i've spent some time walking through some of the older parts of the city where there are streets & roads that are 1000 - 2000 years old. along the river there are some very old houses that are from 150 - 400 years old. some of them would make a lovely home/studio/gallery but alas, no art market here. $20,000 - $30,000 australian will get you a decent place. of course the bulgarian 'decent place' is a long way short of our standard, but what you lose in refined finishes, you more than make up for with historic value.
spent about 3 hours yesterday walking through the 'bush'. it's called the 'forest' here but it's very different to aussie forest. didn't see any bears, wolves, deer, jackals or other critters, only birds & very few of them too.
i went 'bush bashing' & left markers for myself so i'd find my way back. it was a great walk mostly along & through the forest floor, but i eventually came to a track which i followed for about 2kms before turning back. great walk, great scenery, lovely clear mountains streams.
my hand is holding native bulgarian fruit from a tree we found near the river. they aren't very big but they sure are very nice - taste is like a cross between plum & peach. would make magnificent jam
