Back to the motherland, Bulgaria

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I spent a very lazy couple of months in Bulgaria in the company of my family and old friends, lounging about and enjoying the simple pleasures in life. It was very gratifying. I soaked up some new stories of what I've missed out on in the past 5 years. Also soaked up some old and forgotten memories, visited the attic upstairs and found some old toys of mine, looked through a collection of old records but found nothing of great value, looked at old black-and-white photographs of my grandparents and their kids: mum and aunty.... at the beach, wearing funny bathing suits, admired my grandfather in his old airforce uniform, etc... etc...
I've also been soaking up a bit of sun, been working on my tan a bit. After returning from the Black Sea the second time round, my little cousin Valeria and I set up our very own private beach on the patch of grass in the backyard and got busy with the sun cream. Valeria's mission to spoil me rotten before I got away involved being my slave for a few days. During these sun-tanning sessions in the garden she persevered in spraying me with water (using a plant spraying bottle), playing music out of her bedroom window, making coffee and bringing it outside for me, doing runs to the shop for ciggies (the shop owner's known her since she was born, so was Ok with selling the 11-year-old the ciggies on my behalf).
In the hands of grandma and grandpa... I know now how it feels to be a queen, to have someone wait on you and fullfill your every caprice. Time away abroad has elevated me to 'royalty' status... in the eyes of my grandparents, at least. It's odd, especially since once upon a time I was the rotten apple out of their two grandchildren. I used to get blamed and spanked for every ill-favoured deed or anonymously broken object in their house. Ha ha, victory is sweet.... Pancakes with nutella for breakfast, yummy home cooked meals, fresh fruit from the garden and much more... all just for me. They have no mercy, they keep feeding me delicious stuff.... they are trying to fatten me up so much that I wouldn't be able to move and run away from them again.....
I spent a great deal of time in the garden at dusk eating, drinking and smoking... chatting about life with the family. My mum, who had been in Australia working hard, couldn't resist the call of my grandparents and the thought that her daughter is with them enjoying life.... She arrived in Bulgaria only a couple of days after me, having booked herself on a stand-by ticket. My grandparents' wish to have our family reunited after almost 10 years finally came true. They were happy and I was happy to see my mum again. She, of course, also made efforts to spoil me. All in all, I had a great time in BG and was made to feel very special by all here.

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Photos

The Evening star... Zornitza
Also the Morning star...I was named after it, as I was born into this world at 11am, but those who know me well may also know that the 'evening' suits me more,... though I'm often awake till dawn too.

Along the road to Bozjurishte...
...my grandparents' village near Sofia, (now a town), which holds many fond memories of my childhood.

Along the road to Bozjurishte...02
After a sleepless night on the bus back from the Black Sea, I got off the wrong bus stop one morning... so I took the opportunity to photograph some landmarks along the way.

Along the road to Bozjurishte...03
Morning fog

My folks...
...almost the whole family, minus one. From the left: my grandpa Tiljo, my mum Valentina, me, uncle Zarko, my cousin Valeria, aunty Lilly, my cousin Iveta, and my grandma Ivanka.

Grandpa's the BBQ expert..
...and the original naked shef around here.

The tomato patch
He grows the best tomatos on this planet!!

Cake eating ceremony 02
...this is a tradition, no hands allowed.

At the Chalga club
The 'Chalga' style is a recent music phenomenon around here, it's a mixture of Bulgarian folk, turkish, serbian and who knows what else... It's music for the masses and you don't see any tourists in these types of clubs. There's plenty of semi-nude women and tabletop dancing going on.

For Good Luck...
...a blessing from the Chimney Cleaner!

My friends from primary school...
...Elitza, me, Masha, Emma