Stray Cat Strut

While I was in Bulgaria, I missed my kitties dearly. Although I will admit it was nice getting to sleep in on the weekends and not getting a paw in the face to "get up and feed me". But having them around the rest of the time far outweighs that.

So I tried to make friends with the neighborhood kitties, which didn't go so well, as they're very skiddish!  Can you find the two black kitties in this photo? (before they ran away from me...)

This is the closest I got to a kitty in my neighborhood.

The country kitties were much friendlier. These two were at a gas station on the way to Veliko Tarnovo. I probably could have taken them home with me.

And this super relaxed (and dirty) kitty was at the guest house on my hike in the Rila Mountains

This next two were at the ski resort where we started our hike in the Rila Mountains

(this one was so pretty)

Plovdiv kitties

I saw cats pretty much everywhere I went in Sofia.

 

Most ran away shortly after I snapped my photo.

Or they were perched out of reach so they felt safe.

But the best kitties in the world were of course waiting for me in the states.

Sidewalks

While in general I was impressed with the infrastructure in Sofia (you could drink the water, toilets flushed, no blackouts, metro ran until midnight, etc.), the sidewalks left something to be desired. Hence why I only went running in the nearby parks.

Each home owner was responsible for their section of sidewalk and you could tell.  Some were better than others.

I *may* have ruined a pair or two of shoes...

Sofia Cultural Tour

The same group that does a free walking tour of Sofia, also does a cultural tour where you experience all the senses of Bulgaria.

We listened to Bulgarian music, including the Bulgarian national anthem.

We saw the oldest church in Sofia:

We tasted banitza - both savory and sweet:

We drank some traditional beverages:

We smelled (and tasted) rose tea and jam:

And then to wrap up the tour, we felt the burn of rakia (Bulgaria's equivalent of moonshine):

Rila Monastery and Boyana Church

I went on a day trip to Rila Monastery, with a stop at Boyana Church on the way back to Sofia.  It was one of those small group tour things, but was helpful to have someone explain everything to you, since the signage wasn't that great there.  It was an amazing setting and a beautiful monastery.

This tower is the only original section remaining from the 14th century...although the rest was rebuilt in the 1830's after a fire, so still old as well.

The murals were colorful and elaborate. 

Boyana Church is even older.  The first part was built in the 11th century.  Inside were original frescoes, but unfortunately couldn't take pictures of those.