Week 25 & 26

Sorry for the late posting but we had family to stay and so the blog was put on hold for a week but here we are back on track. I will try and keep it short and sweet.

Monday was a beautiful hot day so up early to make a few last minute titivations to the house before our guests arrive on Wednesday. So whilst Pammi tidied the vegetable plot I made a start cleaning up the outside kitchen. Pammi is in the garden when Baba B pops breakfast of egg fried bread with a plum compote over the fence! Delicious.

One job we have been meaning to do is create a polytunnel for the tomatoes, so out of a spare sheet of rebar and some plastic sheeting from the local shop we built one. It is really strong and works so well next year we will probably make a full size walk-in polytunnel out of re-bar.

Breakfast of egg fried bread

Outdoor kitchen looking good

Courtyard all set up

Homemade polytunnel

Tuesday was off to Popovo to stock up on fruit and veg from the market. Whilst there we also bought a lemon tree which I have wanted for ages. When we got home it was so hot and sunny (it reached 30 degrees in the afternoon) we took a well earned rest before our guests arrived.

Lemon tree with two lemons

Wednesday was a Britsih summers day (it poured of rain all day, the heaviest we have seen since we arrived), typically just in time for A&M arrival, their plane was even delayed due to storms in Romania. That evening we sat in the outside kitchen which is under cover and watched the storms.

Thursday thankfully was a hot sunny day when temperatures were in the mid 20's again. We all spent the day lounging in the sun and then taking a stroll around the village. Whilst sitting in the courtyard having our evening meal Efan came round to show us a tortoise he had dug up from his garden.

Efan dug up this baby tortoise

An evening in the outside kitchen

Friday we took our guests for a walk around the market at Popovo and then to a new restaurant we found in Opaka. The restaurant was great but the portions were huge, which we should have guessed by the look on the waitresses face as we ordered. The food however was delicious and a good mix of vegetarian and meat dishes. But the weather was lovely again and it was a great few hours out.

Beautiful new restaurant in Opaka

This main course would have easily fed four people

Saturday the weather is lovely again so we take them to Cherven to the medieval village. Whilst the girls went to the village top M and I sat and watched the world go by beside the riverbank. As usual we cooked the evening meal outside in the clay oven and just chatted all evening.

A pair of nesting storks in  our village

Sunday and the rain returned which the gardens desperately needed so we all spent the day chilling around the house.

Monday it continued to rain so we went off to show them the sights of Ruse. Luckily the rain was patchy so we were able to look around without drowning.

Efan and Baba B pop round to meet our guests

Tuesday and still raining. Everytime we get guests from England it rains - is it so they are not homesick? A&M wanted to stay here but we wanted to research the ancient monuments at Sboryanovo, so off Pammy and I went on a two hour drive on the most horrific roads ever. How the car stayed in one piece is beyond me. Anyway we finally got there to find that the whole place was closed until tomorrow arrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhhh. Turn around and another two hour return journey home. We will try again though as it has 140 tombs there and centuries of history all in one place.

Wednesday the weather is scorching - perfect for A&M's last day before they fly home, so they spend the day resting in the garden.

Thursday is a trip into Ruse to meet the taxi to take them back to the airport. To make the best of the time in Ruse we also do our monthly shop.

Friday the weather continues to be hot so I get on with strimming the lawn whilst Pammi cleans the apartment. Then I try to change the blades on the strimmer and for some reason it just spins on the bolt. So despite it being Good Friday here I go off to Popovo where the shop is able to do a temporary repair until I can get to Ruse for the main dealer to replace the part. No job ever seems to run smoothly but at least I am able to cut the lawn now which due to the sun / rain / sun weather is looking like a real lawn after only a few weeks.

Saturday I go into Ruse to get the blade bolt replaced but after a few hours waiting for the part to arrive I decide to come back next week. A bit of a waste of half a day but nothing I can do. In the afternoon Monica drops in which was great as it seems we have not seen her for ages. She is staying with her family and friends at her beautiful hideaway cottage in a village not far from here for the Easter holiday. As she leaves Baba B arrives to show Pammi how to plant her tomatoes that she and TH had brought round for us whilst I was out. The next few hours are spent planting out the tomatoes in the most precise way ever. Once they are all in we give Baba B a bag full of lettuce and spinach from our garden to say thank you. At last we can give a homegrown present from our garden to a neighbour.

Easter Sunday and we finish the week by taking the day out to research a few more tourist attractions in the area. It is so hot and sunny that our first stop is Hotnista where there are some stunning waterfalls which are lovely and cooling. It is a lovely spot with lots of areas for BBQ's and picnics and you could spend a day here easily but off we go to Nikopolis ad Istrum which has ruins of a Roman town including streets and a public bath. Last stop on the way home is the bat caves which were closed the last time we went there. But today they were open and the place was packed. It has many areas for picnics and BBQ's and everyone seemed to be very well organised with large family parties going on everywhere. The caves were amazing and are well worth a visit. They have even repaired the safety rails at the viewing point where we were able to watch a deer family including their very young feed by the riverbank way down in the valley. All in all a very useful but chilled out end to our week.

Hotnista Waterfalls

In the village approaching the Nikopolis

Inside the Orlova Bat Caves

Amazing formations

It is back to the grindstone tomorrow but we have really enjoyed our week off. We will lots of pictures of produce that are now ready for picking but I have not had time to photograph as yet. A very busy week ahead.

Take care all.