My clients aren’t used to me taking much time off during the summer and have been keeping me busy! But I’m determined to leave tomorrow for six whole days! Max is driving me to Yablanitsa tomorrow so I can grab a bus around 11:00 to Sofia and from there, I’ll grab a bus to Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second largest city and the one I wanted to see most of all! I’ll be in Plovdiv till Saturday morning.
Things get a little murky there as I’m still trying to sort out a car rental. I have much better selection and prices in Plovdiv, so I’m hoping to pick up a car there Saturday morning and head for the coast, to spend two full days there and return home on Tuesday sometime (remember, Bulgaria is small, so I will get to see things in between my start and end points!).
Then, I’m hoping to have the car for a few days at home to run errands and see things locally. If I get the car for a week, I will have to return it Friday in Plovdiv, more than two hours away by car, and more than four hours away by bus. So what I thought was to take “back roads” to Plovdiv, drop the car, and head to Sofia on the bus for the night to come home on the bus on Saturday.
I really can’t officially take time off for this trip as I may lose one of my contracts if I do, so my computer and foot pedal are coming with me and I’m ready to do an hour or two of work per day if I need to. So it’s not going to be a vacation-vacation, but it will be a welcome change of pace!
The car rental thing is tricky because the big name rental places are fully two to three times the price of smaller local companies and that will make the difference between renting for three days and renting for seven. My worst case scenario is taking the train to the coast and using buses to get around there, coming back to Sofia, and renting a car to have for a few days to explore around Yablanitsa.
Now, to get through the rest of today’s work. But…
Another adventure, whether working or not, another adventure. 😀
Safe travels & have fun!
Thanks!
Like an adventure within an adventure!
That’s a very valid point, LOL.
Enjoy your trip. Getting to the coast would be wonderful. Looking forward to hearing all about it. It must be tough trying to keep clients happy and still being able to have a life!
It is tough. I have one who has basically been AWOL the last two weeks (which was fine for me because I was swamped). Now, they’re swamped and annoyed that I’m not available!
Roman ruins! It is going to be fun! Try the seafood when you get to the coast.
Lots of ruins! 🙂 And we’ll see about the seafood!
Rae, when you rent the car, do they give you a choice between a stick shift or automatic? Is the driving etiquette different, such as driving on the left-hand side of the road and not the right? I’m sure Max could provide a lot of information.
Dee
Summerville, SC
This is Europe, so automatics are rare. I don’t think I’ve seen any for offer. If there are any, they are probably A LOT more expensive and harder to get! Bulgaria drives on the right. I was just told to be prepared to drive defensively, like in Mexico.
Enjoy every moment of this special time.
Local sight:
The Belogradchik Fortress (Bulgarian: Белоградчишка крепост, Belogradchishka krepost), also known as Kaleto (Калето, “the fortress” from Turkish kale), is an ancient fortress located on the north slopes of the Balkan Mountains, close to the northwestern Bulgarian town of Belogradchik and is the town’s primary cultural and historical tourist attraction, drawing, together with the Belogradchik Rocks, the main flow of tourists into the region. It is one of the best-preserved strongholds in Bulgaria and a cultural monument of national importance.
Ed, it’s on my list! Thanks for the reminder!