Guus Bosman

Friday was March 3, Liberation Day in Bulgaria. After work we went to a celebration organized by the Bulgarian Embassy.

We arrived just in time to hear a live performance of the Bulgarian and American National Anthems, followed by a speech by the Ambassador of Bulgaria, Mrs. Elena Poptodorova.

The celebration was held in the building of the Organization of American States, a very beautiful location, with a large indoor garden with tropical plants.

We met Bella and Ramiro just after we arrived, and later met many other Bulgarians and it was a very pleasant company.

Around 9.00 pm the party was ending, and we went with our group to Bistro Bulgari, a Bulgarian restaurant in Crystal City. We had a really nice evening there; we were with about 15 people, most of them Bulgarian -- one Dutch, one American. It was the first time Sasha and I were in this restaurant and it was a nice discovery -- great lukanka, rakia and an excellent shopska. And yes, they had my favorite... sirene po shopski. We went home late, after a fun evening.

The inside of the building of the Organization of American States (from their website).