Sofia, Bulgaria

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Hi Everybody!
I am having to play catch up with the blog, because we have not had internet access for several days. I know the travelblog alerts are probably irritating to some of you. Just delete the reminders or hit unsubscribe if it fills up your mailbox.
To get to Sofia, we had to ride the bus back to Skopje, Macedonia. We caught another bus there for Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The road to Sofia was extremely bumpy. All of our muscles ached by the time we arrived. Most of the population in Sofia is made up of Orthodox members. There are lots of Orthodox churches, but we have only seen one Mosque here. In the city center, there are several old,beautiful, massive sized buildings. They have huge windows, tall doors, and ornate gates. Sofia has high unemployment and poverty. A sweet looking lady, grandmotherly looking, was standing on a street corner in her freshly ironed dress, with her hand stuck out. I noticed that it contained 3 or 4 Bulgarian coins worth 1 or 5 lev. I gave her a U.S. dollar and she said, NO, Madam. She did not want to take that much. She almost cried. We have seen many older people picking through the trash bins looking for anything of value. In the small, cheaper stalls, we see couples sharing a meager meal of beans or sausages.
Manz former Communist leaders and their families continue to hold onto power and dominate Sofia's government and trade. The mentality of some of the citizens is unreal. Even though, they are in the European Union, many business people won't accept Euros. I did find one lady in a silver shop who wanted my business. She was willing to take U.S. dollars, Euros, or Bulgarian lev. I gave her plenty of business. While studying a lunch menu, I noted that the restaurant offered chicken livers, heart, gizzards, or bits. I chose the Shopska salad instead. The corner flower stalls offer gorgeous arrangements and they sell like hotcakes! We also noticed that McDonalds sold beer. This is not my favorite city. Many of the people are brusque and will not respond to your smile. They bite your head off for little things! We are staying in new hotel that only has about 21 rooms. I looked out a back window and saw the hotel's sheets and laundry hanging out to dry. This was in an area with just dirt, old planks, and trash. I wondered if they washed things out by hand.
Take care,
Everette

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