In the Now

Well, another spur of the moment trip! I am flying home exactly thirty days from today, and I plan on making use of every last minute I have here. It is impossible to know if I will ever again have the life I have right now, where I can decide on a whim to go to Athens, Greece and successfully buy fairly cheap tickets the day before my departure. In thirty days, I have to face reality again, which means working my butt off to refill my nearly empty bank account, a month of summer courses to ease my conscience a bit that I can still graduate on time, and then senior year. Yes, senior year of COLLEGE. Don’t ask me where the time went because, well, I have absolutely no idea.

But enough of thinking about the future, which is something I have found myself doing all too much throughout my life. Living in Bulgaria the past three months has taught me that living in the present is what is important, so with that useful insight, I’m off to Athens on an 8:00pm bus tonight, and for the next three days, I’m going to enjoy the beautiful Greek sunshine, the one-of-a-kind history, and the Aegean Sea… because who knows if I’ll ever make it back to a place like Greece.

London... A Little Bit of Home

The last weekend in March I had been looking forward to for an extremely long time. I’m a family girl. My sister and my parents are my best friends, so going two and a half months without seeing anyone from home hasn’t been an easy walk in the park. So when I flew to London to spend four days with my boyfriend, Matt, I have probably never been more excited to see a familiar face. Getting into Heathrow Airport and walking out of customs, it was a relief to even see him standing there. A storm had hit the New York City area, and needless to say, I had been freaking out A LOT, praying he would make it there safely. I was almost just as nervous that this was a sign I was turning into my mother, the prime worrier (Love you Mom!)



Matt and the typical London phonebooth



London Eye and Big Ben

It was a perfect four days. The stereotypical rainy London weather didn’t make an appearance at all, and despite what the media may have portrayed, we were unaffected by the riots, although it was kind of neat to watch them across the River Thames as we rode up the London Eye. We became pros at navigating the London Underground, or the Tube. We walked the River Thames at sunset, saw Big Ben, Parliament, and Westminster Abbey the first day.

The following day we were able to ride the London Eye, which emphasized just how truly beautiful the city is. We saw St. Paul’s Cathedral at night when we were the only ones there, and during the day the following day in a completely opposite crowded atmosphere. Matt was dying to see the Tower of London, which we spent a day touring. It was incredible to hear the stories of this great place and seeing the Crown Jewels was just an extra! Matt was in his glory, like a little kid at Christmas. We saw Buckingham Palace, walked through Green Park, and browsed around Covent Garden.



Matt, River Thames, Big Ben, Parliament



Being with Matt, of course the food had to be good, and boy was it. We ate some incredible meals. A delicious lunch next to the River Thames at a cute and fresh whole foods restaurant. Sushi for dinner at Harrod’s, where we got the chance to explore the amazing food halls, our mouths watering the whole time. We ate a delicious Italian lunch in Covent Garden on our last day.

All in all, it felt so good to be in London. The beautiful architecture, the Western food I’d been missing, being in a country where English is actually heard everywhere you go. But most importantly, it was the person I was with that made it all worthwhile. It was nice to get a taste of home, even if only for four days. But being back in Bulgaria, I’m breathing in every second. I am returning home in less than five weeks, and as the clock ticks down, I know more with each passing day that I'm going to miss everything about living in Bulgaria.



Big Ben at sunset



Westminster Abbey



View from the Eye



Riots!



