Day 6 - Sofia

Today we went to Sofia, which is the capital of Bulgaria. We left around 10 a.m. and got to Sofia at noon. We actually were in the hotel by noon - and the staff was quite surprised. Once here we went to lunch - some of us went to a converted Turkish Bath House - which is now a mall. Some went to McDonalds which was ok, too - but I definitely went to the Turkish Bath House. After that, we saw an Islamic prayer service at the local mosque which was so interesting to witness. Then we went to a Jewish Synagogue. We actually got to walk around inside, and we had to wear the Jewish skull cap - but only the guys.

Then we walked around and then found this ancient Orthodox church. It dated back to the late Roman period. After that we walked by an open market which sold books, and I bought one called "The Bulgarian Civilisation" which I'll read sometime soon. Then we went over to a Russian Orthodox church - and then over to St. Alexandria Bulgarian Orthodox church.

After these churches, we went to the opera house expecting it to be closed - and come to find out we were there for the opening of the opera season!! We saw "The Tales of Hoffman" in French. It was so wonderfully amazing. First opera, and it was in eastern Europe!!


I'll come back in later and fill in some details! Plus, I've got 2 more days to write about, so stay tuned.