The breakfasts at the hotel in Sofia, well, hostel actually, have been great, cereals, fresh yogurt, homemade bread with the usual continental choices of meat and salad .
Bags packed, I spent time on the iPad with my daughter trying to work out a solution to the problems at the bank with the stolen card that was filched in Bar, Montenegro. She did eventually come up with a great solution and resolved the problem to everyone’s satisfaction using facetime to talk to the bank.

I headed for the train by taxi, the fare just 4.8levas!!! on the meter.Lucky timing had a train leaving within half an hour to go to Plovdiv. The fare for the 2.5 hour trip 9levas or in NZ dollars $5.60. A quiet trip , punctuated by a lot of laughs from some older ladies who were watching the iPad. Of course, I had to share Tom cat. They were delighted, despite not being able to speak any English. Hilarity is the same in any language. The conductor came through and said 10 minutes to Plovdiv, thankfully, as I never know if there will be signs saying what the town is, worse in these countries because of the cyrillic script that is used for writing. Despite learning some of it for this trip, seeing so much of it has confused me most of the time.

Fortunately, there was a lift off the platform which made life a little easier, but there were still steps elsewhere. After negotiating these it was a taxi to the hotel. For once an honest driver, so few and far between, I tip these people well when I find them, the rip off jobs get nothing. I dislike tipping immensely as well. The hotel was surprisingly close to the station, in fact walkable but not with heavy luggage. I was thrilled with the location of the hotel, it is always a bit hit and miss booking online. It was within a few minutes of the main shopping tourist area. As always a check around to see what and where things are. The roman ruins here are delightful, and something I find very interesting.

The room despite being on a busy road has been perfect, once the windows are closed and air con running it is very quiet although no electric jug there is a fridge being used as a mini bar. Still useful for keeping milk and yogurt in .
The next day i took part in a free tour , organised by the information center this time I got it right! There ended up being nine of us with the english speaking guide. It was very interesting, and she showed us things and places with explanations that I would have missed left to my own devices. Particularly fascinating was the fact that if a building is renovated the owners are required to dig the basements out to see if there are any roman remains of a long ago time in history. There have already been some done, and what a wonderful addition they are. One I saw today was under a shopping complex, and being used for dining and cabaret events. The marble steps that had been dug out stunning. I was walking on ground that the romans had used for spectator sports, and watched by some thirty thousand people. It is said that the main street in Plovdiv covers most of the stadium . Certainly sites already exposed prove it beyond a doubt.

To one side of the Information centre were the remains of the Odeon a theatre for 350 patrons . An archeological dig an ongoing work in progress proceeds slowly for any one who wishes to observe above the dig. Every where I came upon various remains of marble , of roman activity wonderful!

We plodded up the cobbled streets after the guide, past the mosque, and churches. She told of various rulers, the romans , the turks or ottoman empire soldiers and how it had affected the bulgarians. Past some wonderful old houses built in the 1800’s and some of the history attached to them. We eventually reached the piece de resistance, the theatre that was built in the first century AD. It was discovered by chance by developers. The whole set waa covered entirely. Now it is used as a theatre again and can seat some 6-7000 theatre goers. What a wonderful gift from the past.

After admiring the theatre it was on again to see more wonderful houses, the remains of the roman fortifications that are still part of the old city today, complete with a lovely arched gateway. The cobblestones didn’t get any easier to walk on. The old city is very much a pedestrian area, as few cars are permitted. and those that do can’t go fast because of the road. We did see an old russian truck bumping its way down hill. We finally reached the top of the hill that the old city is part of and over looks the river. The river wasn’t much as it is going into a dry season, and the heat is almost overpowering. We grabbed every bit of shade we could to listen to the guides stories and explanations. Again I am struck by the stupidity of the graffiti artists whose marks are everywhere around this beautiful city, even on the rocks on the hill possibly put there by the people before the Romans. How dare they spoil all the history !

On the way back to the square after the guide had finished I unfortunately came a cropper on the footpath tripping over one of the pavers. It is actually quite dangerous here for that very reason. They have wonderful trees, but their roots grow and upset the levels of the pavers. I was helped up by a wonderful young french couple who were taking a gap year to travel. They had already spent a couple of months on the road hitchhiking. Not the safest form of travel but so far so good any way. Daphne and Amury were most helpful as was a stranger nearby. Pity I broke my glasses though I won’t be able to get them fixed until I get home again I shouldn’t think. We went up to Maccas for lunch I would have loved to have spent more time with them, but the old saying twos company threes a crowd, really rings true when you travel alone and one never knows whether one is welcome or not.  I was still feeling a little off colour from the fall, so felt it best to go back to the hotel for a rest and cool down. I have spent quieter days here, gently wandering and admiring the ruins. I think they are fantastic.

Today I went down to the seats that have been exposed at the top of the street. I had wanted to but hadn’t seen the steps to do so. The original steps looked just a bit risky,especially having hurt a knee yesterday. I haven’t got the control needed for them! My diet now consists of pizza’s. I discovered a street stall that cooks the most amazing pizzas, and at 1.5 levas a very cheap and tasty meal. Then across to Maccas for dessert and a coke, while updating my email. Happiness exemplified!

The adjacent park is a wonderful area, and is what I call a real park. Wonderful trees and curving pathways, lined by rustic seats with many people sitting enjoying it. Children playing on bikes and skateboards, even a young mothers group all with their very tiny babies. Now and again catching sight of a skinny cat or two. There have been a number that I have noticed around, poor things. Even worse though is the sight of the skinny human variety going through rubbish tins. One pulled out a water bottle with some in it, then went on to drink it, while another fished out a yogurt container that appeared to have some still in side. The next I saw was he was eating with a spoon, so definitely prepared for all occasions! There are many beggars here more so than some of the other places I ‘ve seen.

Discovered a big Carrefour shop on the other side of the road. There are underpasses to reach there, because the road is a busy one , and there are fences to prevent people from going on the roads. Carrefour pops up in all sorts of places, there was also one in Shanghai that was massive. I believe it is of french origin. A great place for grocery shopping, finally. I had asked at reception where the grocery shop was and all she could say was it was down the end of the street!! Never did find that one. The peaches that are in the shops and markets at the moment are the most delicious that I have ever eaten. Just don’t buy them at home, because of the expense and they never seem to be ripe. These are perfect in price and taste.

The days have gone so fast, so its bag packing time again before leaving for Istanbul tomorrow night.