More of Sofia
I can understand when locals say that they never go out of their houses in the middle of the day when it's very hot. We do the same when we are at home. But, when we are visiting a city for the first time, we really have no choice but to go out and sightsee. It too was the reason why in the three weeks we spent in the Balkans, we developed a very deep tan. Like I always said when I was there, it was as if we went on a beach vacation. I have to say, the heat was truly oppressive. So much so that on our last days in the region, we decided to return to our hotel and rest during the hottest times of the day.
Now back home in San Francisco, I get very nostalgic every time I look at the pictures we took during the trip. What sweet memories. Here are some more snippets of what we saw while on our stay in beautiful Sofia.
The former Communist Party building
Close to our hotel was this very tall column with the statue of Saint Sophia. We saw it everyday as it was located along a busy street next to our hotel, the Sofia Balkan Palace.
The Ladies Bazaar. Don't let the name fool you. The market is by no means just for women. Here men, women and children all came to shop, eat and mingle with friends. I would have loved to take home one of the rugs for sale in this shop but the prices were simply astronomical for my taste.
A Jewish Synagogue
The facade of the centuries old Central Market now a modern and posh supermarket.
An inside look at the old Central Market now a supermarket. We came here almost on a daily basis to buy snacks and bottled water. We loved it here.
We visited the National Gallery towards the end of our stay. After having visited and revisited many sights, we decided to visit one of Sofia's major museums. We spent a good three hours here. It was a huge site.
The courtyard on the grounds of the National Gallery
At the Sofia Central (Train) Station, we purposely looked for the train that left Sofia for Plovdiv. We thought about going for a day but later changed our mind. We were reminded of the train we took in Antwerp for Rotterdam that got cancelled and we got stuck in the border town that was deserted. We eventually found our way home but we just weren't sure we would be as lucky in Bulgaria should the train break down and we would be stuck somewhere and we couldn't communicate with anyone in English. It happened to us in Bosnia and we didn't want a repeat. We chickened out.
The Bulgarian train we saw was totally covered with grafitti. One car had a Mercedes painted on it.
We checked out the train station in Sofia. We took the tram outside our hotel to get there. The ride was quick and smooth.
Food to go from this eatery along St. Ignatiev Street
The bustling St. Ignatiev Street
Some of the apartment building we passed by as we headed back to Vitosha Boulevard
The gardens and fountains at the National Palace of Culture. I just loved the atmosphere here every afternoon. It was full of locals enjoying time with family and friends.