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Our hotel gave us a really small crappy map of Veliko. We went to tourist information and got a good one. While there she mentioned a walking tour of Veliko so we went. The first stop was the statue of Mother Bulgaria where our guide covered the entire history of Bulgaria, starting in the 5th century BC. OMG it was awful and the temp was over 30. We sneaked away quietly.
We walked pretty much all of old town. Th6is is really neat city. Hilly, rough cobblestone streets and lots of people. A great variety of shops from high end Name brands to closet sized stores of handmade stuff with ice cream stores strategicall placed along the way.
Most people eat ice cream out of a cup with a spoon
Most people smoke and the cigarettes are really skinny
Have not seen one vaper yet
We need transportation to Plodiv on 09 05. My research shows a daily bus at 1330. We went to the bus station this afternoon to get tickets. Wrong bus station, there are 2. Took a cab to the west end station. What a dump. I am fairly flexible about conditions but the thought of parting with money in this place and expecting a bus to be there scared the crap out of me. Thru our hotel we gave hired a very expensive car and Driver to take us to Plovdiv. Surprised the hell out of me, there is wrong information on the internet. Who Knew?
We visited the fortress today and the church on the hill. Awe inspiring. The fortress in its day was huge. Walls 3 or 4 feet thick. Several houses (rock) were within the walls. We spent several hours wandering, taking pictures and reading.
Then we wandered farther from our hotel to see 2 older churches. One was magnificent and the other was just very old. Both worthwhile. In the old church were 2 ministers (guys in long black robes, beanies and very long scraggly beards). They both had high end cameras so that is my invitation to talk to them and debate the advantages of Canon over Nikon. They both spoke excellent English and since they were from Toronto that didn't surprise me. They now live in Greece. Good fun. They mentioned that Serbia is outstanding. We have some flexibility in our schedule so we are looking for another town in Serbia to visit.
Tomorrow off to Arbasani, recommended by Maggie from Varna.
Really like Veliko. Glad we came here
Forgot, Bulgaria is the rose capital of the workd. They make a lot of perfume and men's aftershave from the rose oetals. We will be close to the heart of Rose country so will have to see. I bought some Cologne in Cologne so maybe some rose aftershave I Bulgaria.
Enough already
Hope you are all well
We sure are just a little lighter in the wallet after booking private transport but it will be comfortable. We just hope there is a bus to Sofia from Plovdiv
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Brian Hi Pete, The guy from Chicago said he would never go to Bulgaria ,but hopes you are having fun !!!!