"'Travel' is the name of a modern disease which became rampant in the mid-fifties and is still spreading. The disease - its scientific name is travelitis furiosus - is carried by a germ called prosperity." George Mikes.

One of my latest trips was to the Black Sea Coast town of Varna. Varna is one of Bulgaria’s most popular tourist destinations…but it was not quite tourist time yet. Pictures of Varna usually depict busy beaches covered with umbrellas, but our trip was a little early. The Black Sea was still too cold for tourists to be out swimming and sunbathing on the beach. However, our stay was still very enjoyable. We saw the Cathedral of the Assumption, the Archaeological Museum, the Roman baths, and the Sea Gardens before heading to the beach. The Cathedral was yet another beautiful church in Bulgaria. It is the second-largest church in Bulgaria. It was constructed to honor the Russian soldiers who fought to free Bulgaria from Ottoman Rule. The Archaeological Museum was surprisingly filled with British tourists. This museum boasts of over 100,000 ancient artifacts discovered in Varna and the surrounding areas. The ancient Roman baths were harder to imagine, since it was mostly old stones in the middle of the city. It was interesting to see, but not as impressive after viewing Roman ruins in Rome. While we walked in the middle of the town square, we came across a children’s concert. This was really cute to watch. One by one, children no older than 6 got up on stage to sing and perform for the audience. I’m not sure what it was, but I assume that it was some sort of competition. Listening to kids sing in another language is really something special.

We didn’t have much time to spend in Varna, because it’s a long bus ride from Blagoevgrad, but it was fitting because we ran out of things to do. If the weather was a little hotter, we could have relaxed on the beach…however, after the few sites of Varna were seen, we headed to the mall. The mall gave us a few stories. Being before Easter, we saw an Easter Bunny all dressed up, but no one was in line to get pictures taken with him. (We would later find out that this is not a real Bulgarian tradition). Also, while shopping around, we would be asked where we were from. In one particular store, the workers were taking bets on where we were from. Next, we grabbed a movie while we waited for our bus back to Sofia. This was the first time I had been to a movie since I left the States. We approached the ticket counter and asked which of their movies would be in English…we had four choices, which was more than we expected to have!  One difference between American movie theaters and Bulgarian ones- assigned seats. You choose which seats you want on a computer screen as you are buying your ticket. This was a little different, but it was nice to guarantee yourself the seats you want.

Coooooold!

One of the little performers

No umbrellas....

Beautiful Black Sea

McDonald's influence...

Armenian Church

Varna at night from our Hotel

Cathedral

Theater (not in the mall...)

"People don't take trips...trips take people." -- John Steinbeck

In Athens, I was the quintessential tourist snapping pictures left and right of all the ancient ruins. We were able to get in free to all of the sites because we go to a university in the European Union, which was a really nice surprise! We began our day at the National Historical Museum, which is acclaimed as being one of the best museums in the world. There, we saw the famed Mask of Agamemnon. Next, we hiked up to the Acropolis to view what Athens is most well known for- the Parthenon. We also saw the Erechtheion, which is the building pictured with the famous sculptures of the six women holding up the building. There are many other ruins along the hike up to the Acropolis. It was truly amazing to see how well preserved these buildings are. However, construction work continues on the Parthenon to restore it to its original beauty. The view of the city is breathtaking from the Acropolis- Athens never seems to end.

Mask of Agamemnon

Then we decided to tour one of the oldest parts of the city- a section they refer to as Plaka. This is a pedestrian only area filled with shops and restaurants. There are also the occasional ruins in the middle of the street. We would sample gelatos on our way through the maze of people. On day two, we were visiting more sites such as Hadrian’s Arch, the Temple of Zeus, the Greek Parliament building, and Hadrian’s Library. We walked through the Athens Flea Market and visited the port of Athens. During one of our many stops in souvenir shops, we had the funniest encounter with an older Greek woman. My friend Sarah inquired about the price of a particular item and the old woman told her “5 Euro, one. 6 Euro, all.” Then she apologized for her bad English and we hurriedly complimented her efforts. This made her very happy. Once we paid and were on our way out, she grabbed our hands and started leading us back into her shop. We thought there was a problem with our payment. Then she reached into a basket, pulled out little pins, and pinned one on each of our shirts. She then patted them and told us they were for good luck. Feeling that it was such a sweet moment, we allowed her to hug us and kiss our cheeks. On our way out, her son, who was around 45 years old, placed his arms around his mom and hugged her! This was one of the most heartwarming things I’ve ever seen! They were such genuinely sweet people. After this experience and our cultural immersion in Thessaloniki, I can truly say that Greek people are really very special.

On our second night, we ate dinner in Plaka at a restaurant that sits at the bottom of the Acropolis. We were able to watch the sun set over this area and the nearby Agora. The Agora was the city center of Ancient Athens that functioned as the heart and soul of Athens. This is where citizens would come to hear famous men throughout history lecture including Socrates, Aristotle, Paul and others. A flute player played music in the background and this was another of those moments where life seems perfect- if even for a second.

Dinner and Sunset at the Agora

An attempt at my name

Parthenon

Erechtheion

"Come away with me..." - Nora Jones

A trip to Thessaloniki, Greece was my most recent excursion. Since a young age, I have wanted to live in Greece. Visiting Greece was a big achievement for me, because it was the realization of a life-long dream. I was not disappointed! We stayed with a Greek family (friend of my friend) and we were treated with such hospitality that we really felt guilty at the end of our stay. We arrived on Friday and were picked up by our Greek friend and taken to his house. We cooked some dinner in the kitchen and met some of his friends at a “disco party” he hosted. (Complete with wigs and all!) On Saturday, we ventured out into a day of sightseeing. We found a church from the 3^rd Century and ruins in the center of town. There were old towers and statues throughout the city. The modern city is literally built around the ruins that you can walk around in. We walked to the sea and took a tour of the harbor on a ship. The water was crystal clear, but cold! After walking around the city, we wandered to various shops throughout the city. Then, we headed back to our house to meet up for an authentic Greek dinner. We arrived first at the restaurant, because Greeks usually eat very late (9-11pm are rush hours for restaurants!!!) Our Greek friend ordered for our whole table- what a feast!! It was fantastic, there was soooo much great food to choose from; we left the restaurant very happy indeed! We were supposed to depart early that next morning, so we went home to bed. However, when we arrived for our 8am bus, we were told that our tickets would not cut it- we had to have a reservation as well. We were never told this, so we were quite confused and since the bus was full, we began to ask about other options. 9 phone calls, 3 taxi rides, and 14 hours later…we caught a bus back to Blago. So, we gained a extra day in Greece, were we relaxed on the roof of the house and enjoyed the view of the water and the city and soaked up some sun! Then, our friend cooked us another Greek meal for lunch and Greek pizza for dinner. Then, his mom came home with fresh Greek fish and made us eat some more! I don’t like fish, but some of it was really tasty. She made fresh sardines baked in the oven with oregano, and a local Greek fish that can only be bought there. Our time in Greece was very rewarding, and we felt as if we had really experienced Greek life at the end. Because we missed the morning bus, we were forced to relax and enjoy being stranded in Greece! It turned out to be worth it, even if we didn’t get back to the school until 3am….

Out on the boat!

Harbor

Ruins in the city

3rd Century church

One of the views from the house we stayed in