Blogs from Veliko Tarnovo Province, Bulgaria, Europe

On Monday, 4th September I woke not feeling the best. We decided to skip the morning tour as we had an optional one booked for the afternoon. We had arrived in Vidin, one of the oldest riverside towns in Bulgaria. I opted for a late breakfast and a rest. Fletcher went for a walk into the town and saw the town square with a war memorial as well as an interesting mall. Next to the ship was a memorial to those who died during the Communist era. After lunch I was much better so we joined the excursion to the Baba Vida Fortress and Dos Alamos winery.We first were driven through the town to the Fortress. This was built in medieval times and used to have a moat surrounding it, the remains of which are still ... read more

Bonjour à tous, Hier après midi, comme j'étais à la fraîche dans la chambre, je suis allé sur le net voir les restos de Bucarest. Il y en un qui était encensé sur plusieurs sites, le Caru Cu Bere. Restaurant de spécialités roumaines, par contre il faut réserver plusieurs jours è l'avance. Il est seulement à 300m de l'hôtel. J'y vais et j'ai la chance d'avoir une table. C'est la plus ancienne brasserie de Bucarest, ouverte en 1879. Les Rolling Stones, Nicholas Cage, Demi Moore, Kirk Douglas, le Prince du Japon, etc y ont mangés. Et depuis hier Moi, J'espère bientôt être sur la liste de ces célébrités. J'ai mangé en terrasse, mais j'avais lu qu'il fallait absolument voir l'intérieur. Je pensé, que c'était une ancienne église, mais non, c'est le propriétaire de l'époque, qui l'a ... read more

HE SAID... Today we were travelling south from Bucharest in Romania to Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria. We headed down to breakfast in the hotel dining room, where I gathered a small feast of muesli, cranberries, dates, yoghurt, warm bread, jam, pastries and fruit tea. We also made some bread rolls with cheese and salami and smuggled them into our bags for the train trip to Veliko Tarnovo. Feeling refreshed, we gathered our packs and headed out onto the street, where we jumped onto a tram and headed to Bucharest’s railway station. We picked up some bracelets and a pendant with our remaining Romanian currency at a small stall, then jumped onto the train and found a spare six-berth cabin which we shared with four others. Before we knew it we were chugging out of the station ... read more

Wednesday 14thJune The campsite is just outside the town of Veliko Tarnovo. It is lovely, overlooking a gentle valley with fields of wheat and sunflowers. It has a swimming pool, bar and restaurant. On the first couple of days here, we have done a morning walk through the fields to a neighbouring village and a cycle ride taking in five different villages in this valley and the next. Along with farmland, the area is full of fruit orchards. Cherries are in abundance at the moment. We have spent the afternoons in the shade and by the pool. I have actually been swimming in this one!! Saturday and Sunday were a respite from the sweltering heat – it rained. Whilst we listened to the radio telling us of record temperatures in the UK, we put on our ... read more

From Bucharest its a short drive towards the Romanian-Bulgarian border. Since Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU, the border formalities are quite improved. I can remember that in the past we were waiting for hours and had to pay for many unknown reasons. Now we only had to pay 6 Euros to cross the "Friendship Bridge", which is on one end at Romania and other hand in Bulgaria, crossing the Danube river. On the Bulgarian side after the passport check you need to buy a road vignette, which can be bought at the petrol stations on your way. from the border city Rousse we drove to the direction of Veliko Tarnovo. A Bulgarian colleague recommended us to visit a nice village, called "Arbanasi" which is close to Veliko Tarnovo. Arbanasi is one of the most famous ... read more