Geo: 51.5002, -0.126236Slightly less successful sleep last night, but still not too bad. I don't feel groggy when I wake up, so I guess I'm doing all right.My destination this morning was the Courtauld Gallery, a smallish but amazing art museum. First, there's a small room of Medieval art (i.e., religious paintings), including a nice painting by a Flemish artist of the Madonna and child, where Jesus actually looks like a sweet little baby. But it's the upper floors that really impress. There are Bruegels and Botticellis galore, Rubenses and Gainsboroughs, Reynoldses and Renoirs (one of his female models was known as "fish face"), Lucas Cranach the Elder and Monets. Van Gogh's self-portrait with his bandaged ear is there, as is Manet's "A Bar at the Folies-Bergere." That poor girl behind the bar looks so depressed. ... read more

Geo: 51.5002, -0.126236I was supposed to be at the airport three hours before my 7:10 p.m. flight, so we left the house at 3:30 with the idea of getting there around 4:15. It took us 45 minutes just to get to the old Rainier brewery because traffic was so heavy. Got to the airport by 4:30, only to find that my flight was running an hour late. Sigh … So I spent a few hours just wandering around the airport. I ran into James, who used to work for British Airways and got me into the lounge a couple of years ago. He now works at the American Express lounge but couldn't get me in because he was working with someone who's a real stickler. That was all right, though, because I was trying to wear ... read more

Geo: 42.7105, 23.3238There was a very large spider in my room last night. I had to knock on Connie and Melanie's door to see if either one of them could deal with creepy-crawlies. Connie sort of got rid of it: it crawled into the wall when she tried to get it onto a piece of paper. Euggh!After breakfast this morning I learned that we have eight sick people. I've been feeling a little intestinally challenged over the last couple of days, but nothing like our sickies. They've got nausea and everything. The bus ride today was pretty much misery for them, and they only participated in our activities minimally. Knock wood I don't get it.Riding along on the highway today, I realize that every single Bulgarian driver's main objective is to overtake everyone else on the ... read more

Geo: 42.7252, 25.4815It already seems like Varna was days ago; I can't even properly picture it in my head. It's funny how being on the coach will do that.Our first stop of the day was the Madara Horseman, situated in a national park. We hiked up a little ways to an open area that was once a cave and is, therefore, called the Big Cave. The cliff face looms over the area, so much so that it was hard to bend backward to take a photo. It makes for amazing acoustics, demonstrated by Stefan's clapping, which echoed beautifully. He asked us to be quiet for a moment, and we heard birdsong and trickling water. Due to the presence of water, humans have been there since the 13th century BC.The original cave was used as a temple ... read more

Geo: 42.6622, 27.7075The mini-fridge in my room makes a lot of noise, especially when it cycles on. It woke me up at 3:00 a.m. when my brain interpreted the "on" sound as something crashing through my window.Breakfast was pretty simple: meats, cheeses, breads, and that's about it. No juice even, but at least there was tea. It was just starting to rain a bit when we started out this morning, and it was very windy too. Just our luck to be at a beach resort and to have unsuitable weather. Still, I likely wouldn't have gone down to the beach anyway, so I can't complain (although the wind is giving me wild gypsy hair). Our walking tour started just feet from our hotel at St. John church, a cruciform church with a chimney-like dome built … ... read more