A "Sparse" Christmas - Part II

Well, our lovely Christmas saga continues... if you didn't receive the first part of this post series, go here.

After Borovan, we only had two more days with Paul :(  So, we decided to make the most of it.  Randall's boss, Ivan, was nice enough to take us to the 2nd-most-popular monastery in Bulgaria: Bachkovski Monastery, just outside of Plovdiv.  It's in the Rhodopi mountains (we have a view of them from our 18th-floor apartment).  We both had been there before, but were to excited for them to see it, too! 

We didn't get to take many pictures, as they are not allowed.  But, this group picture of us is pretty cool!

Conveniently, the night before Paul took off, we were invited to Randall's work Christmas party.  Another "на гости!"

 

We wish we would've taken more pictures of the homemade food, but, alas, we'll just have to tell you about it...

Stuffed cabbage/grape leaves, banitsa, grilled chicken nuggets, lamb, pork, sirene, yellow cheese, Russian salad, Snow White salad, and we must stop... too delicious to go on.

Randall really has some amazing colleagues.

The next day, Paul, with instruction & a Bulgarian sim card, made it to the Sofia airport himself (via taxi, train, and another taxi)!  Take note, future visitors: it is possible to navigate in Bulgaria!

We were sad to see him go, and, as you can see, Liza was pretty bummed, too :(

Especially since he didn't get to stay for all the New Year's Eve events!

To celebrate the New Year early with our same Christmas-Eve buddies (Vania & family + another family-Chris, Ilka, Stanimeer, and Mila, who went to the skull race with us this past summer), we had sushi and pizza at Chris and Ilka's a few days before New Year's Eve.

We know... a very interesting food combination... but, Chris is a cook and made quite a delicious spread.

They even got to use one of Randall's Christmas gifts: "The Sushezi."  Works like a charm!

The night was filled with family fun, including the kids & pets!

Looks like Karen really enjoyed Dida, the mini pinscher :)  And, vice versa!





On New Year's Eve, we did some restaurant hopping (Irish Pub for some Guiness, first) with some of our Borovan/Peace Corps buddies (in the picture below, from left to right: Randall, Mikey, Dani, Joe, and Joy), and ended up at our local Chinese Restaurant.  They were awesome, because they didn't have anymore room for us, but they found a spare table + chairs.  It was delish.  When we were all stuffed to the gills, we headed back home to play one of our favorite charades games (boys won 106 to 105) and watch fireworks.

For the record, watching fireworks from the 18th floor is amazing.  But, watching fireworks from the 18th floor in Bulgaria is more amazing.  Why?  Because everyone in the entire city had their stash of fireworks sitting on their balconies, ready for midnight.  And, when the clock struck 12, the entire city lit up in every color imaginable.  There were fireworks, as far as we could see, East to West.  Indescribable.  Just try not to think about how dangerous this might be :)

Our apologies for not having pictures, but if you've ever tried to take pictures of fireworks, you know why we didn't.

For the next few days, we just hung out with Joe & Mikey, who spent a few days in Plovdiv with us.  Lots of relaxation and fun!

After they headed out, Ivan, again, decided to show us more of Bulgaria, this time, on our wedding anniversary!  Our first stop was a local hot spring town, Hisarya.  And, from one of their a hot-spring fountains, we tasted some very delicious warm water.

Also in Hisarya, we visited the "The Camels."  This is the entrance into Hisarya, through an ancient Roman wall (the best preserved in Bulgaria).  Again, it's just amazing how rich Bulgaria is with history and archaeology!

Along those same lines, we ventured just a little bit further outside of Plovdiv to see a few Thracian Tomb hills (see left picture).  When these tombs were excavated within the last century, various little towns and villages in Bulgaria became big attractions.

For instance, Starocel (the village we visited after Hisarya) has, thus far, a famous tomb and a temple tomb just outside of town.

These are a few pictures inside the above hill.  It's just amazing that this tomb is from the 3rd century.

And, here are some pictures of the Temple hill.  It's so humbling to think of how old these ruins are and that we are just a fleeting moment in such a long stream of visitors.

There are still various other hills off in the horizon, waiting to be excavated.  Have we communicated that Bulgaria is swimming in ruins? :)

That night, after we returned to Plovdiv, Karen took us out to a delicious dinner & bought us an anniversary cake!  It probably was the most unique anniversary we've had: ancient Thracian Tombs and a Bulgarian hot spring all in one day!

Thanks, Karen, for celebrating us!  We are so blessed!

We don't think we couldn't fit anything else in our Christmas vacation.  It was just right; not too much, not too little.  Thanks, Paul and Karen, for visiting us!  It would have been a tought Christmas without you guys, and, instead, you made it richer than we could have imagined!

Phewf!