This is me, waiting for my flight in Luton airport. I was very excited back then, having just turned 18, and it was my first holiday without the parents.
At the time, this is what EVERYONE was reading, and it was on the aeroplane of August 2010 that I first met Edward Cullen, my future husband.
...and this being my first Cosmopolitan (which I detested when I first tried it at 18, but have now grown to enjoy the taste of the sweet alcohol)
Summer dresses and cocktails
Trying out Bulgarian beer (Finally being legally old enough to buy alcohol)
and becoming quite a hit at the hotel karaoke!
My star sign is Cancer, so the beach is effectively, my second home
The highlight of the holiday definitely had to be meeting Ronald McDonald, my old childhood friend
And of course, caressing Marilyn Monroe's right boob
Sunset and a single red rose
And of course, it wouldn't be right to leave a foreign country without getting a tattoo of a Chinese symbol (strength) on one's neck.
All in all, this holiday was a lot of fun. I was young, excited, in love and happy here and I would definitely recommend a holiday in Bulgaria, providing you go with someone who can speak the native language as there were some slick salesmen lurking around every corner ;) Bulgaria is a forgotten, beautiful country, and I loved it so much, I went back another 5 times!
My second time in Bulgaria was in February 2011. Bulgaria is one of those countries that have very definite seasons, hot summers, warm springs, red autumns and white winters, and it was definitely a white winter during this holiday. We went to a place called Velingrad, and stayed at the Velina Spa Hotel in the mountains. On the way from the airport to the hotel, I desperately needed the toilet, but my bladder dried up as soon as I saw the only facilities available for ladies was this...
Yup, you had to 'squat' over it, and I, after opening the door, waited until we got to the hotel.
The hotel was beautiful, another 5*, and it wasn't long after we arrived that I was off to get a massage from an old, busty Bulgarian woman, and swim in the mineral water pools they had by the gym.
I got to try out the typical cuisine during this time in Bulgaria, which consisted purely of grilled meat and very tasty salads!
'Most Bulgarian dishes are oven baked, steamed or in the form of stew. Deep-frying is not very typical, but grilling - especially different kinds of meats- is very common. Pork meat is the most common meat in the Bulgarian cuisine. Oriental dishes do exist in Bulgarian cuisine with the most common being moussaka, gyuvetch, and baklava. A very popular ingredient in Bulgarian cuisine is the Bulgarian white brine cheese called 'sirene'. It is the main ingredient in many salads, as well as in a variety of pastries. Fish and chicken are widely eaten and while beef is less common as most cattle are bred for milk production rather than mear, veal is a natural byproduct of this process and it is found in many popular recipes. Bulgaria is a net exporter of lamb and its own consumption of the mear is prevalent during its production time in spring. Essentially South Slavic, it shares characteristics with other balkan cuisines. Owing to the relatively warm climate and diverse geography affording excellent growth conditions for a variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits, Bulgarian cuisine is culturally diverse'.
The outdoor mineral water swimming pool that I never dared go in because it was -5 degrees outside, but 35 degrees inside the pool!
This was a holiday filled with eating good food, getting massages daily, swimming, lazing about in saunas and drinking finely aged wine and my favourite of all... chocolate-filled pancakes!
My last time in Bulgaria was in August 2012, and this was a 2 week, casual holiday, where we stayed in my boyfriend's family home.
Once again, my bladder failed me on the way from the airport to the place we were staying, and in the only petrol station for miles, I had to succumb to the hole-in-the-floor...
I got to meet the family dog, named Cindy
But had to go around wearing a splint, having fractured my wrist in Crete a few weeks before
Pancakes with chocolate is a desert available in every restaurant, and I did not let the opportunity pass me by once!
Especially ones filled with banana too!
We went high into the mountains of Apriltsi one morning
And a dead one... :/
Couldn't leave the comfort of working behind a bar for too long...
I have had amazing times in Bulgaria, and I'd love to go back again and again! I hope you've enjoyed reading about my time in the country, and if you have any questions, just ask me!
Lots of love, your Female Londoner, Daniela xx
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