Tower of London



Tower Bridge



Matt and I :)



A Very Bulgarian Weekend

My roommates are two Bulgarian twin sisters, Rositsa and Elitsa (or Rose and Elli, as I call them). They are simply the sweetest and the first moment I met them, I knew I would never be uncomfortable in my home here in Bulgaria. Back on St. Patrick’s Day evening, Elli invited my friends and I to come watch something extremely special she and others had been working on for the past five months; a show called “Bright Little Stars of Blagoevgrad.” It was a bittersweet hour and a half of singing, dancing, and poem recitation by children from the Home for Children Without Parental Care in Blagoevgrad. Another words, these children, aged two to twenty, were orphaned, but that didn’t hold them back. This night was their night, all eyes on them, and they performed their little hearts out. Yes, the little ones were adorable and made your heart sing with joy when they sang their songs and recited their poems, but it also made your heart ache with pain that a child as amazing as these had no one to care for them, no house to go home to. The cherry on top was when a teenage girl, with a voice to become a rock star, sang the song “Pray,” and even if it was by none other than Justin Bieber, the message was sort of heartbreaking and eye-opening at the same time.



Erin and I on St. Patty's Day!



Now that I’ve gotten my share of sentimental, touchy-feely writing in, time to move in. Although St. Patrick’s Day is not really celebrated in Bulgaria, it’s always been a meaningful holiday for me, so my friends and I celebrated with a fun night out. I may have even brought out a little Irish dancing from the good ol’ days.



That weekend, the international services office at my university, with whom my friends and I have had a lot of contact with help for planning trips, organized an overnight trip to the Melnik region of Bulgaria. This region is about an hour and a half south of Blagoevgrad in the southwest corner of Bulgaria, bordering Macedonia to the west and Greece to the South. It was a sort of carefree trip in the way that our schedules were planned out for us and we didn’t have to navigate to all the sights on our own. First stop was in a sleepy little town called Rozhen. They say Melnik is officially the smallest town in Bulgaria, but Rozhen for me seemed to fit that category. Rozhen Monastery is quite a hike up a steep mountain. Surrounding us 360 degrees were beautiful views. Rozhen Monastery is one of the few medieval Bulgarian monasteries preserved until today. In Bulgaria, Martenitsa is a tradition which symbolizes the coming of spring. People wear red and white yarn bracelets beginning March 1 until they see the first bud, then they tie it to the plant or tree or whatever it may be. So atop the mountain outside Rozhen Monastery, my friends and I got rid of our Martenitsa bracelets on the blooming trees.



Martenitsa



Tying my Martenitsa to the branch



Emily and I outside Rozhen Monastery



Melnik from the Kordopulov House



After Rozhen, we moved on to Melnik, a town known for its winemaking. We walked to the Kordopulov House. The Kordopulov family was one of the most famous Melnik wine retailers; the house and wine cellar was turned into a museum. Touring the wine cellar and the caves was very neat. The wine wasn’t exactly like what I’m used to, but it was fun to try, nonetheless. A nice traditional Bulgarian lunch followed the Kordopulov House. Next stop on our journey was an area called Rupite. It is best known as the place where Baba Vanga, the Bulgarian prophet, lived her final years and is buried. Rupite is a large open field surrounded by beautiful mountains. Natural hot springs are scattered throughout the field, which is actually the crater of an extinct volcano. Another interesting fact about Rupite is that excavations have revealed remains of the ancient town of Petra built more than 5,000 years ago.



Girls and I wine tasting



Natural hot springs at Rupite



Statue of Tsar Samuil at Samuil's Fortress

 After Rupite we had a quiet night in the city of Petrich, and Sunday morning began with a visit to Baba Vanga’s house in Petrich (google her! Very interesting story). Last stop on our little weekend journey was at a place called Samuil’s Fortress right on the Macedonian and Greek borders. In 1014, the Bulgarian army lost a tragic battle to the Byzantine army. The story goes that 14,000 Bulgarian survivors were blinded and released, leaving one per every 100 with just one eye to lead them home. Tsar Samuil had a heart attack at the horrific sight.

It was nice to have a weekend to explore Bulgaria more and dive even deeper into its fascinating history. It’s difficult to imagine that three months ago, I knew not a clue about the past of a nation as special and important as this. That is proof of one flaw with the Western world: the West is all we learn about unless of course we open our minds up and give ourselves the opportunity to see the rest of the world, because no place or people is more important than the rest.

Some shots that are too good to not remember!



