Thursday, March 22
We’ve had some nice sunny days recently. The temperature has been close to 70 degrees, which had us thinking about breaking out the shorts and t-shirts. Today it snowed and the temperature dropped into the 30s.
(The View From Our Balcony)
We ventured out briefly to the supermarket to make sure we had enough snacks to tide us over. Other than that we stayed in the house most of the day and caught up on our napping.
Distance walked: 1.1 miles
Friday, March 23
The weather report was for more snow and rain. As usual they were wrong. We went out about 11:00 am and did some exploring. The streets and the sidewalks had been cleared so all we had to do was avoid the puddles created from the melting snow.
We walked down the main thoroughfare with no aim in mind. Finally we decided to try and find the synagogue – again. We found what looked like an old synagogue that had not been used for many years but we found no evidence of the active one. According to Google we were in the right place. When we got home we found that there is an active synagogue in the city but it is a few blocks away. According to city’s website it is closed for visitation and is only open for Friday night services.
Afterwards we lunched at another recommended restaurant named Pavaj. It’s a small family run establishment serving mainly Bulgarian foods. It is located in the Kapana District, which translates as “Trap”. It is so named because the streets are narrow and winding. Many people get lost in the area. No cars are permitted.
From the 14th century until the early 20th century the Kapana district was home to a large Turkish bazaar. It was famous throughout the world. Merchants from all over sold their wares there. A fire destroyed the old market and many of the old buildings. Recently the area has been revitalized and is now a trendy place where you can find cafes, coffee houses, clubs and a vibrant nightlife.
For lunch we ordered a dish called Tarator. It is a cold yogurt soup with cucumbers, fresh dill and walnuts. We also had the meatballs, which are basically just balls of meat. They look like small hamburgers and were accompanied by fried, seasoned potatoes and a sweet pepper relish. We shared both dishes and enjoyed them immensely. We even remembered to take pictures!
(Tarator Soup)
In other news we’ve booked the next several legs of our trip. We’ll be visiting Burgas, Bulgaria from April 4 – 18. We’ll be staying in an apartment near the city center. From April 18 – May 1 we’ll be in Varna, Bulgaria. Both cities are on the Black Sea. In Varna we’ll be staying at one of the resort hotels on the waterfront. We feel that we need a vacation. For the month of May we’ll be in Budapest, Hungary. We booked an apartment in “Pest”, which is on the East side of the Danube River.
Distance walked: 4.8 miles