I don't know how bloggers manage to post so regularly!

Here are a few more pictures from my last day in Plovdiv, Bulgaria...

Some traditional Bulgarian food: Tarator - a cold yogurt and cucumber soup with garlic and walnuts; Gyuvetch - a clay pot dish of mixed vegetables, bacon and sausage topped with egg and cheese; Shopska Salad - cucumber, tomatoes, parsley and feta cheese

Some cool little bugs that apparently indicate the start of spring.  Their color and patterning is really striking.

Artwork like this was found on the sides of several buildings throughout the old town area of Plovdiv.

This is a photo of me with my guide who showed me around Plovdiv.  We are standing atop the Soldier's Hill which was a soldier's encampment from the Roman Empire.

This was the main street of the city center at 2:00 p.m. on a Monday.  Every table at all the cafes were filled and there were people everywhere shopping.  I couldn't believe this many people could spend a Monday afternoon not at work.  Maybe it was just because it was one of the first spring-like days after a particularly long, cold winter.

March 15-16
Bucharest, Romania


Second time around in Bucharest and I took a little time to see some of the sites...

Some sculptures on display in front of the National Theatre in the center of Bucharest.

The Palatul Parlamentului, now the parliament building but originally built by the dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu to be his palace and government building is the world's largest civil administrative building, with over 1100 rooms and cost over $10 billion.

Mamaliga with poached egg, bacon and chicken - polenta topped with a perfectly poached egg and a tasty stew...delicious!


March 16-17
Brasov, Romania


Brasov is a smaller city, with a quaint old town enclosed in stone walls.  It is well known for being located close to  some of the more famous castles in Transylvania, including the royal family's Peles castle and Castle Bran where Vlad Tepes purportedly stayed maybe once but is now called Dracula's Castle.  The town is absolutely gorgeous and driving around I was surrounded by snow capped mountains on all sides.  Many of the buildings have a german feel to their construction, so this was a huge change from the Soviet stylings of Bucharest.

The town square in Brasov, really open with tiny roads spindling outward.

The Black Church built in the 14th century, so named because of it's darkened color following a fire set by invaders in 1689.  It's the largest gothic church between Vienna and Istanbul

Street view of one road in Brasov with the Hollywood style sign in the hills above.

The Peles castle in Sinaia, Romania; considered among the most beautiful churches in Europe.

Dinner at Restaurant Sergiana

This restaurant is pretty famous in Brasov. It's located in the cellar of a building and is very large with vaulted ceilings and red brick walls.  The servers wear traditional Romanian garb and the menu is really cool, bound in leather with leather strings tying it together.  I especially loved some of the large party menu choices described in English translated from Romanian poetry, some designed for 10 people - exactly 10, or 8 people - exactly 8.  It makes me want to go back with a large group so I can try the wide variety of dishes that are only offered to groups and are completely unavailable a la carte.

Compliments of the chef!!! Deep fried pork belly cracklings with sweet red onion - heart attack heaven!

Deer thigh with hazelnuts and local berry sauce.  The deer meat must have been slow cooked for hours because it peeled apart like pot roast.  The sauce itself could have used a little more flavor but it was still a tasty dish.  I also ordered a side of fire-grilled chicken wings that did not seem to have any seasoning and were quite disappointing.