All-Bulgaria Trip Part I

 I am three quarters of the way through a month long vacation in Bulgaria. My wife is from here originally (25 years ago) and she still owns the family house in her home town of Perushtitsa near the city of Plovdiv (second largest city in the country). It is my first time here on a trip that has been delayed for three years (one year because of family issues and the next two due to to COVID). I am glad to be able to be here finally and it has been great so far. It is a beautiful country with varied geography and the area has a reach history dating back seven millennium.  It is also enjoyable to see where my wife is from. 

My wife picked me up at Sofia airport when I arrived. She had been here a week already, concentrating on visiting her Bulgarian-only speaking friends and family. She had rented a car and had been "upgraded" to a larger vehicle due to lack of availability. This has happened to me before, and it never feels like an "upgrade" when you end up with a larger vehicle than you want. We later changed to a more manageable car, but the first was a huge old Daimler. Besides the difficulty navigating narrow European streets, it was a huge gas (well, diesel) hog. However, we managed the first few days with it. I should say that "we" really meant Veronica, who has been my driver, tour guide, and translator. I have said thank you a few times. Because of her I have been able to see parts of the country (and eaten some local food) that would have been hard without her local knowledge. 

On the day of my arrival, we made our way to Rila monastery and stayed at a nearby lodge.

The next day it was on to the family home in Perushtitsa, where we spent a few days hiking in the local hills and taking day trips on the bus to Plovdiv. Veronica's daughter and her children were there visiting their father/grandfather and we all spent some time together (both Veronica and I get along with her ex-husband, who is also a mathematician). Some picture of Perushtitsa below. It is a small town near the mountains. Veronica cannot go 5 meters without seeing someone she knows. I was introduced around and (I think) passed inspection. Views from our hikes:

Some of the local house architecture:

One of the hiking destinations is a local monument:

The all-Bulgaria road trip began in earnest. First stop was back to Sofia where we exchanged the car for something more manageable and fuel efficient. Some interesting architecture there and I was introduced to some more relatives. 

And the last shot: a nice G&T with a beautiful woman, it doesn't get better than that. Next post: the all-Bulgaria tour continues to Kazanlak, Tarnovo, Varna, and Neseber.