September 29, 2023 • 52 mins
Want to come to Bulgaria with me? For real. My friend Zlatina (who's also today's guest) and I are bringing a small group here for an authentic Balkan experience in May. This is not some naff bus tour. We're inviting a max of 10 world travelers to join us to explore Bulgaria's hidden gems (as well as its most culturally significant sites).
Get on the waitlist now so you get priority to come plus a special early-bird rate.
How amazing does this sound: walking along the ancient Roman amphitheater; sipping award-winning wine in the Thracian Valley; inhaling the floral fragrance of roses in the fields; soaking in the waters of a life-giving spa; dining with new friends in excellent restaurants – if that sounds like your idea of a good time, come with us May 15-21, 2024.
Back to today's episode...
Plovdiv, Bulgaria is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Walking through the Old Town is like walking through an open museum, with its cobblestone streets, centuries-old houses, and ancient masterpieces — including the Roman amphitheater, where you can still watch shows.
But this isn’t a city frozen in time.
Named a European Capital of Culture, it's a city of festivals and creative energy, especially in districts like Kapana (“the Trap”).
Today I’m speaking with my friend Zlatina Ervenlieva, a world traveler, tour guide, Bulgarian native, and all around fantastic spirit.
In this episode, you’ll hear insider travel tips on what to see, do, and savor in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and beyond.
Get on the waitlist to join Zlatina and I in Bulgaria for a trip of a lifetime in May.
Does the phrase “public speaking” make you feel a little sick…even if it’s just a team meeting or a group conversation?
I made something to help you.
Calm Your Nerves in 90 Seconds is a free anxiety-reduction toolkit with a guided meditation and journal to help you communicate with confidence.
Use it anytime your brain goes into overdrive and you need a reset.
https://sarahmikutel.com/reset
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Live Without Worders, a podcast about
how to live the good lifethrough stoicism, personal
development and culturalexploration.
I'm your host, sarah Migatell,an American in England who's
here to help fellow citizens ofthe world like you make the most
of the brief time you have hereon Earth.
It is time to make every momentmatter.
Plovdiv is one of the oldestcontinuously inhabited cities in
(00:27):
the world.
Looking through the old town,it's like walking through an
open museum, with itscobblestone streets,
centuries-old houses and ancientmasterpieces, including the
Roman amphitheater, and you canstill watch shows there today.
But Plovdiv is not a city thatis frozen in time.
It's been named a Europeancapital of culture.
It's a city of festivals andcreative energy, especially in
(00:50):
districts like Copana, whichthey call the Trap.
And today I am speaking with myfriend, zlatina Ervanlieva, and
she is a world traveler, a tourguide, a Plovdiv native, and
she's just an all-aroundfantastic spirit, and you will
definitely catch that vibe heretoday.
In this episode, zlatina issharing her travel tips on what
to see, do and savor in Plovdiv,bulgaria and beyond.
(01:11):
Did you know that Bulgaria is ahuge wine producer and that
Plovdiv is located in the heartof the Thracian wine valley?
And if you like to relax inanother way, this region is full
of spas ready to pay for you.
I visited Bulgaria for thefirst time this summer and I
loved it so much that Zlatinaand I are going to host a
(01:32):
Bulgarian experience for you inMay 2024.
That is right.
We are taking a small group ofworld travelers to Bulgaria in
May.
If you love ancient history,fabulous food, hidden gems,
unforgettable experiences, youneed to come with us.
I'll share more info about thisat the end of the episode, but
you will want to sign up for ourwaitlist today, because this is
(01:53):
going to give you priorityaccess to sign up for the trip
and an early bird offer Withoutfurther ado.
Let's jump into my conversationwith Zlatina so you can hear all
about the magical things youcan experience in Plovdiv and
the surrounding areas ofBulgaria.
Enjoy Welcome, zlatina.
Thank you so much for joiningme today.
Thank you so much for having me.
(02:14):
It's a real pleasure.
So you are a very well-traveledperson and you're spending the
summer in Folkestone and I'm soglad that I got a chance to meet
you and become friends with you.
So what brought you here?
Speaker 2 (02:26):
I came to Folkestone in early springtime and I
thought, oh, I really want toknow more about the town.
It looked very creative, it'sby the coast, there's loads of
history, and this is how I endup spending two months thanks to
dear friends of mine, and I'mvery, very grateful for this
(02:47):
opportunity.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Yeah, folkestone is a strange place where people come
for a visit and then decide tomove here.
So many people.
I've lived in many, many placesand this is Folkestone's the
only place where people are likeyou know what?
I think I'm going to move myentire life here, so it's very,
but I can see why it's such afun beach town.
I love it.
So you are from Bulgaria, butyou've been living in England
(03:09):
for quite a few years now.
Where is Bulgaria exactly?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Bulgaria is located on a very strategic place on the
Balkans, the Balkan Peninsula.
Our neighbors are Black Seacoast, which we're very proud of
, on the east.
On the west, we have NorthMacedonia, serbia.
On the north, divided by theDanube River, is Romania, and
(03:35):
south is Greece and Turkey.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
When did tourism start to become more popular in
Bulgaria?
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Well, during the mid 20th century there was so-called
the Balkan tourism.
So during the communist andsocialist regime in Bulgaria,
there were no independent touroperators.
It was all government run, soour tourists were mainly from
Germany, russia, czech Republic.
(04:04):
So I believe that tourism isonly starting now and, as I
mentioned to you, I'm verypassionate about slow tourism,
where you connect with the localculture, local destination and
hopefully most countriespreserve their authenticity,
something we could definitelyappreciate more.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Well, that's what I would love to dive into with you
today authentic experiences inBulgaria, especially in Plovdiv.
So that is where you are fromand you're going back in
September.
So, aside from friends andfamily, what are you most
looking forward to seeing ordoing or drinking when you're
back in Plovdiv?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yes, Plovdiv.
I was born and raised inPlovdiv.
At that time, I've always, deepinside me, knew that it's quite
a special, special town and itwas very fortunate to win an
initiative called EuropeanCapital of Culture.
This is for 2019, the purposeof this initiative is to help
(05:11):
different small places indifferent countries in Europe.
The whole year during thisperiod, there are a lot of
activities happening.
So in Plovdiv in 2019, inJanuary there was a big grand
opening of ceremonies andthroughout the whole year there
were loads of outdoor concertsattracting different visitors.
So I'm very much lookingforward to have to start with a
(05:34):
visit to the old town of Plovdiv.
It's a UNESCO listed WorldHeritage Site.
It's in the tentative list ofUNESCO and, just having a little
wonder, it's such a magicalplace to be?
Speaker 1 (05:46):
What makes it a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
What's so special about it?
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Most houses in Plovdiv, in the old town, are
from the revival period.
This is when Bulgaria imaginedmid 19th century, 19th century,
and most of the houses are ofdifferent merchants.
The second part of the house,the architecture everything is
(06:14):
very, very unique.
There's also a Romanamphitheater where even nowadays
we still use it 1st century AD,and one of my favorite spots to
have a cup of tea overlookingthe city is just there.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
A cup of tea.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
so you become English now I become very English, I'm
guilty of that, but just walkingaround, a lot of them are open
for visiting and you travel backin time.
In one of the houses it was avery rich merchant, merchant who
on his wall he has a paintingof Constantinople what is now
(06:52):
Istanbul also from Vienna.
For that time this wassomething really, really unique,
as only wealthy people couldtravel and you could imagine how
long it was taking them withouthaving our comfort of flying.
Nowadays you could fly toPlovdiv in just two hours and a
half more or less, from LondonStansted, where back in time it
was taking them, I don't know amonth or two to travel within
(07:16):
Europe, and we shouldn'tunderestimate the comfort we
have now of visiting differentplaces.
So, yes, I'm very much lookingforward to go and visit all the
sites within.
Plovdiv is very walkable.
Within four hours.
You can easily walk in the mainyes, in the main school, in the
(07:37):
city center, so to speak, fromthe main square to Cappana,
which is the creative district.
It means trap.
I absolutely love theatmosphere there and also
meeting my friends who are localtour guides, as they constantly
they're so passionate about thecity and they constantly come
up with new things to introducelocal stories and information,
(08:01):
and it's beautiful also to speakto people who are on the same
page as you.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
So you mentioned that merchant house, which sounds so
interesting.
Is that open for us to visit?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yes, it's open.
There's another house where youcan see a real now this person.
He was very passionate aboutrose oil.
He was also a merchant and youcan see a rose oil fountain for
that time and from the wall it'scoming a little.
Yeah, it's a rose oil photo.
It's very hard to explain asthis is something unique and you
(08:37):
have to see it and sort of evensmell it and the moment you
enter in his house, imagine thisaromatic roses, the rose
d'amastena.
Very often when I mention tosomebody, oh, I'm from Bulgaria,
they say, oh, the land of roses.
That's another unique thingabout, about this territory is
that we grow the rose d'amastenaand and you use it in perfumes,
(08:59):
cosmetics.
We export it to France.
Nowadays they use it in perfumeselection and they'll do your
cosmetics for face.
It's really, really good foryou.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Can you just tell me the name of that merchant house?
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Yes, the house is called Clianti.
They're very yeah, not veryeasy names Clianti.
You can also visit theethnographic museum.
The more time passes, the morehouses they open.
There is an ancient pharmacythat you can visit, like the way
they were.
The pharmacy looks the way itwas in 200 years ago, so it's
(09:40):
quite something.
So it's still a pharmacy.
It's now only a house museumand the guide indoors will tell
you all about how they werehealing people back in time.
It's a proper time travel.
Even entering one of thosehouses.
You can buy a group ticket.
You can visit five houses Withthis ticket.
It's only 15 level around eightyears, and in every house there
(10:04):
is a guide who will welcome youat the door and will give you
some information about who wasliving in these houses, what was
the family and how, whatlifestyle they had.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
What are if I came to visit you.
What are?
Some other must haveexperiences.
I should try out while I'm inPlopdip.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
There is a very big Roman stadium that, to be quite
honest, as a local, we totallytake for granted, as if every
single city in the world thereis a Roman stadium.
Imagine the main pedestrianstreet.
You're walking on top of thisstadium.
It's just underneath, under allthe houses, approximately
around three meters, four meters.
(10:47):
Imagine it like that.
It's just underneath and partof it you could still see.
It used to sit 30,000 people30,000, my mind even doesn't
comprehend it.