My girls at Samuil's Fortress



Courtney enjoying herself



Erin being a cutie pie





A Spanish and Italian Spring Break

Well, my readers, in the purposes of keeping this post within a reasonable length and for my own sanity seeing as I have papers waiting to be written and books waiting to be read, I will try to sum up the past nine days in all their glory with the shortest, most incomplete sentences possible, though these places and experiences deserve much, much more.



Barcelona!

Beautiful La Sagrada Familia



Friday was a day of travel. Taxi from school to bus station. Bus from Blagoevgrad to Sofia. Tram from Sofia bus station to airport. Flight from Sofia to Barcelona. Metro from airport to hostel. This was pretty much the pattern of transportation that we dealt with during every switch of locale. Needless to say, traveling is exhausting but an experience worth every penny, or Euro cent in this case. Arrival at hostel around 9pm was followed by a mad dash to find the closest, cheapest, Spanish cuisine. Mission accomplished. Traditional tapas and the best sangria I’ve ever had. Following indulgence, we called it an early night. Saturday and Sunday. We explored Barcelona from corner to corner. Our feet hated us but what could we do? When in a city as amazing as this, you have to do it all. Go all out. La Sagrada Familia. Words do not do this place justice. One of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Thumbs up to Mr. Gaudi. A visit to the Park Guell followed. Amazing experience walking through the dirt paths with cacti growing everywhere, Spanish musicians playing their guitars around every bend, the sun pouring down, and a breathtaking view of the city. Cheap but delicious lunch followed. Next, we ventured down to the waterfront. Saw the port and profiles of sailboats and yachts plastered against the late afternoon sun. Boy, had I missed that sight. We shopped and took in the beauty of the Mediterranean surrounding us, the scent of salt water a familiar and wonderful smell. Walked the boardwalk out to the mall on the water and then the boardwalk along the beach. Pointed to a different building every other minute saying “I want to live there!” Dinner that night was as cheap as we could go without completely sacrificing our taste buds. Pizza. It never fails. Delivered to us in the bar/lounge at our hostel. Sharing a pitcher of sangria, we made a night out of ping pong and apples to apples.



In front of a waterfall in the beautiful Labyrinth Park

 Sunday was filled with a visit to the beautiful Labyrinth Park north of the city, filled with gardens, waterfalls, and well, a labyrinth. We then walked the beautiful downtown streets of Barcelona, where we were surrounded by more Gaudi architecture, Spanish street musicians, hidden roads, and stunning churches. Being the broke, traveling college students that we are, when it comes to food, we manage to shop around, and we’re usually pretty successful at achieving our goal of cheap but delicious. For our lunch on Sunday, mission accomplished once again. Gelato followed, although we were headed to Italy the next day, Barcelona didn’t do too bad at all in the gelato department. Happy and rejuvenated, we headed out on another major trek to Montjuic Mountain, which pretty much covered the entire western side of the city. We saw the National Palace and the Olympic Stadium, where the 1992 Olympics took place. After a cappuccino break at a café embedded into a hillside overlooking the city, we headed back down to flat ground and grabbed a quick dinner by the water. Again, on a budget, the cheapest flight we could find from Barcelona to Roma was at 6:25am, so we had to begin our pattern of travel around 2:30am Monday morning. Needless to say, Sunday was an early night. Barcelona. Beautiful. Warm. Ocean. History. Culture. Food. All words that will lead me back there one day I hope. But now, I was ready for Roma!



