I decided to spend the long weekend in Silistra and Kate came up from Pleven to add another perspective to a weekend mostly spent relaxing as much as humanly possible. Needless to say, many movies were watched, music videos mocked, and news absorbed and discussed.
We also went to the circus. The Cirk Bolero is in town until Monday, and if there's anywhere you can get that old-timey circus atmosphere, it's at the Cirk Bolero. There was only one tent that covered a space the size of a football field, and there weren't many animals performing tricks (dogs, cats, and one very angry monkey), but during the show the tent shook with the wind and the acts came out into the ring and one by one showed us the things they'd mastered. There was some really good magic, balancing, and acrobatics, and some mediocre juggling, and the whole show really felt worth the five leva price tag for ringside seats.
Also in town for the weekend was "friendship runner" Stan Cottrell, who had apparently finished a friendship run across Bulgaria (He doesn't seem to have a homepage, but this Google search turned up some stuff on him) . We saw him give a press conference in the city center, wearing a a t-shirt and very short shorts. He was going to give a speech at a local church that night, but we had things to do.
In the final really odd event of the weekend, Kate and I came out of circus, talking loudly as Americans are apparently wont to do. We were walking through the center of town when another American came up and asked me if I knew where the ferryboats to Romania left the city. I gave him the best answer I could and after doing so he made the logical leap that an American living in and knowing a little about Silistra must be "Rob Taylor." I corrected him on the Taylor part, but it turned out that he was Ralph, a guy who had found the site a while ago while searching for possible retirement homes in eastern Europe. He'd sent an e-mail to me, I'd responded, and based on my vague and half-hearted recommendation, Ralph had decided to get to Silistra while visiting Bulgaria. He'd sent me an e-mail earlier that day that I hadn't gotten to yet.
Well, Ralph is from Kentucky, Kate's from Kentucky, and Ralph was interested in moving to northeast Bulgaria, so we found we all had things to talk about. We spent most of the evening after the circus at a cafe and a restaurant discussing life in general and having a good time. It's always nice having an outsider to talk with and bounce opinions off of. And Ralph was more than happy to hear them. He left town today and seems to have settled on Ruse (a larger city about 2 hours up the river from Silistra) as a place to call home 9 months out of the year.
People are beginning to discover Bulgaria, and I hope Bulgaria is beginning to realize it. Someday soon the common tourist may be able to use the bus station in Sofia without their head exploding. The country really deserves more people visiting and living here. I suppose it's all just a matter of time.
Posted by Rob at May 9, 2004 03:59 PMIt's always nice having other Americans around. Not just fo rthe company, although that's great too, but because it means one more person has figured out that Bulgaria is worth visiting.
The food gets a big no comment at the moment since the tomatoes are presently running 3 leva a kilogram (EXPENSIVE) and were never that good to begin with. I will say that if you like chicken, you can't go wrong in Bulgaria.
To soften that a little, eating in Bulgaria every night is more or less like eating Italian every single night. The food's good for a while, but it never really changes, and it's not all that easy to go out and try a nice Thai meal or something like that to throw off the routine.
Posted by: Rob at May 11, 2004 03:19 PMHey Rob- the circus sounds like fun! And it must be something to run into fellow Americans over there. How is the food now that you have been over there a year... better or are you just getting used to it.
Posted by: Mary at May 10, 2004 03:44 PM