So they would get water throughan aqueduct from the Rodope
Mountains which is just next toPlopdip.
I mean, they Romans.
(11:07):
This whole stadium would befilled up with water and they
would do different sports games,entertainment or all sorts of
performances Not exactlytheatrical, but mainly games and
30,000 people.
It's quite a significant numberand you can walk from the
(11:28):
beginning.
The guide will tell you whereis the beginning of the stadium
up until the end, and it'sexactly under the main
pedestrian street of the city.
The Roman, yes, amphitheaterwas built one of the emperors,
the Roman emperors, and evennowadays you can see the names
engraved on the seats.
7,000 people were able to sit.
(11:51):
Nowadays, we welcome different,let's say, stink was there?
Well, so many names.
There is a big, big programstarting from June until
September opera, theater, youname it.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
That's great, so all summer you can see live
performances.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Oh, summer.
Luckily the weather is good,and imagine the blue sky, when,
once you see it, it's stilldaytime around 8 pm and suddenly
you see the sunset and then youhave all the stars while
watching a performance.
It's magical.
And the acoustics and the sound.
It's on top of a hill.
They were really, really goodwith the job they did with the
(12:31):
acoustics and the sound, thewhole surroundings.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
So many ancient things still around to keep us
entertained, the way people werethousands of years ago.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
It's amazing, it is yes, time travel, absolutely
time travel.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
What are some hidden gems that you like to take your
tours on?
Speaker 2 (12:51):
I would say nobody climbs one of the hills.
Well, I wouldn't say nobody,but people usually underestimate
one of the hills that is verynear.
It's called Alosha.
There is a soldier on top ofthe hill and it's such a
beautiful walk.
It's very green to get all theway up and from there it's the
highest of all of the sevenhills.
You can see the city and it'sfascinating how, where you are
(13:17):
on the opposite side, you cansee the old town and the city
center Absolutely fantastic.
Even on a nice sunny eveningyou could get a glass, a bottle
of wine and some cheese and justenjoy the views during sunset.
It's a beautiful sunset spot,but also a sunrise.
For those of you who areinterested, yes, the name of the
(13:38):
hill is Alosha.
What else In Plovdiv you couldsee, depending on your interest?
There is a rowing canal, fivekilometers long rowing canal,
not too far from the city center, and they do European and world
competitions in rowing Again inthe summer, during July, you
(13:58):
can walk.
It's like a park space, veryquiet Within the city center.
In numerous places you can dowine tasting.
We shouldn't forget that theTrations, the first tribe, were
almost the first people in theterritory of Europe to produce
wine.
So nowadays in Bulgaria we alsoproduce a lot of wine.
I believe that wine takes youon a journey once you're in the
(14:21):
local destination, especiallythe local wine.
There is a grape variety calledMavrut.
It's a red wine, normally morerecommended for the winter
months, but still it's worthtasting it.
And Barnezzo, we shouldn'tforget, through food and drinks,
I believe you really, reallyconnect with the local
(14:43):
destination.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Let's talk more about food then, if you'd like to
talk about food.
So what are some vegetarianfoods that we should try?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Most of the veggies.
They come from the local areaand around Plovdiv the climate
is very favorable.
We have a traditional food,unfortunately not vegetarian.
It's called Musaka.
You could still cook it in itsvegetarian version.
It's cooked with potatoes,carrots, onion.
We do obviously add minced meat, and to cover it there is a
(15:15):
layer of yogurt.
As you know, yogurt is very,very famous Yogurt flour, a
little bit of salt.
It doesn't sound out of pilling, but when you see it cooked in
a specific way it's verydelicious.
Also, different mushrooms,cooked wild greens, spinach.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
What's the typical breakfast in Bulgaria?
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Typical breakfast we love more.
It might come a little bitheavy, as it's mainly, let's say
, banica.
Banica is you use phyllo pastrycheese eggs, you mix all these
and you bake it in the oven, soa lot of people have banita.
For breakfast, there issomething called Mekiti.
(16:03):
This is a fried dough.
I know it sounds weird, butit's really, really delicious.
So you have this fried doughwith, let's say, strawberry jam
or any other jam that normallygrandmothers produce yet, so
like a homemade jam.
We're not picking on breakfast,though.
(16:25):
It's not something.
You might even easily skipbreakfast and just have, as I
said, a cup of coffee, but lunchis quite something in dinner,
so most portions in Bulgaria arequite big.
The main purpose of this iswhen we go out, we like to share
food, and people are very oftenthey're a little bit shocked by
(16:45):
the size of salads and maincourses.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
We love sharing food.
Okay, so people generally likeorder some things and then share
it.
Yes, it somehow unites.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
You have you noticed that when you have something and
somebody is like oh, that looksreally, really yummy, so people
share, you feel like you belongto something bigger than
yourself.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Oh nice, yeah, I mean that's a good cultural tip to
to mention, because, yeah, notall, not all cultures are like
that.
I guess I get might as you getyours.
Maybe you can try a bite.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Yes, no, we absolutely love and, yeah, it's
more like sharing food.
Sharing is caring.
The other thing which I wouldrecommend when you travel to
Bulgaria and to the Balkans isto travel with an open heart, as
quite often you might find ourcustomer service slightly
different than what one wouldexpect.
(17:41):
People have occasionally alittle bit of straight face, and
I wouldn't necessarily call itbeing rude, but you might have a
little sense, especially comingfrom the UK where everyone is
overly polite.
That's a bit of a culture ofdifference.
I'm not sure how to put itexactly in words.
I guess that's part of our alsosocialist time when you
(18:04):
couldn't trust much anyone.
Like people were, although theyfelt safe and secure on some
levels and they thought they'reequal, but on a psychological
level they couldn't trust much.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
So was this kind of like keeping a straight face
right, Kind of like not showingyour cards, maybe?
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Yeah, just looking a bit serious in a way that not
necessarily it's not a sign of,oh, I don't want to talk to you.
It's more of a sign of, oh, Ihave my own things going on and
I'm not in a super happy place.
I've noticed that when Iorganize tours and I go with
friends and they say, oh, thisperson was a little bit way too
(18:49):
serious and I thought, oh,imagine how many things are
happening in their life.
So it's a cultural difference,for sure.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Yeah, it's a very good thing to be mindful of
because, yeah, when you're goinginto and I would say especially
for Americans, where we'requite can often be quite open
and smiling to people we don'tknow, necessarily when that's
not reciprocated, that can feelquite rude.
And so when you can be mindfulof, oh, this is just a different
(19:20):
culture and they're notnecessarily trying to be rude,
it has nothing to do with you,it's just how they are, then I
think that can help you have abetter experience because you're
not sort of obsessing aboutwhat could be going wrong.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Yes, totally no, it's traveling with an open heart.
I just love love.
This expression allows you tobe less judgmental and to
connect with other human beingsmore, as we all live on the same
planet Earth.
But everything is so differentThink about it Even in the
(19:55):
States, the difference from onestate to another, although
you're united by the sameculture.
But still, people here do thatand people there don't do that,
and little things like that.
But yeah, it's just being open.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Well, something that I find very fascinating is, you
know, countries tend to havedifferent overall cultures, but
of course, we are all individualpeople and sometimes it just
seems like people are born intothe wrong place and if they were
somewhere else, they would beso much more understood.
Like, the Dutch culture is knownto be quite direct and frank
(20:33):
and honest and they're nottrying to be rude.
But if you're not from thatculture it can seem quite
shocking how blunt they can be.
But I know I've heard people inthe US who are like that, or
even some neurodivergent peoplewho that's just how their brain
works, to be quite direct, andthey're like oh, I should have
been born in this other country.
But yeah, like to your point,it's a big world and if we can
(20:57):
just be more open-minded aboutwhere different people are
coming from, I think that justhelps everybody get along better
.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Oh, totally.
You couldn't say it morebeautiful than this.
Yes, and that's the beauty oftravel you realize that not
everyone is like you, noteveryone comes from the same how
to say, like, not social status, but from the same starting
point, and to me, it helps me togenerate a sense of gratitude
(21:25):
for everything that I've had theopportunity to experience, as
traveling really, really opensyour mind and, yes, you never
come back the same.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Would you agree?
Yeah, 100%.
And it's also like helpful toknow people's history as well.
I mean as a culture, theirhistory, like before you go to a
country, learn a little bitabout what people may have gone
through like, especially overhere in Europe, where there were
a lot of countries that werehave been in war in our
(21:57):
lifetimes.
Oh yes, you know I just as anaside I met I was on a walk this
morning here in Folkestone andI met this guy from Croatia and
he seemed maybe late 40s, early50s, and we just had a pleasant
casual chat.
But later I was thinking Iwonder if you were, like, if you
were in the war and we oftendon't give people that grace to
(22:21):
think of like wow, you must havebeen through a lot, you know.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Totally yes.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Well, gary has such a rich history.
It's been occupied by so manydifferent groups of people.
How has this influenced thedevelopment of the country, both
the architecture, or is thereany particular historical period
that you think is reallyinteresting that you want to
share?
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Oh, I love your question as one of the first
things I share with friends orvisitors or people who visit,
especially my hometown, plovdiv.
This is the second city inBulgaria is that?
Plovdiv, and most of Bulgaria,even Sofia, the capital, is like
a pancake.
So there are layers and layersand layers of history.
(23:04):
To start with the Thraciansthey are a tribe that imagine
they were the northern neighborsof the ancient Greeks.
We've all heard of the ancientGreeks, so the Thracians were
their neighbors and theybelieved in afterlife.
So nowadays we find a lot ofgraves and artifacts and
(23:29):
jewellery and possessions andgold, gold vessels.
So yeah, thracians haven't leftmuch of a return.
They didn't have alphabets orwe don't know much about them,
but we have discovered uneartheda lot of artifacts and I'm
absolutely fascinating by thisperiod.
On one of our tours we visit anancient Thracian tomb on top of
(23:52):
an ever hill.
They were very strategicallyalways positioned in a safe
place on top of a hill.
Plovdiv is also on seven hills,so you could just imagine
layers and layers of history.
The metro station in Sofia theywere just digging and creating
the metro station when theyfound this big, spacious streets
(24:17):
of a Roman town, so I would saythe whole territory Bulgaria
and the Balkans is absoluteheaven for archaeologists.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Yeah, and also the Ottomans were there.
It was another one of thegroups that was there, so
they've heavily influencedarchitecture and, I'm sure, the
culture in some ways.
