[Sofia, Bulgaria, May 15-16, 2019] The weather, which had been getting worse even since I got here, deteriorated even further the next day. It’s a good thing B and I already saw some of the major sights in the city. For this second day in Sofia, I decided to focus more on museums to avoid the rain in the forecast. Temperatures were also cooler, so I had to borrow a thicker jacket… Read More
[Sofia, Bulgaria, May 13-14, 2019] I spent the next few days showing my hometown to B, who arrived in Sofia three days after me. It was his first trip to Europe since 1992, so he was little anxious about the long flight. But everything went smoothly and he popped out of customs smiling and ready to spend the next 2 weeks on the Balkans. I had a whole day free before his… Read More
[Plovdiv, Bulgaria, May 12, 2019] In 1985, the Greek minister of culture Melina Mercouri came up with the idea of designating an annual capital of culture to bring Europeans closer together and to highlight the richness and diversity of European cultures. Athens, Greece, served as the inaugural European Capital of Culture that year. More than 40 cities have held the designation since. Plovdiv, the second largest city in Bulgaria, earned the designation… Read More
[Sofia, Bulgaria, May 10/11 2019] This first half of the year has been such a whirlwind of trips! I’ve already been to Death Valley, Ohio/Michigan and Napa Valley! But the crown jewel this year is clearly going to be my 2.5 week trip to Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey, in large part with my boyfriend. We had been making plans for him to come see my hometown and meet my parents in May…. Read More
[Sonoma, CA, Apr 21, 2019] On Sunday, we had a few hours to kill before our flight back to LA that afternoon. First, we went to breakfast at the riverfront. Napa General Store is part store, part cafe with a great outdoor patio. The owners opened it 10 years ago after rescuing the brick building it’s in, which was previously a feed store. We took a stroll along Napa’s riverfront afterwards. It… Read More