The View From our Hotel...

....in downtown Sofia. In the outskirts of the city there are many large, ugly concrete apartment buildings, not too unlike those you see in Mexico City or Kathmandu (just to name two places we've been recently) but downtown is significantly more charming, not too different in spirit from Paris or Milano or Muenchen. We did go out strolling last evening, before having a pizza dinner--some things are universal, apparently--and returning to our hotel. It's been an exhausting, though very good, week.

















What you can't see from our hotel is the pedestrian arcade two blocks away with lots of shops and restaurants, as well as the large parks and public spaces.

Introducing....

Elisei, age 7, and Dimcho, age 4. These brothers are happy and healthy. Dimcho is chatty with occasional outbursts of bossiness typical of a four-year-old, exclaiming "Ne pipai" or "Don't touch!" He loves pictures and organizing things. Elisei is initially quieter but once he warms up is also talkative. He is fascinated by cars and power tools, likes to ride a bike and to throw or kick a ball back and forth. They both know how to share and care for each other, and they frequently call out to each other by name.

Hotel Strimon

Here are a couple of pictures of the hotel where we are staying.  I'm afraid things are too hectic to post more, sorry!

It's actually quite nice, and the food is surprisingly good, even though we are on a "packet" with a fixed course dinner.

Kew Gardens

Saturday morning we went to Kew Gardens. Lovely grounds, fantastic hothouses with many wonderful plants and flowers.
Here are some sample pictures for your enjoyment.

Jetlag

Jetlag hit as scheduled. We went to Kew Gardens in the morning (pictures to follow in a couple of days), headed to downtown, and saw a matinee performance of "One Man Two Guvnors," a popular farce playing in the west end. From reviews we thought it might be a bit more than just a farce, but not, it was just a farce. Well done farce, it's true. After the play we met up with our friends from Milton Keynes, Jonathon and Rissa, wandering around central London and then off to a spicy hotpot dinner in London's Chinatown. A full and happy day. Tomorrow we go on to our next destination. Supposed to have internet at the hotel, but that's not confirmed. Don't worry if you don't hear for a couple of days....

Arrived in London

Our plane was 2+ hours late, but as we had no connections and no plans for this evening it wasn't a problem. Checked into our hotel near the airport--very near, as you can see the planes screaming across the sky. Fortunately the rooms seem well soundproofed. We went into town, went to the Crypt cafe at St. Martins-in-the-Field where we had a traditional pub food, fried fish, chips (french fries to Americans), and mushed peas. These happened to be very well done. Walked around a bit more, then back to the hotel. Probably will have disturbed sleep tonight, as is natural. Tomorrow we plan to hit Kew Gardens in the morning, go to a matinee performance of "One Man Two Guvnors," whose banners proclaim "funniest play in the western world;" so go further and promise it's the funniest "on the planet." After the play we meet up with our friends Jonathon and Rissa to catch up, have dinner, and catch up some more. Then Sunday morning it's off to Sofia. While I'll try to post pics from Kew Gardens, I probably won't write much about our first few days in Bulgaria as we assess the situation.

The start of an awfully big adventure...?

We're currently hanging out at the San Diego airport. Our 8 pm direct flight to Heathrow has been delayed 2 hours. Fortunately we are taking two days in England before continuing on, and nothing planned for Friday night. Saturday we will see a play, "One Man Two Guvnors" and then meet friends for dinner. But right now...just waiting...waiting...waiting....