I think I heard one out of 10people in Bulgaria are Muslim.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Yes, yes, so we still have quite fairly close
connection.
Well, we are just few hoursfrom Istanbul and the border
with Turkey, but you'reabsolutely right, these were the
Thracians, the Romans, then theOttoman Empire for five
centuries.
Five centuries is quite adecent amount of time.
So we feel very connected withcountries like Romania, north
(25:04):
Macedonia, serbia, greece andTurkey.
Think about all those countries, five centuries, coexisting
together.
Yeah, it's fascinating.
We have we have very muchcoffee country.
Well, now you remind me of a bigdifference with the UK.
It's part of our Ottomanheritage the cuisine, the food,
(25:26):
yes, and you could still visitdifferent buildings built in the
15th, 16th century, themedieval period when actually,
the Ottoman Empire, from the14th until the 19th century, we
were very much craved thisindependence and when it
happened, that was anotherperiod of Bulgarian history.
Also, during the medieval time,there was a period when Bulgaria
(25:49):
reached Black Aegean andAdriatic Sea just before the
Ottoman Empire, and it was likethe gold century of the
Bulgarian culture anddevelopment.
So it's really loads tocomprehend, but I would
encourage people to travel andexplore the Balkans, as it's
(26:11):
really a territory that it's notvery well advertised.
You cannot find much about theBalkans, and what I would also
recommend is visit the Balkanswith a local.
If you go to Romania, to yourbest to connect with local
guides, local companies thatwill show you off the beaten
path.
There are loads of, loads ofthings to discover Just on the
(26:34):
sideways of the main pedestrianstreets and squares, like the
secret, secret blue doors thatyou open it, and upstairs
there's a coffee shop,restaurant or a church, a mosque
.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Well, back to Plavdiv .
So we talked about a few thingsto do.
Is there anything else you wantto share?
Do you have any favoriteexperiences that you've had
yourself in your hometown thatyou want to talk about?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Oh, totally.
We shouldn't forget the spa.
The spa sector is.
Bulgaria is the second countryin Europe after Iceland that is
very blessed with mineral watersprings.
So for those, for those of youwho really love experiencing
yeah, swimming or different,other, let's say, treatments,
this is a quite good destinationto go.
(27:19):
I can recommend different citiesaround Plavdiv.
There is a place just next toPlavdiv called Starrusel or
Velingrad.
It's a town not far away fromPlavdiv.
They call it the spa capital ofBulgaria.
And again in the middle of thecountry they're scattered around
a lot of.
Hisaria is a small town, onlyhalf an hour, half an hour to 40
(27:42):
minutes from Plavdiv, and Ibelieve that this is part of
what travel will look like,where we'll need to slow down,
even just hide your phone andyour computer so you can
completely connect with yourself.
And another way of experiencingthe country is visiting a spa
hotel.
(28:02):
Even around Plotif there's somany.
So once you do a city break inPlotif, you could do a day trip.
That doesn't have to be a wholeovernight stay, it could be
just a day trip to a spa resort.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
I love that idea and I love day trips.
So what other day trips arethere?
Is there a place you wouldrecommend to go for a wine
tasting or any other experiences?
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Yes, quite classical is Batkov monostry.
It's a famous, popular monostry, again, approximately half an
hour to 40 minutes from Plotif.
There are numerous, numerouswineries around Plotif in less
than 25 minutes where they opentheir doors and again you can do
wine tasting while visiting alittle village or town.
(28:51):
Again, hisari, as I mentioned,is a spa destination.
Again, sofia is not far away,just an hour on the highway, an
hour and a half on the highway.
We do go to the Rose Valley onthe day trip from Plotif in May
and June.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
And what do you do in that Rose region?
Are you just walking throughfields of roses?
How does that?
Speaker 2 (29:18):
Oh, it's the most favorite day of the year.
It's every beginning of June,1st weekend.
It's a program, so you arriveat around 8 am, a bit of an
early start.
You wake up fairly early to getthere and there's a folklore
program dancing, singing.
They give you a little basketand you go in the fields and you
pick up your own roses that youtake home with you and then
(29:42):
your room and apartment smellslike heaven, very, very special.
The other special thing is thatthe rose blossoms only from mid
of May to mid of June.
It's a little window that wehave in this one month a year
that you can pick up, collectthe roses and a lot of
(30:03):
activities going on.
Imagine, like a space, openspace.
There is a little amphitheaterwith a stage where dancing,
singing is happening, walkingaround a small ethnographic
museum where you see how theyproduced rose oil back in time.
Like really, really special.
They've kept everything peoplewere using and, yeah, walking
(30:26):
around the fields of roses,singing and dancing.
It connects you with thedestination.
It's the folklore, it's thetraditions that remain, if you
think about it, and unless wemaintain it and preserve it, it
will just disappear and we'llforget about it.
And that's what I love abouthistory and getting to know a
destination like getting as faras back in time as possible.
(30:50):
So, as you said, you know whypeople are the way they are at
the moment, and if we forgethistory, history repeats itself.
So I believe we have to be veryopen and honest about things
and just see how we couldimplement them in our own life.
Yeah, I suppose.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
You had mentioned that you like slow travel, and
so do I.
I like to spend a month inItaly, or like a month or two in
Italy, here and there, and Ireally appreciate the slow
travel lifestyle.
But if somebody only had sevento nine days to spend in
Bulgaria, what's an itinerarythat you would recommend for
(31:32):
them?
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Right.
Seven to nine days is prettygood time to get as much from
the destination and not getbored from the destination.
So a week is a good time.
You land in Sofia, the capital.
There's plenty to explorewithin the city center.
Then you travel to Plovdiv.
I would say Plovdiv is at leastfor two to three nights in
(31:55):
order to get to know as much aspossible and not miss any hidden
places.
From there you could travel toVelikoturnovo.
It's an old capital of Bulgaria.
Imagine games of thrones.
There is a castle on top of ahill and in a light show.
(32:15):
They do a light show with lotsof lights towards the castle and
with music and special activity.
On the journey from Plovdiv toVelikoturnovo again, we could
stop at few wineries or trations.
There are plenty, because thisis the valley of Tration Kings,
(32:35):
the whole territory of themiddle of Bulgaria, the Rose
Valley, the valley of TrationKings and from there, after you
spent two nights inVelikoturnovo, all the way to
Varna.
Again, on the way to Varnathere are a few short stops, for
I could think of at least twoplaces we could visit historic.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
So Varna is the seaside actually.
So could you talk a little bitmore about that because I know a
lot of people maybe fromAmerica aren't as familiar, but
it is quite a popular seasidedestination.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Yes, Varna is the largest town on the Black Sea
coast.
We call it the Sea Capital ofBulgaria.
Plenty of flights to get to.
Even you can fly from Sofia toVarna.
I know it doesn't sound too far, but you can take a flight from
Sofia to Varna.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
When we're only there for a week, let's make the most
of our time.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
Yeah, varna is beautiful to explore the Sea
Garden.
There is quite a long walk todo within this beautiful, very
well-maintained Sea Gardens anda lot of history.
Just from starting from themain square, we have local tour
guides who take you on a journey.
It's a very creative town,inspiring, attracts a lot of
(33:52):
music, music performances,musicians, painters, and not too
far away from Varna you couldgo all the way to Bočić.
It's not easy to explain it, asa lot of it is nature and I
believe, nature.
The only way to experiencenature is to connect with it, to
(34:12):
be there.
And the other thing you couldvisit a mussel farm.
Sorry, mussel farm.
Do some of the mussel spacings?
Of course, wine I'm repeatingmyself, but Bulgaria has five
different wine regions, so thewine that you have in the middle
(34:33):
of the country, in the DanubeRiver, on the Black Sea Coast,
is different, as the climate isdifferent within the country,
different grape varieties.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
Tell me about the best wine day out that you've
had, in what region it was.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Oh, I would never forget this one was a picnic in
a local winery called VilaJustina, and that's what's
absolutely beautiful inSeptember.
September is the season whenthey pick the grapes Sorry, the
grapes were the wine September.
So a lot of wineries open theirdoors and they do either dinner
(35:10):
or picnics.
That was a beautiful, beautifulday, blue sky.
We could pick our own grapes,taste their local wine and again
, there are actually winefestivals in Plovdiv, in the old
town, both in May and November.
All those houses that I spokeabout in the old town.
(35:31):
They open their doors and youcan walk around with a glass of
wine and they give you a smallsip of every single person who
produces their wine, likewineries, but representatives.
They give you a bit of.
Yeah, you can taste some wineyou can have.
Also, we shouldn't forget aboutcheese.
Cheese is a big one.
(35:52):
There's a huge variety ofcheese white, yellow cheese,
locally produced.
It's not exactly a gourmet tour, but you could say like wine
and food tour.
There are specific dates, sonext one is 26 until 28th of
November 2020.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
Okay, so it's in November.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
It's in November, there's another one in May,
usually the first weekend of Maythey will announce it very
shortly.
It's a young wine parade tour,so they open the doors of all
these wineries and localproducers present their wine for
two to three days, friday toSunday.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
Well, it sounds like May is an excellent place to
visit.
We've got the wine.
We've got the roses Soundsperfect, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
It's like visiting Japan for the rose sorry for the
cherry blossom.
You should definitely do Maywith the blue sky, and I keep on
saying blue sky, as it's sodifferent when you have a clear
blue sky and all the colors andeverything.
So May is beginning of spring.
Bogey has four seasons,although not that distinct
(37:02):
anymore, but, yes, winter,spring, summer and autumn, and
to me it's always the best timeto visit in spring, especially
in May when you have the rosesand the wine.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
So before I let you go, I would love to do a little
lightning round about yourfavorite places in Plovdiv.
So what's your favorite?
Speaker 2 (37:22):
cafe.
The name is a bit of a tonguetwister.
It's called Gyukyan.
Gyukyan means a corner shop orjust a shop.
Back in time, the merchantswere having their own shop
called Gyukyan.
It's absolutely amazing.
It's a family owned thebuilding.
They have preserved it the wayit was back in time.
(37:45):
It had numerous purposes, but Iabsolutely love getting a cup
of coffee there.
They do their own coffee bysaying they do their own coffee.
They bake their own coffeethere.
It's quite an experience andyou can sit on the corner and
just watch life passing by.
It's in the trap, my favoritecreative district.
(38:08):
So yeah, that's my coffee shop.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
Now, because of the adamants.
