Travel & trips
163. June!
I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but it’s June. Already. June of 2018. Yesterday it was 1998 and I was sitting my a-levels, driving a knackered orange Fiesta with a broken speedometer, and planning an award-winning career as a foreign correspondent (or stage...
162. Budapest
Armed with a bumbag full of plasters and my one foreign language (which unfortunately isn't Hungarian), we trundled off to Budapest last weekend. We’ve always wanted to go and our upcoming anniversary (12 years – I’m not sure which one of us deserves a medal...
152. The one where we go to a Bulgarian football match
We had family staying last week and their big wish was to go and see a Bulgarian football match. I’m not a football lover, as you might have guessed, but I’m up for anything that creates good blog fodder. And, as luck would have it, CSKA Sofia were playing...
146. Autumn love, preserving like a boss, and a trip to the Rhodopes
Autumn is my favourite time of year – specifically that dreamy early September period when the evenings are cold enough for a sweater but the days are hot enough for shorts and flip flops, and the leaves are *just* starting to turn. And the food! Oh my, I love...
144. Adventures in Melnik
I hate to be a ‘Look at my holiday pictures’ bore, but that’s essentially what this post is. Just think yourself lucky I haven’t invited you round for a full-length slideshow accompanied by cheese and pineapple on cocktail sticks. That’s how we still do it in...
143. Courgettes. Walkies.
Freaking hell, it’s August. How did that happen? Here’s a not-so-brief rundown of what we’ve been up to lately. For those who are short on time, this post can be neatly summarised as follows: courgettes galore monastery fun death walk from hell For those who are...
142. Weeds, gore and sightseeing
My God, the weeds have been rampant this year. All that heavy rain, followed by scorching sun, followed by more rain, then sun, sun, sun… The veggies and flowers have loved it. But so have the weeds. We’ve got a ridiculous problem with bindweed in our garden, which...
141. Krushuna Falls and Devetashka Cave
I don’t know why we don’t get out more. Aside from nipping to the shops or market, popping round to see the neighbours or going for our sporadic Bulgarian lessons, sometimes weeks and weeks go by without us really going anywhere. Is it because we’re content...
138. Sun in Sozopol
If you're wondering why I've been quiet, it's because last week we pootled off to Sozopol for a little break with my family, and this week I've been generally readjusting to non-holiday life. Last week I was rolling out of bed and into the pool before eating a...
135. Arctic spring, tomato fail and other fun
Hello! Yes, we’re still here and haven’t been swallowed by a sinkhole (literally my worst fear). We had friends come to stay, then we went back to the UK for a week, then I had lots of work to catch up on. That sentence pretty much sums up what’s been happening...
133. Lovely things to do in Sofia
It’s no secret how much I love Sofia. Every time I see one of those ‘Top 10 cheap European city breaks’ articles that the Guardian publishes every other week, I always scan through thinking this time, surely this time, they’ll include Sofia. But they never...
115. Pottery addict
I love Bulgarian pottery in an almost unhealthy way. I mean, it’s not like I want to cover myself in Vaseline and roll around on a set of plates while listening to Sade. But … almost. The in-laws came to stay recently, so we took them on a day trip to Troyan...