Famous Colosseum

 Roma!
One word I will use to descried Monday. Long. We had been up since 2am traveling and arrived at our hostel, only to be sent to their sister hostel due to overbooking, around 10am. One problem. We couldn’t check in until 3pm and all we wanted to do was climb in a bed and sleep. Quick sum up of how the next 5 hours were spent: food and lounging around wherever we could, whether it be a restaurant, bookstore, or the hostel computer room. The time we’d been waiting for finally rolled around, we slept till 8pm, then got up for free pizza offered by our hostel. Pizza in Italy. Awesome. The next day. Tuesday. Once again, we had an entire city to explore in a short amount of time. First stop. Colosseum. Despite the on and off drizzles of rain, still a beautiful sight. Didn’t go inside, but stomped the grounds surrounding it filled with Roman ruins. Walked some adorable little backstreets and eventually stumbled upon the Trevi Fountain. Made a wish and threw in a coin. Chance or fate, right across from the Trevi Fountain was a Bulgarian Orthodox Church. In Rome, possibly the most Catholic of all cities in the world. And Bulgaria, of all places. Our home. Needless to say, we were excited. Next stop. Working our way to the Vatican. Sort of unreal to actually be standing in a place as beautiful and important as this. St. Peter’s Basilica. The place of burial of St. Peter. One word. Breathtaking. Simply breathtaking. We then walked the maze of halls filled with beautiful murals and artifacts to the Sistine Chapel. Once again, unreal. Spent a good half hour sitting in the Sistine Chapel trying to take in as many details as possibly of Michelangelo’s famous work. No photos allowed, unfortunately. Vatican. Check. But was I really just there? I kept asking myself. It seemed too surreal to be my life.



Trevi Fountain



Pantheon



The remainder of Tuesday was spent lounging around the city and our hostel. Free pizza for dinner. Some drinks. Good times. Wednesday. Set out on our trek to the Pantheon. One thing about Italy I loved so much was I constantly found myself walking along the adorable little back streets then out of the blue, they’d open up to a large beautiful plaza. In one of these plazas, we discovered the Pantheon. A café stop followed, where hot tea and fruit salad served as my lunch. We had a late afternoon flight to Florence, so unfortunately we had to say goodbye to Rome. Once again, I know Rome is a place I someday would love to come back to. Truly, such a special place.

Firenze!
After our flight was rerouted to Pisa due to bad weather in Florence, the airline bused us to Florence, where, other than a little wind, the weather seemed beautiful. A splurge on a delicious Italian dinner followed check-in to our hostel, where I got the gnocchi I’d been waiting for. Thursday. We joined a free walking tour offered by our hostel, in which we saw the Medici library, Santa Maria Cathedral, Casa di Dante Museum, Palazzo Vecchio turned town hall of Florence, and Loggia dei Lanzi, which housed a dozen or so famous statues. All stunning places, and astonishingly as much a part of Florence today as back when they were built. As we walked around Florence, I fell more and more in love with the city. It is every bit the picturesque place I thought it would be.



The girls and I in front of Santa Maria Cathedral

 We walked along the Arno River, browsed the shops and street vendors, found lunch at a “make your own Panini” place for only 3.50 Euro, and of course couldn’t go a day in Italy without gelato. Hostels in Italy. Well, we lucked out. Once again, we were given free dinner. Our choice of spaghetti prepared in a few different ways. Yum. A relaxing night of card playing kept us busy for the rest of Thursday. Friday. A beautiful sunny day in Florence. We explored some more, walked the bridges on the Arno River, shopped and basked in the sun. We had a late afternoon train to Bologna to catch. Florence was easily the most beautiful city I’d seen. A place I can picture myself living and never, ever getting used to the amazing views around every corner. But onto Bologna and new sights!

Bologna!
Let’s see. After missing our train connection, we finally made it to Bologna. Just two hours after we had originally planned. Instead of staying in a hostel, we decided to do it real cute this time and stay in a bed and breakfast. Well, it wasn’t the typical New England bed and breakfast I may be used to. Still, it was an experience. We had an amazing dinner out that night. Some of the greatest tortellini I’ve ever had. Then again, Bologna is known for its cuisine. Shouldn’t be too surprised. Saturday. We had less than a day to cover the city. We grabbed a map from a random hotel and hit all the sites we possibly could. First stop. One of the remaining gates when Bologna was a walled medieval city. Under which we could see part of the network of canals which is beneath the whole city and used to supply energy back in the day. Saw many more stunning cathedrals, Biblioteca Salaborsa, Piazza Maggiore, Palazzo D’Accursio, and much more. Walked down an adorable street known for its amazing restaurants. Found a cute pasta shop. Climbed one of the Two Towers, both of which are leaning. After a scary climb, atop, we were rewarded with an amazing view of Bologna. Next. Walked along the beautiful covered sidewalks of the university, randomly entering churches and museums and anything that peaked our interest just a little bit. One unique thing about Bologna. Every building seemed to have some historical meaning. It is a modern city but built within structures with so much history, and it has been preserved beautifully.