Is it kind of like a Turkishcoffee culture, or what kind of
coffee are people drinking?
Speaker 2 (38:19):
Oh, no more.
Italian style, Italian Greek.
Yeah, think about it.
They do offer Turkish stylecoffee.
They do offer all sorts ofcoffee.
So when we say coffee, you canhave espresso, double espresso,
cappuccino, latte, Turkishcoffee.
There's a big menu you canchoose from.
It's not just Americano.
(38:41):
Any type of coffee you name it,it's there.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Where do you like to go out to eat?
Speaker 2 (38:52):
A place called.
It's a restaurant calledSmokini.
Smokini means fix the fruit fix.
They're absolutely excellent ineverything they do.
Even the wine menu looks likeyou have the map of the country
and every wine they have it'smarked on the map where it's
coming from, what's the winery.
They take you on a real journeyfor food and drinks.
(39:16):
I love it.
The indoor space, the gardenyeah, smokini.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
Where do you like to hang out at night?
Speaker 2 (39:25):
I'm coming back to the trap, the creative quarter.
It's very lively.
It's such different.
Everything is as if you are ina different place at night.
Loads of live music in thespace called the core, the main
part of it.
There are loads of live bandsand love live music.
There is a jazz cafe, any typeof music that is live music.
(39:51):
I mean any type.
Mainly, I'm a big fan of jazz,rock music.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
You told me that you also like to salsa and that
there's places to do that alsoin Proofdiv.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Yes, yes, we are quite passionate about salsa and
there are different clubs, somespecialized in Cuban salsa,
others in LA.
The climate gives you anopportunity to dance outdoors
quite a lot.
The clubs were organizeddayouts or evening gatherings
out, or let's get around thesquare and dance.
(40:27):
Yeah, there's loads ofopportunities to dance and Cuban
salsa really unites people.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
If you don't know how to do that, is there a place
you'd recommend to try it out?
Speaker 2 (40:36):
Yes, my favorite club is the one I visited called
Mariposa.
It's a butterfly.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
Mariposa, I might come and spend 90 days in
Bulgaria, just so I can go dosalsa three times a week.
Oh, you're very very welcome.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
You would absolutely love it and people would love
you, as you make connections soeasily.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
You'll be very welcome.
I would love it.
So you mentioned the trap,which is the creative
neighborhood.
Do they have any markets therethat maybe like artist markets,
or are there any other marketsin the city that you would
recommend we check out?
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Yes, there are many just walking around the streets.
Initially this district wasopen mainly for local artists.
They were having the space forvery, very little rent or even
for free.
Nowadays there are morerestaurants in there, but there
are still some of the shops Evenon the main street.
Plovdiv has one of the longestpedestrian streets in Europe,
(41:34):
according to statistics.
Speaker 1 (41:35):
You know we love that .
Speaker 2 (41:37):
Yes, we love comparing ourselves.
I think Denmark is the othercountry that have a really
really long pedestrian street,so walking from one end to the
other.
On both hand sides there areplenty of shops, local designers
or even shoes shoemakers, so agood shopping destination as
(41:57):
well.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Yeah, so you mentioned the pedestrian street,
but that just made me remembersomething that I believe Plovdiv
is one of the oldestcontinuously lived in cities in
Europe.
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Yes, talking about comparing ourselves, yes, it's
the oldest continuouslyinhabited and it's believed that
people life never cease toexist in Plovdiv, in some
statistics you could read thatit's 6,000 years old, in others
that it's 8,000 years oldsomewhere there, but definitely
(42:32):
it's on a crossroad with theother destinations, very
strategic locations, and to getfrom Europe to Istanbul you have
to pass by Plovdiv.
Speaker 1 (42:45):
Yeah, just hearing you talk about that reminds me
of the amphitheater.
Just how special and uniquethat is.
Where you're sitting, in thesame seats that people have been
entertained in for hundreds andhundreds and hundreds of years.
It's just such a specialconnection.
Speaker 2 (43:02):
Yeah, it's an experience.
It's a time trial at its finestway to do it.
Just another street in the oldtown is the so-called Kraft
Street.
It's different than the trapand there's a person who shows
you how to make bread, how tobake it, or weaving or different
(43:24):
other crafts.
People were working a lot withtheir hands back in time, which
we're very guilty of not doingnowadays.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
Yeah, exactly, we have no skills.
Oh my god, that soundsincredible.
I would love to go on holiday.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
You can make your own bread and do all that Totally.
You can make your own clay potand quite a lot of things by
yourself.
Speaker 1 (43:46):
You mentioned to me before about herbs, and healthy
herbs are very special, and itjust made me want to go into the
mountains of Bulgaria and pickherbs and make my own spices.
Speaker 2 (43:58):
Oh, there's so many.
It's so rich in herbs, thearoma, and in springtime, when
everything blossoms, it's yeah,it's briceless and just walking
around connecting with nature.
I believe nature is somethingwe are getting further away from
and it keeps on.
At least yeah, at least mepersonally.
(44:21):
I suppose most people are quitesimilar like being in front of
the computer and then when yougo in for a short hike, short
walk, plowtiff is easy to escape.
On all of these seven hills,Most of them you can walk and it
really takes you somewhere.
It's so peaceful and quiet,right in the heart of the city
(44:41):
center, but still you have, onceyou start climbing, it's quiet,
you hear birds singing and verydifferent vibe.
Speaker 1 (44:51):
Yeah, well, I can see why you wanted to spend the
summer in Boxton.
It is a nice London is myfavorite city but it is also
nice to get out to the seasideand be by the beach, and so I
can see why, yeah, you wanted tospend more time here.
I've actually gotten into thehabit of taking my shoes off for
a little while at my walk,especially on the lower on the
(45:11):
upper leaves park, above the sea, and just walking on the grass
barefoot for a little while.
Aww, what museum should wecheck out when we're in plowtiff
?
Speaker 2 (45:22):
Oh, I would say, if you have time, all of them, to
start with all the houses in theold town that are open for
visitors.
As I mentioned, there is adiscount ticket.
You can have a group ticket forfive houses and the
ethnographic museum, thearcheological museum.
So many artifacts from theRoman period, from the Traytion
(45:45):
in Poneguristim.
I forgot to mention theTraytion.
Oh, the goat Traytion vesselson earth.
There are nine vessels of 24carats, pure goat, three
brothers.
They were working on the fieldsand suddenly they came across.
That was back in 1949.
So we imagine, just after theSecond World War.
(46:07):
They were so honest that theygave everything they unearthed
and found to the government.
They gave them that really,really little financial price,
but they were amazing humanbeings for being so honest and
giving this oh my gosh.
Yes, yeah, nowadays this monthyou could see this ancient
treasure in the British Museum.
(46:28):
I think this is the last weekof when you could see I'm going
to have to get on the screen.
Because these goat vessels.
They travel the world.
They have a schedule.
Every year they literallytravel the world and once a year
they come back in Bulgaria fora month, a month and a half.
In Poneguristim, where theywere found, a town in the center
of Bulgaria, but also inPoneguristim, in the history
(46:52):
museum, you can see a replicareally, really good replica of
them, and on one of the vessels,with really tiny small dots,
you can read the name Aphrodite,the Greek goddess Aphrodite.
Those vessels were used forwine ceremonies back in time.
It's fascinating all handmade,wow, interesting.
Speaker 1 (47:15):
So interesting.
Well, I'm going to actually tryto see them here in the UK, but
when did you say they'll bethere?
Speaker 2 (47:19):
Oh, they normally are back in Bulgaria in June.
They have a fixed schedule in away, but the rest of the time
they travel the world.
It's fascinating.
It's such a significantartifact they found.
It's like the.
Speaker 1 (47:33):
Titanic and King Tut.
Those artifacts are allcirculating all over the place.
If people are visiting Plovdavis there anywhere in particular?
You would recommend they stay.
Speaker 2 (47:45):
I would say Central.
So once you are in the citycenter it's very easy to make
your way around and you can stayup until late evening.
There are singing fountains inthe main park.
So once you're in the citycenter you just can come back to
your hotel or guest room, comeback, and if you stay somewhere
(48:08):
in other districts it might be abit of time consuming.
So I would say, choose anythingin the city center.
There are plenty of small,familiar hotels that I
absolutely love.
Of course, larger chains andfive stars.
I know that this year, likethree five stars hotels open on
(48:29):
top of my head.
One is named Visualiza quite ofa tongue twister name, but it's
in the city center.
So when you have, depending onwhat do you want to experience,
you can stay in a small hotel orin a five stars luxury.
Speaker 1 (48:45):
Well, Latina, it has been a pleasure talking to you.
Where can people find out moreabout you?
Speaker 2 (48:50):
Oh, thank you so very much.
I do have a website calledtravelinvisioncom.
They're very welcome to visitthe website.
My email is there.
I haven't been very activerecently as I've been out and
about traveling, leading tours,enjoying life, enjoying life,
enjoying folks, and but I willbe back with some new articles
(49:14):
and new information, as there'sso much out there to explore.
Speaker 1 (49:18):
Well, now I have Benita on the brain and I wish I
could just walk to a cafe andget to them and have a coffee
with the outside and just hangout.
But we'll get there eventuallysoon.
Thank you so much, Latina.
Speaker 2 (49:32):
Oh, thank you for having me have a lovely, lovely
day.
Enjoy the sun out in Folkestone, such a beautiful day.
Speaker 1 (49:39):
Bye, bye.
Okay, you just heard about thewonders of bulk area.
You need to come with us.
Let me just list a few of theamazing things you'll experience
.
We're going to the capital,sofia, where you will explore
thousands of years ofarchitecture and history.
We are going to Plavdiv.
You are going to see all thehidden gems there.
You're going to the Rose Valley.
(50:01):
You're going to visit theoldest threshing spa in the
world, so imagine rolling roseoil on your skin as you are
soaking in a warm bath.
You will be sipping wine andwandering around the ancient
ruins.
We'll be eating Shapska saladtogether and trying the local
coffee.
You will be in great company.
We will have tons of laughs.
(50:22):
This is a small group, not amassive tour bus experience.
We are creating something sospecial for you, so click the
link in the episode notes to geton the waitlist right now.
We will be announcing the fullitinerary soon and if you get on
the waitlist, then you aregoing to get priority to come on
the trip and will be offered aspecial early bird rate.
Again, this is a small groupthat we're taking and solo
(50:46):
travelers are especiallyencouraged to come along.
