The Bulgarian winter
pleasantplacesbulgaria Our first Bulgarian winter There was no water. The previous day’s hesitant spitting followed by a gregarious rush had given way to a total silence. Not even a distant gurgle.…
January 2020
Summertime and the Living is Easy
Summer time and the livin is easy, Fish are jumpin and the cotton is high (Ella Fitzgerald) A slow morning in summer It is thirty two degrees, and it’s only…
Bulgarian Village Life
Where we are In this post I will describe typical Bulgarian village life. Our village is situated about 15 kilometres from the main town of Karlovo . It is a…
Runaway Chickens and Enthusiastic Builders
Since moving to Bulgaria every day seems to bring a new adventure. This morning we were proudly presented with three chickens by one of our lovely neighbours. Excited to welcome…
Baba Marta – Rites of Spring
The advent of spring was traditionally seen as a transition between the death of winter and new life and rebirth. Countless fertility rituals exist across the world to mark this…
Epiphany Celebrations – Kalofer Bulgaria
In England, the sixth of January(Epiphany) marks the demise of the Christmas decorations we have so lovingly installed just a few weeks earlier. I have always found this a sad…
New Year’s Eve in Bulgaria
A Year in Provence’ begins with the New Year celebrations. We had already been here a few months by the time our first New Year cane around, but, like Mayle,…
Karlovo – Our Nearest Town
Karlovo is our nearest large town and we love it! There is a beautiful square surrounded by bars and restaurants where one can sit on one of the many balmy…
The ‘Massa’ – Buying Furniture in Bulgaria
In this post, I share our experiences of buying furniture in Bulgaria. I have mentioned elsewhere that my blog was originally inspired by a reading of A Year in Provence.…