was determined to find it and she did ... I would have given up but Tanya persevered and we found it on the same bus the day we left ... in the place I had put it. I can see Mike with a smirk on his face ... shaking his head and saying 'I don't know why she is taking that thing anyway ... I knew she would lose it!' My gymstick is an attempt to keep up some form of exercise while we are away ... yes I know, it is very OCD of me ... I see it as prevention rather than having to find a cure on our return to NZ.
Having Tanya as our guide is wonderful. As some of you have experienced you see a different side to a country when you have someone who speaks the language and everything feels a lot easier. We get the best of both worlds with Steve and Tanya ... we have Tanya who is Bulgarian and Steve who is Kiwi ... he fills the gaps for us.
Bulgaria is a travellers dream ... everything is so cheap in NZ$s eg our 4 nights accommodation ... with all you can eat and drink at the beach resort for 2 of us was about $NZ400 and is a 10 minute walk to the beach. Our taxi fare to the bus stop was about $NZ7.50 ... ice creams ... soft serve NZ75c approx and they are big. If you are travelling on a shoe string there are great beaches ... hot weather at this time of year ... the food is fantastic lots of yummy tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh goat feta, much like Turkey I imagine and cheap accommodation. Why not make Bulgaria a must see ... Lonely Planet loves it.
It has been sooooo hot here, we have sunned ourselves on the beach everyday. The Black Sea is so warm and no waves to speak of. We arrive at our seat and umbrella on the beach about 9am in the morning ... back for lunch at 12 ... too hot to sit in the sun ... back in the afternoon about 4pm and then back to our room to get ready for dinner about 6 ... a walk round the resort and back to bed to get ready for a repeat the next day. Pete has said several times he cannot remember a time he has had a holiday like this ... doing nothing but sitting on the beach reading and dipping into the ocean every so often. We have found it so relaxing and we have not had to think about a thing.
I have not seen so many bikinis on one beach ... nearly every woman wears a bikini and size does not matter ... they are beautifully tanned and look really good. Quite a change from NZ ... we would probably never have as many people on any of our beaches as there are here and they would not be so tanned ... some women would be wearing bikinis but lots would not. You can correct me if I am wrong. We have had a great time here on the beach ... the beginning of the next leg of our travels. Pete and I are both looking a lot browner and feeling relaxed.
Photos ...
Sleep
Eat
Beach ... Repeat
Seating at the Beach ... Rows of Chairs and Umbrellas ... per Hotel...Middle of the Day
Love this Idea ...
Nobody Laugh ...
I am thinking Persauasion
This is amazing, I am going to put Bulgaria on my list, I love the book idea...what an amazing holiday, and your right you too both have a very healthy glow....love the dress ups
ReplyDeleteBeach library brilliant idea
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