May is the ideal time to go toBulgaria and I would love to go
with you.
You are listening to thisepisode right now because you
are a special kind of traveler.
You are the get off the beatand path kind of person who
appreciates culture and goodfood, opening your mind, ancient
history, new experiences.
(51:07):
This trip will change your life.
Join us in Bulgaria May 2024.
Get on the waitlist now.
Welcome to Live Without Worders, a podcast about
how to live the good lifethrough stoicism, personal
development and culturalexploration.
I'm your host, sarah Migatell,an American in England who's
here to help fellow citizens ofthe world like you make the most
of the brief time you have hereon Earth.
It is time to make every momentmatter.
Plovdiv is one of the oldestcontinuously inhabited cities in
(00:27):
the world.
Looking through the old town,it's like walking through an
open museum, with itscobblestone streets,
centuries-old houses and ancientmasterpieces, including the
Roman amphitheater, and you canstill watch shows there today.
But Plovdiv is not a city thatis frozen in time.
It's been named a Europeancapital of culture.
It's a city of festivals andcreative energy, especially in
(00:50):
districts like Copana, whichthey call the Trap.
And today I am speaking with myfriend, zlatina Ervanlieva, and
she is a world traveler, a tourguide, a Plovdiv native, and
she's just an all-aroundfantastic spirit, and you will
definitely catch that vibe heretoday.
In this episode, zlatina issharing her travel tips on what
to see, do and savor in Plovdiv,bulgaria and beyond.
(01:11):
Did you know that Bulgaria is ahuge wine producer and that
Plovdiv is located in the heartof the Thracian wine valley?
And if you like to relax inanother way, this region is full
of spas ready to pay for you.
I visited Bulgaria for thefirst time this summer and I
loved it so much that Zlatinaand I are going to host a
(01:32):
Bulgarian experience for you inMay 2024.
That is right.
We are taking a small group ofworld travelers to Bulgaria in
May.
If you love ancient history,fabulous food, hidden gems,
unforgettable experiences, youneed to come with us.
I'll share more info about thisat the end of the episode, but
you will want to sign up for ourwaitlist today, because this is
(01:53):
going to give you priorityaccess to sign up for the trip
and an early bird offer Withoutfurther ado.
Let's jump into my conversationwith Zlatina so you can hear all
about the magical things youcan experience in Plovdiv and
the surrounding areas ofBulgaria.
Enjoy Welcome, zlatina.
Thank you so much for joiningme today.
Thank you so much for having me.
(02:14):
It's a real pleasure.
So you are a very well-traveledperson and you're spending the
summer in Folkestone and I'm soglad that I got a chance to meet
you and become friends with you.
So what brought you here?
Speaker 2 (02:26):
I came to Folkestone in early springtime and I
thought, oh, I really want toknow more about the town.
It looked very creative, it'sby the coast, there's loads of
history, and this is how I endup spending two months thanks to
dear friends of mine, and I'mvery, very grateful for this
(02:47):
opportunity.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Yeah, folkestone is a strange place where people come
for a visit and then decide tomove here.
So many people.
I've lived in many, many placesand this is Folkestone's the
only place where people are likeyou know what?
I think I'm going to move myentire life here, so it's very,
but I can see why it's such afun beach town.
I love it.
So you are from Bulgaria, butyou've been living in England
(03:09):
for quite a few years now.
Where is Bulgaria exactly?
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Bulgaria is located on a very strategic place on the
Balkans, the Balkan Peninsula.
Our neighbors are Black Seacoast, which we're very proud of
, on the east.
On the west, we have NorthMacedonia, serbia.
On the north, divided by theDanube River, is Romania, and
(03:35):
south is Greece and Turkey.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
When did tourism start to become more popular in
Bulgaria?
Speaker 2 (03:43):
Well, during the mid 20th century there was so-called
the Balkan tourism.
So during the communist andsocialist regime in Bulgaria,
there were no independent touroperators.
It was all government run, soour tourists were mainly from
Germany, russia, czech Republic.
(04:04):
So I believe that tourism isonly starting now and, as I
mentioned to you, I'm verypassionate about slow tourism,
where you connect with the localculture, local destination and
hopefully most countriespreserve their authenticity,
something we could definitelyappreciate more.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Well, that's what I would love to dive into with you
today authentic experiences inBulgaria, especially in Plovdiv.
So that is where you are fromand you're going back in
September.
So, aside from friends andfamily, what are you most
looking forward to seeing ordoing or drinking when you're
back in Plovdiv?
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yes, Plovdiv.
I was born and raised inPlovdiv.
At that time, I've always, deepinside me, knew that it's quite
a special, special town and itwas very fortunate to win an
initiative called EuropeanCapital of Culture.
This is for 2019, the purposeof this initiative is to help
(05:11):
different small places indifferent countries in Europe.
The whole year during thisperiod, there are a lot of
activities happening.
So in Plovdiv in 2019, inJanuary there was a big grand
opening of ceremonies andthroughout the whole year there
were loads of outdoor concertsattracting different visitors.
So I'm very much lookingforward to have to start with a
(05:34):
visit to the old town of Plovdiv.
It's a UNESCO listed WorldHeritage Site.
It's in the tentative list ofUNESCO and, just having a little
wonder, it's such a magicalplace to be?
Speaker 1 (05:46):
What makes it a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
What's so special about it?
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Most houses in Plovdiv, in the old town, are
from the revival period.
This is when Bulgaria imaginedmid 19th century, 19th century,
and most of the houses are ofdifferent merchants.
The second part of the house,the architecture everything is
(06:14):
very, very unique.
There's also a Romanamphitheater where even nowadays
we still use it 1st century AD,and one of my favorite spots to
have a cup of tea overlookingthe city is just there.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
A cup of tea.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
so you become English now I become very English, I'm
guilty of that, but just walkingaround, a lot of them are open
for visiting and you travel backin time.
In one of the houses it was avery rich merchant, merchant who
on his wall he has a paintingof Constantinople what is now
(06:52):
Istanbul also from Vienna.
For that time this wassomething really, really unique,
as only wealthy people couldtravel and you could imagine how
long it was taking them withouthaving our comfort of flying.
Nowadays you could fly toPlovdiv in just two hours and a
half more or less, from LondonStansted, where back in time it
was taking them, I don't know amonth or two to travel within
(07:16):
Europe, and we shouldn'tunderestimate the comfort we
have now of visiting differentplaces.
So, yes, I'm very much lookingforward to go and visit all the
sites within.
Plovdiv is very walkable.
Within four hours.
You can easily walk in the mainyes, in the main school, in the
(07:37):
city center, so to speak, fromthe main square to Cappana,
which is the creative district.
It means trap.
I absolutely love theatmosphere there and also
meeting my friends who are localtour guides, as they constantly
they're so passionate about thecity and they constantly come
up with new things to introducelocal stories and information,
(08:01):
and it's beautiful also to speakto people who are on the same
page as you.
Speaker 1 (08:08):
So you mentioned that merchant house, which sounds so
interesting.
Is that open for us to visit?
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yes, it's open.
There's another house where youcan see a real now this person.
He was very passionate aboutrose oil.
He was also a merchant and youcan see a rose oil fountain for
that time and from the wall it'scoming a little.
Yeah, it's a rose oil photo.
It's very hard to explain asthis is something unique and you
(08:37):
have to see it and sort of evensmell it and the moment you
enter in his house, imagine thisaromatic roses, the rose
d'amastena.
Very often when I mention tosomebody, oh, I'm from Bulgaria,
they say, oh, the land of roses.
That's another unique thingabout, about this territory is
that we grow the rose d'amastenaand and you use it in perfumes,
(08:59):
cosmetics.
We export it to France.
Nowadays they use it in perfumeselection and they'll do your
cosmetics for face.
It's really, really good foryou.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Can you just tell me the name of that merchant house?
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Yes, the house is called Clianti.
They're very yeah, not veryeasy names Clianti.
You can also visit theethnographic museum.
The more time passes, the morehouses they open.
There is an ancient pharmacythat you can visit, like the way
they were.
The pharmacy looks the way itwas in 200 years ago, so it's
(09:40):
quite something.
So it's still a pharmacy.
It's now only a house museumand the guide indoors will tell
you all about how they werehealing people back in time.
It's a proper time travel.
Even entering one of thosehouses.
You can buy a group ticket.
You can visit five houses Withthis ticket.
It's only 15 level around eightyears, and in every house there
(10:04):
is a guide who will welcome youat the door and will give you
some information about who wasliving in these houses, what was
the family and how, whatlifestyle they had.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
What are if I came to visit you.
What are?
Some other must haveexperiences.
I should try out while I'm inPlopdip.
Speaker 2 (10:27):
There is a very big Roman stadium that, to be quite
honest, as a local, we totallytake for granted, as if every
single city in the world thereis a Roman stadium.
Imagine the main pedestrianstreet.
You're walking on top of thisstadium.
It's just underneath, under allthe houses, approximately
around three meters, four meters.
(10:47):
Imagine it like that.
It's just underneath and partof it you could still see.
It used to sit 30,000 people30,000, my mind even doesn't
comprehend it.
So they would get water throughan aqueduct from the Rodope
Mountains which is just next toPlopdip.
I mean, they Romans.
(11:07):
This whole stadium would befilled up with water and they
would do different sports games,entertainment or all sorts of
performances Not exactlytheatrical, but mainly games and
30,000 people.
It's quite a significant numberand you can walk from the
(11:28):
beginning.
The guide will tell you whereis the beginning of the stadium
up until the end, and it'sexactly under the main
pedestrian street of the city.
The Roman, yes, amphitheaterwas built one of the emperors,
the Roman emperors, and evennowadays you can see the names
engraved on the seats.
7,000 people were able to sit.
(11:51):
Nowadays, we welcome different,let's say, stink was there?
Well, so many names.
There is a big, big programstarting from June until
September opera, theater, youname it.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
That's great, so all summer you can see live
performances.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Oh, summer.
Luckily the weather is good,and imagine the blue sky, when,
once you see it, it's stilldaytime around 8 pm and suddenly
you see the sunset and then youhave all the stars while
watching a performance.
It's magical.
And the acoustics and the sound.
It's on top of a hill.
They were really, really goodwith the job they did with the
(12:31):
acoustics and the sound, thewhole surroundings.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
So many ancient things still around to keep us
entertained, the way people werethousands of years ago.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
It's amazing, it is yes, time travel, absolutely
time travel.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
What are some hidden gems that you like to take your
tours on?
