On Sunday, August 25th, we got up too early for breakfast at the hotel, caught the train to the airport and flew out on Lufthansa to Sofia. We didn't get our Bulgarian leva in the airport itself, because the ATMs we saw there appeared to be related to exchange bureaus, but there was a bank ATM machine next to the ticket machine at the Metro station, necessary because the ticket machine didn't accept credit cards.
Rick Steves Europe had given exact instructions as to how to use the Metro to get to the hotel, the Crystal Palace Boutique Hotel on Shipka Street. We left our luggage with Talaat, the very nice and very helpful Egyptian bellman, then went looking for lunch.
I had seen the Rainbow Factory Two on Tripadvisor, but it was not easy to find, because the signs there were all in Bulgarian. I was only sure about its identity when we decided to eat there anyway--the staff speaks very good English and the English menu had the word "rainbow" in one or more of the offerings. Your order and pick up at the counter. We ended up having to share a table with a Bulgarian guy and a Chinese guy, both in their twenties. The restaurant, near the University, has a very student vibe. The food was good.
At 4:00 we met our tour group, including 22 other Americans and the guide, Stefan, who currently guides all the Rick Steves Bulgaria tours. there was the usual orientation. After a break, we went on a walk in the neighborhood, starting across the street in Doctors' Park, dedicated to the Russian medical men killed in the 1877-1878 war against the Ottomans that gave Bulgaria its independence, after 500 years of Ottoman rule.
We went to dinner together at a nearby restaurant--I forget which--where we had Bulgarian cuisine, family-style.
Rick Steves Europe had given exact instructions as to how to use the Metro to get to the hotel, the Crystal Palace Boutique Hotel on Shipka Street. We left our luggage with Talaat, the very nice and very helpful Egyptian bellman, then went looking for lunch.
I had seen the Rainbow Factory Two on Tripadvisor, but it was not easy to find, because the signs there were all in Bulgarian. I was only sure about its identity when we decided to eat there anyway--the staff speaks very good English and the English menu had the word "rainbow" in one or more of the offerings. Your order and pick up at the counter. We ended up having to share a table with a Bulgarian guy and a Chinese guy, both in their twenties. The restaurant, near the University, has a very student vibe. The food was good.
At 4:00 we met our tour group, including 22 other Americans and the guide, Stefan, who currently guides all the Rick Steves Bulgaria tours. there was the usual orientation. After a break, we went on a walk in the neighborhood, starting across the street in Doctors' Park, dedicated to the Russian medical men killed in the 1877-1878 war against the Ottomans that gave Bulgaria its independence, after 500 years of Ottoman rule.
We went to dinner together at a nearby restaurant--I forget which--where we had Bulgarian cuisine, family-style.
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