The first thing we notice crossing into Bulgaria from Serbia is the massive line of trucks. Apparently it's not unusual for the drivers to spend one full day and night waiting to cross the border, as each trailer is thoroughly searched. We breathe a sigh of relief that today is not the day for checking buses.

Our first stop is Sofia. Entering the city we spot a Gypsy camp of tin shacks, a horse and cart, a small dirt smudged child trundling happily down the path on a trike. We drive past slowly for a photo op, and the men raise their hands - I can't see whether it's to wave or to give us the finger.

Matej speaks fondly of the Gypsies who he describes as extremely generous, as having music in their blood and despite stereotypes - as meticulously clean. It is of course a very different lifestyle. The children recieve little or no education - Matej tells us he had a 17 year old Gypsy in his 5th grade class, his wife and kids used to meet him after school and he made an excellent ally in the playground. Education is not highly valued, with the idea being to just have enough kids to provide for you in later life. In fact there are many Gypsies who live as rich men, relaxing in large homes while their children perform or beg on the street. Can't say I'm too pleased with this information, but then I suppose these children will someday be rich men with many children too.

Matej has also been to a Gypsy wedding (Cate and Lil, I thought of you!!). He described it as four of the best days of his life, crazy fun so long as you follow two simple rules:

1. No shoes

2. No antisocial behaviour or father of the bride is entitled to kill you. Yes literally.

We take a walking tour of lovely Sofia, and then that night we are treated to a delicious, smorgasboard dinner followed by a performance by a group of (well-off) Gypsies who travel 2 hours each way from Plovdiv to perform three shows, every day. Lauren and I place orders for vodka concoctions which are met with confusion and strange looks from the waiters. Here they drink their vodka straight up. We have to giggle when Lauren's drink arrives in DIY pieces - a huge bucket of ice, a glass of vodka, a glass of water, and a whole plate of sliced lime.

The show is great and even the boys get into it, although that may have something to do with the beautiful belly dancers. By the end of the night we are all up on chairs shaking our booties and generally looking like t*** ...but happy t*** . Later we have a dance off and are all upstaged by the amazing tango skills of Elena and Jerry, an older couple from Granada who until this point have stuck to the shadows. A great night!

Our last stop in Bulgaria is the town of Plovdiv. While Mark and a couple of the boys go on a hunt for a shooting range, the girls (and Remzi) and I take a stroll through the ankle twisting cobblestone streets of the old town (the worst I've experienced!) ending at the crumbled ruins of a fortress high on the hill.

Lauren and I leave a little before the others and find ourselves being followed by a man through the streets of the old town and towards the hotel. It's more bizarre than frightening, as it's the middle of the day with plenty of people around. It's a slow motion chase - before-mentioned ankle twisting cobblestones make it slow going for both stalker and stalkees and I giggle at how comical this must look - reminds me of a scene from the Simpsons where the old folks chase each other in walking frames. What's also funny is that he can't seem to decide whether he is stalking or approaching us. I first cotton on when he walks too closely behind for too long. To test the theory I loudly say to Lauren "Oh look at that building", and stop in my tracks. Instead of continuing past us, he stops and also pretends to be fascinated by the building. Oh geez. For the next 15 minutes he alternates between standing on corners and waving at us, or suddenly appearing at our side pretending to be deep in conversation on his mobile phone. Eventually we lose him by running through an underpass and taking a few windy streets.

Plovdiv was alright but have to say this was probably the highlight here, pretty entertaining...well, that plus the free promotional Cappy (not crappy) juice we scored at the end of a long hot day of walking. Win!

The last couple of days have been flying, and again I really feel like I needed more time in Bulgaria. Although we did get the chance to whip around and see the sights, eat some food, and of course hang out with our awesome tour mates, three days is simply not enough to get a proper feel for the culture of a city or a country. So I suppose I can't really make an informed call, it's unfair to rule it out...but based on the taste test we had, to be honest I wouldn't return to Plovdiv. Sofia was beautiful, and I would have liked more time here, but it's not high on my list to return to. Some places you just feel a connection with and this can happen even in a day.

Bulgaria, we need to talk. I had a great time, but you're not the one for me. There's no spark. I'm sorry.

It's not you, it's me.