Speaker 2 (12:51):
I would say nobody climbs one of the hills.
Well, I wouldn't say nobody,but people usually underestimate
one of the hills that is verynear.
It's called Alosha.
There is a soldier on top ofthe hill and it's such a
beautiful walk.
It's very green to get all theway up and from there it's the
highest of all of the sevenhills.
You can see the city and it'sfascinating how, where you are
(13:17):
on the opposite side, you cansee the old town and the city
center Absolutely fantastic.
Even on a nice sunny eveningyou could get a glass, a bottle
of wine and some cheese and justenjoy the views during sunset.
It's a beautiful sunset spot,but also a sunrise.
For those of you who areinterested, yes, the name of the
(13:38):
hill is Alosha.
What else In Plovdiv you couldsee, depending on your interest?
There is a rowing canal, fivekilometers long rowing canal,
not too far from the city center, and they do European and world
competitions in rowing Again inthe summer, during July, you
(13:58):
can walk.
It's like a park space, veryquiet Within the city center.
In numerous places you can dowine tasting.
We shouldn't forget that theTrations, the first tribe, were
almost the first people in theterritory of Europe to produce
wine.
So nowadays in Bulgaria we alsoproduce a lot of wine.
I believe that wine takes youon a journey once you're in the
(14:21):
local destination, especiallythe local wine.
There is a grape variety calledMavrut.
It's a red wine, normally morerecommended for the winter
months, but still it's worthtasting it.
And Barnezzo, we shouldn'tforget, through food and drinks,
I believe you really, reallyconnect with the local
(14:43):
destination.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Let's talk more about food then, if you'd like to
talk about food.
So what are some vegetarianfoods that we should try?
Speaker 2 (14:51):
Most of the veggies.
They come from the local areaand around Plovdiv the climate
is very favorable.
We have a traditional food,unfortunately not vegetarian.
It's called Musaka.
You could still cook it in itsvegetarian version.
It's cooked with potatoes,carrots, onion.
We do obviously add minced meat, and to cover it there is a
(15:15):
layer of yogurt.
As you know, yogurt is very,very famous Yogurt flour, a
little bit of salt.
It doesn't sound out of pilling, but when you see it cooked in
a specific way it's verydelicious.
Also, different mushrooms,cooked wild greens, spinach.
Speaker 1 (15:41):
What's the typical breakfast in Bulgaria?
Speaker 2 (15:43):
Typical breakfast we love more.
It might come a little bitheavy, as it's mainly, let's say
, banica.
Banica is you use phyllo pastrycheese eggs, you mix all these
and you bake it in the oven, soa lot of people have banita.
For breakfast, there issomething called Mekiti.
(16:03):
This is a fried dough.
I know it sounds weird, butit's really, really delicious.
So you have this fried doughwith, let's say, strawberry jam
or any other jam that normallygrandmothers produce yet, so
like a homemade jam.
We're not picking on breakfast,though.
(16:25):
It's not something.
You might even easily skipbreakfast and just have, as I
said, a cup of coffee, but lunchis quite something in dinner,
so most portions in Bulgaria arequite big.
The main purpose of this iswhen we go out, we like to share
food, and people are very oftenthey're a little bit shocked by
(16:45):
the size of salads and maincourses.
Speaker 1 (16:50):
We love sharing food.
Okay, so people generally likeorder some things and then share
it.
Yes, it somehow unites.
Speaker 2 (16:57):
You have you noticed that when you have something and
somebody is like oh, that looksreally, really yummy, so people
share, you feel like you belongto something bigger than
yourself.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Oh nice, yeah, I mean that's a good cultural tip to
to mention, because, yeah, notall, not all cultures are like
that.
I guess I get might as you getyours.
Maybe you can try a bite.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Yes, no, we absolutely love and, yeah, it's
more like sharing food.
Sharing is caring.
The other thing which I wouldrecommend when you travel to
Bulgaria and to the Balkans isto travel with an open heart, as
quite often you might find ourcustomer service slightly
different than what one wouldexpect.
(17:41):
People have occasionally alittle bit of straight face, and
I wouldn't necessarily call itbeing rude, but you might have a
little sense, especially comingfrom the UK where everyone is
overly polite.
That's a bit of a culture ofdifference.
I'm not sure how to put itexactly in words.
I guess that's part of our alsosocialist time when you
(18:04):
couldn't trust much anyone.
Like people were, although theyfelt safe and secure on some
levels and they thought they'reequal, but on a psychological
level they couldn't trust much.
Speaker 1 (18:20):
So was this kind of like keeping a straight face
right, Kind of like not showingyour cards, maybe?
Speaker 2 (18:27):
Yeah, just looking a bit serious in a way that not
necessarily it's not a sign of,oh, I don't want to talk to you.
It's more of a sign of, oh, Ihave my own things going on and
I'm not in a super happy place.
I've noticed that when Iorganize tours and I go with
friends and they say, oh, thisperson was a little bit way too
(18:49):
serious and I thought, oh,imagine how many things are
happening in their life.
So it's a cultural difference,for sure.
Speaker 1 (18:58):
Yeah, it's a very good thing to be mindful of
because, yeah, when you're goinginto and I would say especially
for Americans, where we'requite can often be quite open
and smiling to people we don'tknow, necessarily when that's
not reciprocated, that can feelquite rude.
And so when you can be mindfulof, oh, this is just a different
(19:20):
culture and they're notnecessarily trying to be rude,
it has nothing to do with you,it's just how they are, then I
think that can help you have abetter experience because you're
not sort of obsessing aboutwhat could be going wrong.
Speaker 2 (19:35):
Yes, totally no, it's traveling with an open heart.
I just love love.
This expression allows you tobe less judgmental and to
connect with other human beingsmore, as we all live on the same
planet Earth.
But everything is so differentThink about it Even in the
(19:55):
States, the difference from onestate to another, although
you're united by the sameculture.
But still, people here do thatand people there don't do that,
and little things like that.
But yeah, it's just being open.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Well, something that I find very fascinating is, you
know, countries tend to havedifferent overall cultures, but
of course, we are all individualpeople and sometimes it just
seems like people are born intothe wrong place and if they were
somewhere else, they would beso much more understood.
Like, the Dutch culture is knownto be quite direct and frank
(20:33):
and honest and they're nottrying to be rude.
But if you're not from thatculture it can seem quite
shocking how blunt they can be.
But I know I've heard people inthe US who are like that, or
even some neurodivergent peoplewho that's just how their brain
works, to be quite direct, andthey're like oh, I should have
been born in this other country.
But yeah, like to your point,it's a big world and if we can
(20:57):
just be more open-minded aboutwhere different people are
coming from, I think that justhelps everybody get along better
.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Oh, totally.
You couldn't say it morebeautiful than this.
Yes, and that's the beauty oftravel you realize that not
everyone is like you, noteveryone comes from the same how
to say, like, not social status, but from the same starting
point, and to me, it helps me togenerate a sense of gratitude
(21:25):
for everything that I've had theopportunity to experience, as
traveling really, really opensyour mind and, yes, you never
come back the same.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
Would you agree?
Yeah, 100%.
And it's also like helpful toknow people's history as well.
I mean as a culture, theirhistory, like before you go to a
country, learn a little bitabout what people may have gone
through like, especially overhere in Europe, where there were
a lot of countries that werehave been in war in our
(21:57):
lifetimes.
Oh yes, you know I just as anaside I met I was on a walk this
morning here in Folkestone andI met this guy from Croatia and
he seemed maybe late 40s, early50s, and we just had a pleasant
casual chat.
But later I was thinking Iwonder if you were, like, if you
were in the war and we oftendon't give people that grace to
(22:21):
think of like wow, you must havebeen through a lot, you know.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Totally yes.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
Well, gary has such a rich history.
It's been occupied by so manydifferent groups of people.
How has this influenced thedevelopment of the country, both
the architecture, or is thereany particular historical period
that you think is reallyinteresting that you want to
share?
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Oh, I love your question as one of the first
things I share with friends orvisitors or people who visit,
especially my hometown, plovdiv.
This is the second city inBulgaria is that?
Plovdiv, and most of Bulgaria,even Sofia, the capital, is like
a pancake.
So there are layers and layersand layers of history.
(23:04):
To start with the Thraciansthey are a tribe that imagine
they were the northern neighborsof the ancient Greeks.
We've all heard of the ancientGreeks, so the Thracians were
their neighbors and theybelieved in afterlife.
So nowadays we find a lot ofgraves and artifacts and
(23:29):
jewellery and possessions andgold, gold vessels.
So yeah, thracians haven't leftmuch of a return.
They didn't have alphabets orwe don't know much about them,
but we have discovered uneartheda lot of artifacts and I'm
absolutely fascinating by thisperiod.
On one of our tours we visit anancient Thracian tomb on top of
(23:52):
an ever hill.
They were very strategicallyalways positioned in a safe
place on top of a hill.
Plovdiv is also on seven hills,so you could just imagine
layers and layers of history.
The metro station in Sofia theywere just digging and creating
the metro station when theyfound this big, spacious streets
(24:17):
of a Roman town, so I would saythe whole territory Bulgaria
and the Balkans is absoluteheaven for archaeologists.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
Yeah, and also the Ottomans were there.
It was another one of thegroups that was there, so
they've heavily influencedarchitecture and, I'm sure, the
culture in some ways.
I think I heard one out of 10people in Bulgaria are Muslim.
Speaker 2 (24:41):
Yes, yes, so we still have quite fairly close
connection.
Well, we are just few hoursfrom Istanbul and the border
with Turkey, but you'reabsolutely right, these were the
Thracians, the Romans, then theOttoman Empire for five
centuries.
Five centuries is quite adecent amount of time.
So we feel very connected withcountries like Romania, north
(25:04):
Macedonia, serbia, greece andTurkey.
Think about all those countries, five centuries, coexisting
together.
Yeah, it's fascinating.
We have we have very muchcoffee country.
Well, now you remind me of a bigdifference with the UK.
It's part of our Ottomanheritage the cuisine, the food,
(25:26):
yes, and you could still visitdifferent buildings built in the
15th, 16th century, themedieval period when actually,
the Ottoman Empire, from the14th until the 19th century, we
were very much craved thisindependence and when it
happened, that was anotherperiod of Bulgarian history.
