The Tall Gene
[Sofia, Bulgaria, Sept 23-24, 2017]
I spent the last few days spending time with dear friends and family before I head back to Los Angeles.
On Saturday, I spent the whole day at my friend Slaveya’s house. Another friend of hers visited, and we had 3 coffees and snacks over a six-hour period. 🙂 I always wonder why I can’t do that in the US. I cannot remember the last time I spent six hours doing nothing at all but hanging out with a friend. There is always a time limit, something else I have to do, someone else I have to see. In the first few days I am back home, it feels weird and I get antsy after a couple of hours. But as time passes, I relax and I don’t feel the hours go by. Lingering over a coffee or a chat is a Balkan pastime, indeed. I saw a quote recently that really spoke to this: “If you enjoy wasting time, it’s not time wasted.”
On my way home from Slaveya’s house, I got off the metro a stop early so I can stroll by one of my favorite buildings in Sofia – Aleksandur Nevsky cathedral. The domes are pure gold.
And once home, I took a shot of the sunset from the balcony. I never gt tired of that view.
Slaveya almost convinced me to hiking with her on Sunday, but I decided to stay back to see my nieces and nephew once more. In the morning, I hung out with my younger niece and nephew and caught up with my sister in law. A little black kitty visited us while we were chatting at the coffee shop. Unfortunately, there are many homeless cats and dogs in Sofia. 🙁
We ended up hanging out on the playground playing cards. My nephew is always climbing and jumping off something. 🙂
In the afternoon, I saw my eldest niece, Ioanna. I haven’t seen her in almost two years. When I was here last summer, I was in Sofia only briefly and she was spending the summer with her cousin in Velingrad. It was with mixed feelings I discovered she is now taller than me! She is only 16, and I am 178 cm / 5’10”, so that means she’s over 180 cm / close to six feet and she might get even taller by the next time I see her! It runs in the family for sure.
Hi Nadya,
I had a huge smile on my face reading this blog! It is a beautiful thing to slow down and enjoy the little things life has in front of you. Good job slowing down and “wasting” time drinking coffee with friends =)
Your niece is so grown up! I am so happy you were able to spend good quality time with them.