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Published: November 14th 2007
Real Snow
...in a pileWe both slept beautifully which was probably in large part due to having a proper mattress for the first time in ages. Again we abandoned breakfast for an extra hour in bed. It may sound like are being lazy but we really are ever so tired. Also breakfasts are utterly disappointing in most hostels and not worth the effort we expend getting to them. We dressed and just as we were about to leave I saw the weather out of an upstairs window. SNOW!!! I donned by gloves, scarf, hat and brolly and Rob turned up the collar of his fleece and moaned about how cold it was going to be.
It was freezing outside and the snow was causing massive pools on the ground, our street was flooded in many areas. We were both eternally thankful for our waterproof shoes. We vaguely followed a walking tour from Lonely Planet except we made sure we went inside each of the churches to defrost. We even stopped off at the eternal flame to thaw out our hands. The basilica of Sofia is the oldest church in Sofia and is the city's namesake. There is a church over the road from the
St. Alexander Nevski Cathedral (Corrected)
Build in memory of those who died during the fight for liberation from the Ottomans hostel that was built and painted in memory of the people who died in the fight for independence against the Ottomans. It was amazing inside, however it was only partially lit up and therefore pretty difficult to see.
We stumbled across a shopping mall which we initially checked inside of for gloves but we found a food court instead. Vegetarian food was not an easy find but I found a stall that sold a falafel sandwich and Rob had a lasagne. One stall sold normal looking pizza but it was cold and the locals tipped mounds of mayonnaise and ketchup on which put us right off them. Whilst we ate we watched a few birds trying to get some food. Also we noticed that the majority of people in the food court were old, despite the food being fastfood.
Totally frozen we returned to the hostel via some pretty buildings that we had no idea what they were. Our room at the hostel was warm so we relaxed in the room for a while. I took a shower but spotted a spider and ran away. By the time Rob had found something to remove the spider with the
St Sophia Church
Gave Sofia (Sophia) its name hot water had run out. I had a speedy cold shower and then warmed myself by the radiator.
The vegetarian restaurant in Lonely Planet sounded too good too miss out on so we were determined to eat there. We got the last table and were really glad for it. We shared a battered cheese plate and then Rob had a risotto whilst I had a bean and salsa burger. Rob complained he wasn't full once we finished so we ordered blueberry pancakes which were scrumptious. The meal was dirt cheap and the restaurant was lovely.
After the meal we decided to be a bit sociable and go to the common room for a bit. There was a really nice Iranian guy there who engaged us in a fantastically absorbing conversation. We chatted about Eastern European politics and Rob and I both managed to hold our own which we were pretty amazed with. Perhaps somewhere in between the drinking, quarreling and getting utterly lost we may have learned a thing or two.
We are now about to go to sleep after watching the news headlines on BBC world. Night night. stob
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Brian
non-member comment
Learning Process
Hi You Two I see you are now beginning to benefit from all your travels,education comes from listening, looking and talking and with the locals that is the best way to do it Cheers Brian