Day 25 - GREECE!

Today we went to Thessaloniki, Greece which is the northern capital of Greece. It was quite interesting. It's quite modern, and is also one of the major port cities of the country. This trip made it all hit home, because most of my notes over Greece covered this city. So - that was nice.

We mostly had a bus tour of the city, so I can't really give you much of a description of everything. . . or anything really. The city was modern and crowded, but had an "older" feel to it. Other than that, I don't have much to offer in terms of history or content . . . when I get home I'll post all my pictures up and maybe I'll remember so stuff.

So, this is the blood castle. I don't really remember why they call it that - but they do.

I made an A in my study abroad class . . . which completes my journey. Tomorrow I have nothing to do but pack and enjoy my last day in Blagoevgrad - and then we leave EARLY Thursday morning. Till then . . . . sleep tight America.

Day 24 - Monday

I did absolutely nothing productive today, simply because I didn't have to. 'Nuff said - goodbye. lol

Brother and Sister

My nephew Austin and little niece Breanne :- )

I cannot wait to see them both!

Bulgaria loves their Roses!

Day 23 - On the Road again . . .

Woke up at 7:30, and got to enjoy a very nice English breakfast . . . . eggs and all that jazz. Coffee was quite good for the first time. Today we are heading to Sofia to drop off Dr. Hall so that he can head back to Americus. He has to go and grade some AP tests somewhere on the west coast next week . . . kinda interesting. It's now 9:25 and we're leaving V.T. - who knows when we'll get back in Blagoevgrad.

We stopped at McDonalds in Sofia for lunch . . it tasted just like McD's back home, so there was no surprise there. I really hated eating there - but hey . . . gotta do whatcha gotta do. It's now 2:15 and we're almost outside of Sofia. So, I'm thinking we'll be back around 3:30 - 4:00 . . . . and now I'm going to take a nap!!

Got back at the university at 3:35 . . . gotta love it!! Now, it's time to get some dinner. FINALLY!

Finally in Veliko Tarnovo

This hotel is pretty intense. We got here at 1ish and the hotel wasn't ready for us - so we packed back up and went to lunch. I got chicken and rice, and it was delicious. Something about having something so uniquely Southern here made my day a little better.

After lunch we came back to the hotel and got to our rooms. My room is perfect. It overlooks the city, and I get to see this massive city statue from my balcony!

A close up of the statue from my balcony.

My first hotel on this trip with a balcony, and it's the best way to end my Bulgarian hotel experience. I'd rate this place tied for second place among our hotels . . . haha

At 4 o'clock we went out for one of our last walking tours - and it helped to complete our Bulgarian sight seeing. I got to see - at Bulgarian eye level - a castle that was used to fight off the Turkish invasion. It was definitely a nice way to end our Bulgarian experience.

Tomorrow we are expecting to leave around 9 a.m. so we are getting up around 7:15 to get breakfast and a possible massage!! How nice would that be?!

There's still talk of us going to Greece next week - so who knows which day we'll actually leave. I'm hoping that it'll be Tuesday so we can get our last good night of rest on Wednesday before leaving on Thursday.

Well - here's to goodnight!!

Random Thoughts on the Bus

It's the idea of the unbeliever to believe that Christian believers believe in some crazy divine being such as our wonderful Maker. He is A Father to the sick and the lame. He offers Complete Comfort that can reach the depths of the human heart. He brings All the Joy to cover all of man's sins. He also can give us Lasting Love to embrace the human condition of pain. Why can't an unbeliever believe in the majestic power of Grace that's forgiven all our sins?

Shipka - Random stop on top of a mountain!

Shipka Monastery

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shipka_Pass

This is a place that we stopped, and if you want to take a moment to read that article . . . it's quite good. We learned a lot of cultural history about this place.

still Day 22 - culture stuff

Martenitsi - Bulgarian Culture

There are all these little pieces of red & white things all over the country, so I decided to spend my bus ride doing some research in some guide books and write down what they were. . .

Red & White Martenitsi

These unique Bulgarian traditional pieces are giving to people as a wish for good health on March 1st. This day is connected with the coming of Spring, with the beginning of nature's renewal after a hard winter. The traditional Martenitism is made of red and white yard. These martenitsi are also placed on pets, farm animals, and fruit trees.

Day 22 - Saturday in a new town?!

We are leaving from Stara Zagora right now and it's 9:15. I totally didn't know that we were going to another town, so I walked down with just my day bag, and Dr. Szmedra said "Mr. Willis, go get your bag - we're leaving." Definitely didn't know that we were going to Veliko Tarnavo.

Also, last night when we went to Dr. Iordanova's hometown - she and her family actually cleaned up the are from the street where we would park our bus over to her house. She said that on the way to her house. She then said that the locals were asking them why they were cleaning up the area, and that they were actually telling her to stop because it was not her place to clean the streets. She said that under the Communist rule that there were more community centered and that they actually cared about how the area looked - I guess they wanted to try and appear as "normal" as possible for the outside world.

It was really interesting to experience all her culture had to offer - the best part - we all connected on a family level. Towards the end of the party last night, it started to rain. Literally, we all jumped in and started moving stuff inside - and Dr. Iordanov said that we were just like his family. It was a nice feeling to be accepted like that.