Gate to Bologna from medieval times

 Again, referencing back to our need to conserve as much money as possible, the cheapest flight back to Sofia from Italy was out of Milan. So later that afternoon, after another delicious pasta lunch, we took a train to Milan. What do I have to thank Bologna for? Well, its carbs, first of all. But when in Bologna, you have no choice but to experience its famous pasta cuisine. It’s more than worth it. Second, its historic beauty may not be one that is as talked up as others, but it is there. Masked, but left open to the public eye to enjoy. Onto Milan.

Milano!
This was not exactly a huge stop on our spring break agenda. Our train didn’t arrive till around 7pm, then we had to work the public transportation system to get to our hostel. For dinner, we walked a few blocks to a grocery store. Bought some tortellini, pesto sauce, bread, tiramisu ice cream, and wine. Could a dinner get more Italian? Made use of our hostel kitchen, and enjoyed a night of indulgence. Unfortunately, in order to arrive at the airport on time for our flight back to little Blagoevgrad, we had to leave around 8am. So we were able to see very little of Milan. But Italy had treated us very well, and I do not doubt that Milan would have been equally as stunning.



Homecooked tortellini with pesto, wine, and tiramisu ice cream

 So there you have it. Nine full days of traveling. Exhausting traveling filled with experiences I am sure I will never be able to replicate, and will one day tell my children about when they are heading off to their own adventures. I wouldn’t trade a single minute, a single mishap, a single surreal moment. So thank you, Spain and Italy, for your hospitality!



Inside La Sagrada Familia



Port of Barcelona



Emily and I with the Mediterranean Sea



The sight of the 1992 Summer Olympics



Inside St. Peter's Basilica, directly beneath this is the tomb of St. Peter



Arno River in Florence



Beautiful Florentine architecture



View of Bologna from atop the Two Towers





Happiness

I’m a happy girl. Easy to say, sometimes difficult to mean. This past weekend, although I didn’t have any crazy foreign adventures, was pure happiness.

After a fun night out Thursday and a relaxing Friday in which my friends and I hiked our favorite little mountain and sat on a peak overlooking our city, I spent the next two days in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, an almost 2 hour bus ride away. On Saturday, our school organized a trip to the opera in Sofia. We spent the middle part of our day shopping in the Mall of Sofia, grabbing mocha lattes here and there, and simply enjoying being in a mall, which I haven’t since I left the States back in the beginning of January. When nighttime rolled around, we made our way to the opera house, which was stunning. We enjoyed a glass of champagne before the show and some conversation, being the sophisticated ladies that we are ;) I had never been to an opera before so I was beyond excited to experience it, and it truly was a beautiful performance.



St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia



National Historical Museums backdropped with beautiful mountains



On Sunday, we boarded a bus for the second day in a row to Sofia. This time, we were taking a history field trip to the Boyana Church and the National Historical Museum. Nestled on the outskirts of Sofia in snow-covered woods, the Boyana Church is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church, dating back to the 11^th century. It is known for its frescoes from the year 1259, a total of 89 scenes and 240 human figures. We got the special opportunity of going inside and learning about some of the ancient artwork (unfortunately, no photos allowed). Next stop: National Historical Museum. This place was gorgeous. It is the largest museum in Bulgaria, and it has the largest archaeological and historical archives in all the Balkans. It displayed wonderful artifacts and history along the timeline of the existence of civilization in Bulgaria, beginning with the Neolithic Period around 9000 BC. The building in which the museum is currently housed used to be the headquarters of the Communist leaders of Bulgaria, before the fall of the Communist government in 1989. Perhaps one of the most beautiful artifacts was the Golden Treasure of Panagyuzishte from the Thracian Period. All 24-karat gold, the treasure is dated from the 4^th-3^rd centuries BC. It was not discovered until 1949. A beautiful sight to look at.