Also, during the medieval time,there was a period when Bulgaria
(25:49):
reached Black Aegean andAdriatic Sea just before the
Ottoman Empire, and it was likethe gold century of the
Bulgarian culture anddevelopment.
So it's really loads tocomprehend, but I would
encourage people to travel andexplore the Balkans, as it's
(26:11):
really a territory that it's notvery well advertised.
You cannot find much about theBalkans, and what I would also
recommend is visit the Balkanswith a local.
If you go to Romania, to yourbest to connect with local
guides, local companies thatwill show you off the beaten
path.
There are loads of, loads ofthings to discover Just on the
(26:34):
sideways of the main pedestrianstreets and squares, like the
secret, secret blue doors thatyou open it, and upstairs
there's a coffee shop,restaurant or a church, a mosque
.
Speaker 1 (26:45):
Well, back to Plavdiv .
So we talked about a few thingsto do.
Is there anything else you wantto share?
Do you have any favoriteexperiences that you've had
yourself in your hometown thatyou want to talk about?
Speaker 2 (26:57):
Oh, totally.
We shouldn't forget the spa.
The spa sector is.
Bulgaria is the second countryin Europe after Iceland that is
very blessed with mineral watersprings.
So for those, for those of youwho really love experiencing
yeah, swimming or different,other, let's say, treatments,
this is a quite good destinationto go.
(27:19):
I can recommend different citiesaround Plavdiv.
There is a place just next toPlavdiv called Starrusel or
Velingrad.
It's a town not far away fromPlavdiv.
They call it the spa capital ofBulgaria.
And again in the middle of thecountry they're scattered around
a lot of.
Hisaria is a small town, onlyhalf an hour, half an hour to 40
(27:42):
minutes from Plavdiv, and Ibelieve that this is part of
what travel will look like,where we'll need to slow down,
even just hide your phone andyour computer so you can
completely connect with yourself.
And another way of experiencingthe country is visiting a spa
hotel.
(28:02):
Even around Plotif there's somany.
So once you do a city break inPlotif, you could do a day trip.
That doesn't have to be a wholeovernight stay, it could be
just a day trip to a spa resort.
Speaker 1 (28:17):
I love that idea and I love day trips.
So what other day trips arethere?
Is there a place you wouldrecommend to go for a wine
tasting or any other experiences?
Speaker 2 (28:28):
Yes, quite classical is Batkov monostry.
It's a famous, popular monostry, again, approximately half an
hour to 40 minutes from Plotif.
There are numerous, numerouswineries around Plotif in less
than 25 minutes where they opentheir doors and again you can do
wine tasting while visiting alittle village or town.
(28:51):
Again, hisari, as I mentioned,is a spa destination.
Again, sofia is not far away,just an hour on the highway, an
hour and a half on the highway.
We do go to the Rose Valley onthe day trip from Plotif in May
and June.
Speaker 1 (29:11):
And what do you do in that Rose region?
Are you just walking throughfields of roses?
How does that?
Speaker 2 (29:18):
Oh, it's the most favorite day of the year.
It's every beginning of June,1st weekend.
It's a program, so you arriveat around 8 am, a bit of an
early start.
You wake up fairly early to getthere and there's a folklore
program dancing, singing.
They give you a little basketand you go in the fields and you
pick up your own roses that youtake home with you and then
(29:42):
your room and apartment smellslike heaven, very, very special.
The other special thing is thatthe rose blossoms only from mid
of May to mid of June.
It's a little window that wehave in this one month a year
that you can pick up, collectthe roses and a lot of
(30:03):
activities going on.
Imagine, like a space, openspace.
There is a little amphitheaterwith a stage where dancing,
singing is happening, walkingaround a small ethnographic
museum where you see how theyproduced rose oil back in time.
Like really, really special.
They've kept everything peoplewere using and, yeah, walking
(30:26):
around the fields of roses,singing and dancing.
It connects you with thedestination.
It's the folklore, it's thetraditions that remain, if you
think about it, and unless wemaintain it and preserve it, it
will just disappear and we'llforget about it.
And that's what I love abouthistory and getting to know a
destination like getting as faras back in time as possible.
(30:50):
So, as you said, you know whypeople are the way they are at
the moment, and if we forgethistory, history repeats itself.
So I believe we have to be veryopen and honest about things
and just see how we couldimplement them in our own life.
Yeah, I suppose.
Speaker 1 (31:10):
You had mentioned that you like slow travel, and
so do I.
I like to spend a month inItaly, or like a month or two in
Italy, here and there, and Ireally appreciate the slow
travel lifestyle.
But if somebody only had sevento nine days to spend in
Bulgaria, what's an itinerarythat you would recommend for
(31:32):
them?
Speaker 2 (31:32):
Right.
Seven to nine days is prettygood time to get as much from
the destination and not getbored from the destination.
So a week is a good time.
You land in Sofia, the capital.
There's plenty to explorewithin the city center.
Then you travel to Plovdiv.
I would say Plovdiv is at leastfor two to three nights in
(31:55):
order to get to know as much aspossible and not miss any hidden
places.
From there you could travel toVelikoturnovo.
It's an old capital of Bulgaria.
Imagine games of thrones.
There is a castle on top of ahill and in a light show.
(32:15):
They do a light show with lotsof lights towards the castle and
with music and special activity.
On the journey from Plovdiv toVelikoturnovo again, we could
stop at few wineries or trations.
There are plenty, because thisis the valley of Tration Kings,
(32:35):
the whole territory of themiddle of Bulgaria, the Rose
Valley, the valley of TrationKings and from there, after you
spent two nights inVelikoturnovo, all the way to
Varna.
Again, on the way to Varnathere are a few short stops, for
I could think of at least twoplaces we could visit historic.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
So Varna is the seaside actually.
So could you talk a little bitmore about that because I know a
lot of people maybe fromAmerica aren't as familiar, but
it is quite a popular seasidedestination.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Yes, Varna is the largest town on the Black Sea
coast.
We call it the Sea Capital ofBulgaria.
Plenty of flights to get to.
Even you can fly from Sofia toVarna.
I know it doesn't sound too far, but you can take a flight from
Sofia to Varna.
Speaker 1 (33:23):
When we're only there for a week, let's make the most
of our time.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
Yeah, varna is beautiful to explore the Sea
Garden.
There is quite a long walk todo within this beautiful, very
well-maintained Sea Gardens anda lot of history.
Just from starting from themain square, we have local tour
guides who take you on a journey.
It's a very creative town,inspiring, attracts a lot of
(33:52):
music, music performances,musicians, painters, and not too
far away from Varna you couldgo all the way to Bočić.
It's not easy to explain it, asa lot of it is nature and I
believe, nature.
The only way to experiencenature is to connect with it, to
(34:12):
be there.
And the other thing you couldvisit a mussel farm.
Sorry, mussel farm.
Do some of the mussel spacings?
Of course, wine I'm repeatingmyself, but Bulgaria has five
different wine regions, so thewine that you have in the middle
(34:33):
of the country, in the DanubeRiver, on the Black Sea Coast,
is different, as the climate isdifferent within the country,
different grape varieties.
Speaker 1 (34:43):
Tell me about the best wine day out that you've
had, in what region it was.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
Oh, I would never forget this one was a picnic in
a local winery called VilaJustina, and that's what's
absolutely beautiful inSeptember.
September is the season whenthey pick the grapes Sorry, the
grapes were the wine September.
So a lot of wineries open theirdoors and they do either dinner
(35:10):
or picnics.
That was a beautiful, beautifulday, blue sky.
We could pick our own grapes,taste their local wine and again
, there are actually winefestivals in Plovdiv, in the old
town, both in May and November.
All those houses that I spokeabout in the old town.
(35:31):
They open their doors and youcan walk around with a glass of
wine and they give you a smallsip of every single person who
produces their wine, likewineries, but representatives.
They give you a bit of.
Yeah, you can taste some wineyou can have.
Also, we shouldn't forget aboutcheese.
Cheese is a big one.
(35:52):
There's a huge variety ofcheese white, yellow cheese,
locally produced.
It's not exactly a gourmet tour, but you could say like wine
and food tour.
There are specific dates, sonext one is 26 until 28th of
November 2020.
Speaker 1 (36:11):
Okay, so it's in November.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
It's in November, there's another one in May,
usually the first weekend of Maythey will announce it very
shortly.
It's a young wine parade tour,so they open the doors of all
these wineries and localproducers present their wine for
two to three days, friday toSunday.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
Well, it sounds like May is an excellent place to
visit.
We've got the wine.
We've got the roses Soundsperfect, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
It's like visiting Japan for the rose sorry for the
cherry blossom.
You should definitely do Maywith the blue sky, and I keep on
saying blue sky, as it's sodifferent when you have a clear
blue sky and all the colors andeverything.
So May is beginning of spring.
Bogey has four seasons,although not that distinct
(37:02):
anymore, but, yes, winter,spring, summer and autumn, and
to me it's always the best timeto visit in spring, especially
in May when you have the rosesand the wine.
Speaker 1 (37:14):
So before I let you go, I would love to do a little
lightning round about yourfavorite places in Plovdiv.
So what's your favorite?
Speaker 2 (37:22):
cafe.
The name is a bit of a tonguetwister.
It's called Gyukyan.
Gyukyan means a corner shop orjust a shop.
Back in time, the merchantswere having their own shop
called Gyukyan.
It's absolutely amazing.
It's a family owned thebuilding.
They have preserved it the wayit was back in time.
(37:45):
It had numerous purposes, but Iabsolutely love getting a cup
of coffee there.
They do their own coffee bysaying they do their own coffee.
They bake their own coffeethere.
It's quite an experience andyou can sit on the corner and
just watch life passing by.
It's in the trap, my favoritecreative district.
(38:08):
So yeah, that's my coffee shop.
Speaker 1 (38:11):
Now, because of the adamants.
Is it kind of like a Turkishcoffee culture, or what kind of
coffee are people drinking?
Speaker 2 (38:19):
Oh, no more.
Italian style, Italian Greek.
Yeah, think about it.
They do offer Turkish stylecoffee.
They do offer all sorts ofcoffee.
So when we say coffee, you canhave espresso, double espresso,
cappuccino, latte, Turkishcoffee.
There's a big menu you canchoose from.
It's not just Americano.
(38:41):
Any type of coffee you name it,it's there.
Speaker 1 (38:48):
Where do you like to go out to eat?
Speaker 2 (38:52):
A place called.
