I can't get on the internet reliably from our hotel (a Ramada) here in Plovdiv, so I'm writing this using notepad, hopefully to be posted tomorrow.
After coming in to town in darkness after a full day drive from Istanbul, in increasingly nasty weather in the rain and cold, past run down Soviet era apartment buildings, and checking in at our hotel, we did a walk in the rain around town with our tour guide. In spite of the weather, we discovered what on a nice day would have been a most charming and delightful place. Built on partially excavated ancient Roman ruins, of what was a hippodrome and very large theatre, seating thousands, with coble streets and pleasant restaurants (and stores, which were thankfully closed at the time), this place should not be overlooked if you happen to be in the area (which may be unlikely since I don't think Bulgaria is on anyone's bucket list.) It was to be just an overnight stop on the way to Ruse and our boat, but could reasonably be a good full day or two side trip.
We had a delicious meal in a comfortable side street restaurant, with good wine and food. Now in our hotel, which does not measure up to the Intercontinental Ceylan in Istanbul but probably is excellent in a country where the average monthly wage is 400 €, we are just now trying to see if we should drink the tap water... Judy just managed to google it, and the prognosis is not good: there is a pollution alert, so I will be getting bottles H2O in the lobby.
Anyway, no pics due to the late hour of our tour.
No comments:
Post a Comment