Golden Treasure of Panagyuzishte from Thrace



I had the opportunity to adventure on another field trip this past week. For my environmental science class, a topic which I truly am passionate about, we ventured to the recycling center here in Blagoevgrad. Though I know this may not sound like the most exciting or beauteous of sites to see, it was truly eye opening to see the working conditions for these people and to actually watch a day in the life of a Bulgarian. Even more interesting was the massive amounts of garbage that can be recycled, yet we rarely take the time to do. The center was no small place and the amount of garbage and recycled material was no small number, and this is from one city in Bulgaria, one of the few countries in our world in which population rates are decreasing. I can only imagine the amount of garbage that other overpopulated parts of the world generate, and our entire world? Well, those numbers are almost unimaginable. I know this isn’t the loveliest of topics, but it is an overwhelming bit of knowledge that shows the human impact on our world.

On a different note. TOMORROW. SPRING BREAK. Even in capital letters, this doesn’t denote how incredibly thrilled I am to be taking off tomorrow from Sofia airport. First stop, Barcelona until the 28^th. Then to Rome until the 2^nd, then Florence, Bologna, and Milan to round out the last five days of our break. Food, sites, history, new oceans, new shores, new lands waiting to be discovered...did I mention food? Spain and Italy, you better be ready to welcome us with open arms.

36 Hours in Istanbul

The whole journey to Istanbul was an interesting one, to say the least, however, I wouldn’t trade in a minute of it. At 5:30pm on Thursday evening, my three friends and I boarded the bus, thinking we were prepared for a 12 hour bus ride through the night…but boy, were we in for an adventure. The majority of the ride was through Bulgaria, so we arrived at the Turkish border around 1:00am, groggy and exhausted from what distressed sleep we had gotten so far, sprawled across the bus seats in every which way, trying our best to get comfortable. The process to cross the border was a little more intense than we had originally imagined. First, our passports were taken and checked. When our passports were returned to us, we were left waiting on the bus for the next step. Being that it was the middle of the night, the border wasn’t exactly a hopping joint, so it was hard to imagine what exactly could have taken so long, and being tired out of our minds didn’t really help the situation much either, I suppose. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, an official came on the bus and looked at our passports one by one. When he got to us four Americans, he realized that we didn’t have visas yet, so our bus “steward” (I guess you could call him) took us off the bus and we followed him through two parking lots to the only open office at this crazy hour. Finally, 20 leva later, we had Turkish visas. Our journey across the border was not yet complete, however. We had to go through a customs search, in which everyone on the bus had to stand outside behind a table with their entire luggage while the bus was searched. The officers then moved down the line checking each passenger’s luggage, but when they got to us, our steward friend pointed, uttered “Americans,” and they moved on without a search. Interpret that how you want, because I have no answers whatsoever.



Our hostel and the Sea of Marmara in the distance



After a total of nearly two hours, our bus crossed into Turkey. We arrived in Istanbul at about 5:40am, and I have to say, I am very proud of the job us four American girls did navigating a completely foreign city in the dark (don’t worry Mom and Dad, I may have been a tall, blonde American girl in Istanbul, Turkey, but I had my backpack snapped on, my purse wrapped around my body a few times, and a headscarf that hopefully covered most of my blond hair, so I was trying my hardest to blend in). In order to get to the Sultanahmet section of the city from our bus stop, we had to take two trams, which was not the first thing that we wanted to do at that early hour after getting close to no sleep, but the moment we stepped off the tram, we were pleasantly surprised by the beauty of the morning. It was sunrise and the infamous Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque were silhouetted against the sky. Suddenly, the crazy transportation maze we experienced to get to this beautiful, cultured city was worth it a million times over…and heck, we got another stamp on our passports, which made us feel like we were all the more true world travelers.