It's a restaurant calledSmokini.
Smokini means fix the fruit fix.
They're absolutely excellent ineverything they do.
Even the wine menu looks likeyou have the map of the country
and every wine they have it'smarked on the map where it's
coming from, what's the winery.
They take you on a real journeyfor food and drinks.
(39:16):
I love it.
The indoor space, the gardenyeah, smokini.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
Where do you like to hang out at night?
Speaker 2 (39:25):
I'm coming back to the trap, the creative quarter.
It's very lively.
It's such different.
Everything is as if you are ina different place at night.
Loads of live music in thespace called the core, the main
part of it.
There are loads of live bandsand love live music.
There is a jazz cafe, any typeof music that is live music.
(39:51):
I mean any type.
Mainly, I'm a big fan of jazz,rock music.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
You told me that you also like to salsa and that
there's places to do that alsoin Proofdiv.
Speaker 2 (40:06):
Yes, yes, we are quite passionate about salsa and
there are different clubs, somespecialized in Cuban salsa,
others in LA.
The climate gives you anopportunity to dance outdoors
quite a lot.
The clubs were organizeddayouts or evening gatherings
out, or let's get around thesquare and dance.
(40:27):
Yeah, there's loads ofopportunities to dance and Cuban
salsa really unites people.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
If you don't know how to do that, is there a place
you'd recommend to try it out?
Speaker 2 (40:36):
Yes, my favorite club is the one I visited called
Mariposa.
It's a butterfly.
Speaker 1 (40:42):
Mariposa, I might come and spend 90 days in
Bulgaria, just so I can go dosalsa three times a week.
Oh, you're very very welcome.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
You would absolutely love it and people would love
you, as you make connections soeasily.
Speaker 1 (40:56):
You'll be very welcome.
I would love it.
So you mentioned the trap,which is the creative
neighborhood.
Do they have any markets therethat maybe like artist markets,
or are there any other marketsin the city that you would
recommend we check out?
Speaker 2 (41:10):
Yes, there are many just walking around the streets.
Initially this district wasopen mainly for local artists.
They were having the space forvery, very little rent or even
for free.
Nowadays there are morerestaurants in there, but there
are still some of the shops Evenon the main street.
Plovdiv has one of the longestpedestrian streets in Europe,
(41:34):
according to statistics.
Speaker 1 (41:35):
You know we love that .
Speaker 2 (41:37):
Yes, we love comparing ourselves.
I think Denmark is the othercountry that have a really
really long pedestrian street,so walking from one end to the
other.
On both hand sides there areplenty of shops, local designers
or even shoes shoemakers, so agood shopping destination as
(41:57):
well.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Yeah, so you mentioned the pedestrian street,
but that just made me remembersomething that I believe Plovdiv
is one of the oldestcontinuously lived in cities in
Europe.
Speaker 2 (42:11):
Yes, talking about comparing ourselves, yes, it's
the oldest continuouslyinhabited and it's believed that
people life never cease toexist in Plovdiv, in some
statistics you could read thatit's 6,000 years old, in others
that it's 8,000 years oldsomewhere there, but definitely
(42:32):
it's on a crossroad with theother destinations, very
strategic locations, and to getfrom Europe to Istanbul you have
to pass by Plovdiv.
Speaker 1 (42:45):
Yeah, just hearing you talk about that reminds me
of the amphitheater.
Just how special and uniquethat is.
Where you're sitting, in thesame seats that people have been
entertained in for hundreds andhundreds and hundreds of years.
It's just such a specialconnection.
Speaker 2 (43:02):
Yeah, it's an experience.
It's a time trial at its finestway to do it.
Just another street in the oldtown is the so-called Kraft
Street.
It's different than the trapand there's a person who shows
you how to make bread, how tobake it, or weaving or different
(43:24):
other crafts.
People were working a lot withtheir hands back in time, which
we're very guilty of not doingnowadays.
Speaker 1 (43:32):
Yeah, exactly, we have no skills.
Oh my god, that soundsincredible.
I would love to go on holiday.
Speaker 2 (43:39):
You can make your own bread and do all that Totally.
You can make your own clay potand quite a lot of things by
yourself.
Speaker 1 (43:46):
You mentioned to me before about herbs, and healthy
herbs are very special, and itjust made me want to go into the
mountains of Bulgaria and pickherbs and make my own spices.
Speaker 2 (43:58):
Oh, there's so many.
It's so rich in herbs, thearoma, and in springtime, when
everything blossoms, it's yeah,it's briceless and just walking
around connecting with nature.
I believe nature is somethingwe are getting further away from
and it keeps on.
At least yeah, at least mepersonally.
(44:21):
I suppose most people are quitesimilar like being in front of
the computer and then when yougo in for a short hike, short
walk, plowtiff is easy to escape.
On all of these seven hills,Most of them you can walk and it
really takes you somewhere.
It's so peaceful and quiet,right in the heart of the city
(44:41):
center, but still you have, onceyou start climbing, it's quiet,
you hear birds singing and verydifferent vibe.
Speaker 1 (44:51):
Yeah, well, I can see why you wanted to spend the
summer in Boxton.
It is a nice London is myfavorite city but it is also
nice to get out to the seasideand be by the beach, and so I
can see why, yeah, you wanted tospend more time here.
I've actually gotten into thehabit of taking my shoes off for
a little while at my walk,especially on the lower on the
(45:11):
upper leaves park, above the sea, and just walking on the grass
barefoot for a little while.
Aww, what museum should wecheck out when we're in plowtiff
?
Speaker 2 (45:22):
Oh, I would say, if you have time, all of them, to
start with all the houses in theold town that are open for
visitors.
As I mentioned, there is adiscount ticket.
You can have a group ticket forfive houses and the
ethnographic museum, thearcheological museum.
So many artifacts from theRoman period, from the Traytion
(45:45):
in Poneguristim.
I forgot to mention theTraytion.
Oh, the goat Traytion vesselson earth.
There are nine vessels of 24carats, pure goat, three
brothers.
They were working on the fieldsand suddenly they came across.
That was back in 1949.
So we imagine, just after theSecond World War.
(46:07):
They were so honest that theygave everything they unearthed
and found to the government.
They gave them that really,really little financial price,
but they were amazing humanbeings for being so honest and
giving this oh my gosh.
Yes, yeah, nowadays this monthyou could see this ancient
treasure in the British Museum.
(46:28):
I think this is the last weekof when you could see I'm going
to have to get on the screen.
Because these goat vessels.
They travel the world.
They have a schedule.
Every year they literallytravel the world and once a year
they come back in Bulgaria fora month, a month and a half.
In Poneguristim, where theywere found, a town in the center
of Bulgaria, but also inPoneguristim, in the history
(46:52):
museum, you can see a replicareally, really good replica of
them, and on one of the vessels,with really tiny small dots,
you can read the name Aphrodite,the Greek goddess Aphrodite.
Those vessels were used forwine ceremonies back in time.
It's fascinating all handmade,wow, interesting.
Speaker 1 (47:15):
So interesting.
Well, I'm going to actually tryto see them here in the UK, but
when did you say they'll bethere?
Speaker 2 (47:19):
Oh, they normally are back in Bulgaria in June.
They have a fixed schedule in away, but the rest of the time
they travel the world.
It's fascinating.
It's such a significantartifact they found.
It's like the.
Speaker 1 (47:33):
Titanic and King Tut.
Those artifacts are allcirculating all over the place.
If people are visiting Plovdavis there anywhere in particular?
You would recommend they stay.
Speaker 2 (47:45):
I would say Central.
So once you are in the citycenter it's very easy to make
your way around and you can stayup until late evening.
There are singing fountains inthe main park.
So once you're in the citycenter you just can come back to
your hotel or guest room, comeback, and if you stay somewhere
(48:08):
in other districts it might be abit of time consuming.
So I would say, choose anythingin the city center.
There are plenty of small,familiar hotels that I
absolutely love.
Of course, larger chains andfive stars.
I know that this year, likethree five stars hotels open on
(48:29):
top of my head.
One is named Visualiza quite ofa tongue twister name, but it's
in the city center.
So when you have, depending onwhat do you want to experience,
you can stay in a small hotel orin a five stars luxury.
Speaker 1 (48:45):
Well, Latina, it has been a pleasure talking to you.
Where can people find out moreabout you?
Speaker 2 (48:50):
Oh, thank you so very much.
I do have a website calledtravelinvisioncom.
They're very welcome to visitthe website.
My email is there.
I haven't been very activerecently as I've been out and
about traveling, leading tours,enjoying life, enjoying life,
enjoying folks, and but I willbe back with some new articles
(49:14):
and new information, as there'sso much out there to explore.
Speaker 1 (49:18):
Well, now I have Benita on the brain and I wish I
could just walk to a cafe andget to them and have a coffee
with the outside and just hangout.
But we'll get there eventuallysoon.
Thank you so much, Latina.
Speaker 2 (49:32):
Oh, thank you for having me have a lovely, lovely
day.
Enjoy the sun out in Folkestone, such a beautiful day.
Speaker 1 (49:39):
Bye, bye.
Okay, you just heard about thewonders of bulk area.
You need to come with us.
Let me just list a few of theamazing things you'll experience
.
We're going to the capital,sofia, where you will explore
thousands of years ofarchitecture and history.
We are going to Plavdiv.
You are going to see all thehidden gems there.
You're going to the Rose Valley.
(50:01):
You're going to visit theoldest threshing spa in the
world, so imagine rolling roseoil on your skin as you are
soaking in a warm bath.
You will be sipping wine andwandering around the ancient
ruins.
We'll be eating Shapska saladtogether and trying the local
coffee.
You will be in great company.
We will have tons of laughs.
(50:22):
This is a small group, not amassive tour bus experience.
We are creating something sospecial for you, so click the
link in the episode notes to geton the waitlist right now.
We will be announcing the fullitinerary soon and if you get on
the waitlist, then you aregoing to get priority to come on
the trip and will be offered aspecial early bird rate.
Again, this is a small groupthat we're taking and solo
(50:46):
travelers are especiallyencouraged to come along.
May is the ideal time to go toBulgaria and I would love to go
with you.
You are listening to thisepisode right now because you
are a special kind of traveler.
You are the get off the beatand path kind of person who
appreciates culture and goodfood, opening your mind, ancient
history, new experiences.
(51:07):
This trip will change your life.
Join us in Bulgaria May 2024.
Get on the waitlist now.
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