Guus Bosman

Somehow I feel I've been in Bulgaria for a very long time... but it has only been a week. Аnd the good news: there are another two weeks to go! I'm really having a great time here, and it's wonderful to be together.

We're still in Velingrad; yesterday we had an easy day (after the long night in Omar). The hotel is very quiet now, many guest left yesterday. I think no more than ten rooms are occupied. So the sauna and swimmingpool are all ours!

Back to the hotel now, I've spent more than enough time on internet.

Yesterday night we went out for dinner near the hotel, in a place called Taverne Omar.

We had lunch there Friday with Milan and Nadia. Then it was empty -- there were no other guests, but yesterday night it was completely full.

It's a real Bulgarian restaurant, and the waiters where dressed in traditional costumes. Joana had also recommended the place, and she was absolutely right to be enthousiastic about it. We had a wonderful evening!

We arrived at 20:15 o'clock, and we were at a table right at the center, near the stage. At 20:30 live music started. There were a man and women singing, and a band playing many types of songs: mostly Bulgarian, but also Serbian, Turkish, Gypsy etc. After a while a group women started dancing (xoro) on the Bulgarian music.

Later there was what's called in Bulgarian a "programm". This meant much more singing, more musicians and the best of all: a lot of dancers.

We really loved the Bulgarian dancers (they were from Plovdiv). Тhey performed Bulgarian, Turkish and Spanish dances, and they were very impressive; real professionals. And all this was right in front of us, while we were having rakia, shopska, more rakia and later a delicious meal with great Mavrud wine (Bulgarian, of course). Prosto chudesno!

We were back in the hotel after 01:00 o'clock.

We are visiting Svetla this afternoon. She'll have a baby soon!

We'll come between Christmas and New Year for a longer visit, and to see Radoslav as well.

We are now in an internet place under NDK, the central cultural center in Sofia.

In a little while we'll see Svetlio and Joanna, two friends who live in Sofia. We'll stay the night at Joana's place.

Monday I registred with the foreign police in Stamboliiski, and I went with Milan to see some of his collegue's. Yesterday we spent the four of us in Plovdiv. We did some shopping and had lunch in a mexana, a Bulgarian restaurant. A great and relaxing holiday so far!

My Bulgarian had became worse since last summer, but it's coming back now. I enjoy improving my language knowledge a lot.