Once we arrived, we stopped by our hostel to drop off some of our luggage in the lockers provided and met our new Turkish friend, Raddy for the first time! After a quick nap on the couch, with Raddy making fun of us (see picture below), we headed out for the day, or at least until 11:30am when our room would be ready. We found a great little café on the second floor overlooking a beautiful park and a mosque. It was the perfect place to watch Istanbul transform from quiet sidewalks to a bustling busy day.



Erin and I asleep with Raddy making fun!



Hagia Sofia

We spent the next few hours walking the streets, exploring the shops, and experiencing the craziness of the Grand Bazaar. Returning to our hostel, we cleaned up, relaxed for a bit, and were on the move once again. We got some lunch and made friends with the owners (which proved to be beneficial when we were in a rush to get dinner the next night before our bus home), then we explored the beautiful Hagia Sophia in all its glory. The Hagia Sophia is a gorgeous sight, brimming with culture and history all the way back to 360 A.D. It began as an Orthodox basilica, and then was made into a mosque in 1453 when the Ottomans conquered the city, and it is now a museum. It was another one of those unreal feelings to be in a place with such a deep history and meaning, and I know I am a pretty lucky girl when I have seen too many sights in the past month in which this unbelievable vibe is present.



Inside the Hagia Sofia



After crossing the adorable park filled with fountains, palm trees, vendors with roasted corn and chestnuts, and happy people, we walked around the grounds of the beautiful Blue Mosque, which got its name from the blue tiles on the walls of the interior. Istanbul is in the prime location, right on the edge of the European continent. Our hostel is situated only a few streets up from the Sea of Marmara, so we walked down, sat on the rocks for a bit, and simply tried to overcome the fact that we were looking across the water and seeing the Asian continent staring back at us. Another one of those unreal moments. Heads up, I may be pointing those out quite frequently.

That night, we had a delicious dinner at a Turkish restaurant, grabbed baklava from one of many sweet shops, and had a cocktail with our Turkish friend Raddy in the lounge of our hostel.

The following morning, Saturday, after a great breakfast on our hostel’s rooftop terrace overlooking the sea, we checked out and spent the day exploring Istanbul. First stop: Topkapi Palace. We walked the beautiful grounds and saw the amazing palace, which was the residence of Ottoman Sultans during the years of 1465-1856. After some souvenir shopping, we found an adorable “hole in the wall” restaurant for lunch, where I got a delicious cheese and potato filled pancake (and not the traditional pancake all you Americans are picturing). Let’s just say our next stop also involved food: Turkish delights and more baklava. I couldn’t help myself. I was in Turkey, after all!




View from breakfast



Hundreds of fishermen

 We had an 8:30pm bus back to Blagoevgrad, so we found ourselves for the rest of the day down by the sea (again, couldn’t really help myself…the sea, after all, is one of my favorite places). This time we were on the bridge that connects Europe and Asia, and it was an amazing sight. You look down and fishing poles, hundreds, line the railing; the way of life for these people. After more exploring, photo taking, and taking in all we could, we headed back to our restaurant owner friends, grabbed yet another great meal, and navigated our way back to the bus station. Another long ride and we were back in Blagoevgrad at 8am Sunday morning, and boy was I thankful it was a Sunday because I climbed immediately into my bed and fell asleep within seconds.

But Istanbul...worth every lost second of sleep.



The Blue Mosque



Heading into the Grand Bazaar




Pretty windows in Hagia Sophia



Sea of Marmara, separating Europe and Asia



Tombs of Sultans from the Ottoman Empires



Jen, Erin, Emily and I