Day 21 - Stara Zagora

Today we are in Stara Zagora, and it's simply beautiful. The idea of a town this wonderful could not be seen in America. The town is somewhat modern in their trash disposal, and everything in town is made for walkers. Most of the streets are blocked off from car traffic so that walkers may actually cross the streets . . . it's just nice.

We were suppose to leave this morning at 9, but that was pushed back 2 hours due to unforeseen circumstances . . . . but we left promptly at 11:00 a.m. and we got to Stara Zagora some 5 hours later. As soon as we arrived, Dr. Iordanova invited us to come down to her town . . . which was maybe 5 miles outside of Stara Zagora. I'm not entirely sure of the name of the town, but it was nice. It was quite a cultural shock to see it all. I actually got to see a full family farm/plant garden in action. ** How about Dr. Iordanova and her family actually cleaned up the entire town - mowed grass, picked up trash, and the whole 9 yards.**

This evening by far was the highlight of the trip for me. We got to experience a lot of culture and food. I took enough pictures to last a lifetime, and to cover it all. I'm hoping that everything will blow over, and when we get back "home" it'll feel like a family again.

Dr. Iordanova with her first grade math teacher!!

Another Bre photo that's stealing my heart . . .

She's just beautiful :- )

Day 20 - It's all over!!

Class is now officially over . . . and I'm so excited. I have one week left here in Bulgaria, and now we're all getting ready for a festive evening of Bulgarian culture. I'll try to post some pictures or something later on, but I'm not entirely sure. We'll be having a traditional Bulgarian dinner, and then there will be song and dance afterwards. It'll be quite interesting, and hopefully everyone will enjoy themselves.

Until then . . . . бъе! (bye)

Day 19 - Final Exam and Wine!

The final was pretty insane. . . it was just 3 questions, but took a full 2 hours to complete. It was intense, but it's all over. I won't know for another week how I did, because we're busy with stuff until Sunday - and then my professor is actually flying back to America. So, he said he probably won't begin grading them until Sunday or even Monday. But, it's all over and now my mind is vacation for another week!! It's a nice feeling to finally say that I'm on vacation!

After class, we all went to a local winery. Those of us of legal age got to taste the wine that's made here in Bulgaria! We got a tour of the winery, and then we got to taste 2 different types of white wines and then 2 types of red wines. I personally enjoyed the fruity white wine, and the deeper and smoother red wines . . . but I bought a bottle of the fruity white, and hopefully I'll be able to take it back to the States. I'm going to try and see if there's some way that I can wrap it up and make sure that it won't bust while on the way back.

Once we got back, Kevin and I went to one of our favorite local restaurants and enjoyed a wonderful meal with live music!! What a great way to wrap up the day . . . .

The view from the winery's front door. Crazy beautiful, eh?

Me right before the wine tasting. The chocolate and cheese

are there to cleanse your pallet between wines. Just wonderful.

And Kevin took the picture while I was laughing . . . horrible

Kevin right before the tasting . . .

Our winery tour guide, and he's also the wine master.
He was really cool, we had a connection going. It was weird,
but interesting to say the least.

Some of the many wine containers they had.

Plovdiv Hotel and Views

I sat out here every morning and enjoyed the morning breeze,

and on Sunday I got to see the sun finally rise!! It was either

rainy or cloudy the entire weekend, but it was still a lot of fun!

View from the front part of the hotel . . . gotta love the streets!

They sucked walking up and down though . . . but nice to look at!

The view from the front door of the hotel. Nice, eh?

Me right outside our hotel in Plovdiv - that window opened right to our room.

Day 19 - Warring Wednesday

Today is the day. . .. just a few more hours of studying and then it's all downhill from there. I honestly cannot wait until 2 p.m. to walk in, write for 2 hours, and then walk out. I'm seriously considering sleeping for about 36 hours after it, simply because my body is worn out. This evening will be fun though . . . we're going to go to a wine tasting, which will be new and different.

Well, until later . . . wish me good luck.

Day 18 - Terrible Tuesdays

It's labeled that for a number of reasons, but mostly because tomorrow is my final . . . which means that this study abroad is almost over. I probably won't blog much until after the final - in which I hope I'll be able to add some detail about the cities I've visited so far along with detail info on Stara Zagora.

It's on to breakfast and studying . . . not looking forward to either, but hey - gotta do whatcha gotta do.

The Girl Back Home

Blogger friends, this is Breanna McKayla Willis. She was born the day before I left to come to Europe, and I cannot wait to get back and spend some time with her. To be perfectly honest, I was too nervous the day she was born to even hold her. I was worried about the plane flight, and didn't want my nerves to get the best of me when she was in my arms. There definitely will be a lot of hugs and kisses when I get home though. This makes me an uncle times two. hehe

Day 17 - Class and then News!!

Class was interesting . . . we found out that we're definitely going to have our final on Wednesday, that will be something interesting. I hope that it will go smoothly . . . but who knows. I've got a few days to study, so I'll put them to good use.

After class, we found out that we might be going to Greece next week. I'll keep y'all updated.