Our flight from Bulgaria to the UK wasn’t until 8pm on Monday 20th July. We planned to get the train at midday from Plovdiv back to Sofia, arriving around 2.45pm. The train was hot and sweaty, no AC and had 8 of us per compartment. I couldn’t do any work until I got to Sofia so we decided to go back to the 5 Corners bar for a late lunch. Captain Caveman ordered the meatballs and I had pork schnitzel, both of which were really good. Our bill came to a total of €32.60 (£28) including drinks. At 5.15pm we headed off to Sofia airport by Metro and I reset up my office there too. It’s very convenient being able to work anywhere but it is getting more difficult to take a full day off now. On the flight home, I had an aisle seat and Captain Caveman had a window seat – the middle seat was empty! The flight landed in Heathrow at 9.20pm and we got the bus back, following a quick stop at M&S for some snacks. We were back ‘home’ in Barnes before midnight and quickly scoffed the snacks before bed. It had been a brilliant trip to Bulgaria and it was firmly on our list to return. The fun wasn’t about to stop just yet though as we had more plans for the summer.
Gratitude List 1. Surviving a hot and busy train from Plovdiv to Sofia 2. 5 Corners bar in Sofia 3. Back safely in Barnes with some M&S snacks, after a wonderful trip.
It was a long and exciting day on Friday 17th July. I also made 2 errors with friends where I wished one a happy birthday 2 days early and the other I was meant to have a call at 8.30am UK time but I was travelling by train from Sofia to Plovdiv and had no WiFi. I’m usually on the ball with that sort of thing so I felt a bit disorganised – trying to work, do holidays and keep up with friends was taking its toll a bit. The early morning train was good, on time and no issues. We arrived in Plovdiv and went straight for breakfast as we were starving. I ordered cheese and ham pancakes and a tea while Captain Caveman had quesadillas and a fried egg with coffee. We paid €18.50 (£15.87) which probably wasn’t the cheapest place in town but it was good.
We walked it to the hotel with our backpacks and mine was heavier than Captain Caveman’s because I had all my work stuff with me. It was getting warm and it was quite a walk. When we got to the area near to where we were staying, the roads were all cobbles and quite steep. I found it a struggle but Captain Caveman marched on ahead, as usual. Eventually, he waited at a particularly tricky bit when he realised I wasn’t behind him, then he took my bag. I’d booked the Old Legends hotel because it was a bit quirky and had a roll top bath. It was very old fashioned but amazing and we had one of the best rooms in this 5 star Bulgarian treasure of a place.
At 4pm we got ready to make our way to the Phillgood festival venue and called in to a local cafe for some food. We both ordered the potatoes with cheese and bacon with a soft drink for €11.60 (£9.95). It was so tasty but very filling – probably too stodgy to have just before a gig!
We got the bus but it didn’t go right to the venue and we had to get off and walk. The start time was 5pm but we ended up missing the start of Just Mustard. We had a couple of drinks for €12 (£10.30) where the barman knocked a whole bottle of gin off the bar and I caught it. The Subways did a great set and really worked the crowd, the lead singer tried a bit of crowd surfing but it looked like the Bulgarian audience weren’t that familiar with that. We nipped over to one of the other stages to see Bulgarian Cartrader who was quite good and did a bit of rapping and singing – I liked him. Wolf Alice was on the main stage next and I still wasn’t a massive fan but the Bulgarians were going mad for her. Our favourite act of the night by far, though, was The Cure – Robert Smith was phenomenal. At the end of the gig we walked it back to the hotel and it was a fair distance. I’d been a bit disappointed that water wasn’t free at the venue and the toilets were not as good as in Madrid but the venue was pretty good to say it was built over a canal full of mosquitos. We were both bit quite badly and had to take antihistamines before bed – so rock and roll!
Gratitude List 1. Making it from Sofia to Plovdiv, despite an early start 2. Staying at Old Legends hotel 3. Day 1 of the Phillgood Festival and getting to experience live music again.
After a great night’s sleep and breakfast at Hotel Niky on Thursday 16th July, we were off to explore Sofia. The train from the airport had been just 80 cents (70p) and the local tram just 50 cents (43p) so it was probably the cheapest transport in a capital city that I’d encountered. We did have to pay cash at each ticket machine, though. Our morning had us walking a lot in sunny Sofia, admiring the buildings and some of the ruins. I loved the town as I tried to keep up the pace with Captain Caveman! Around 1pm we went for lunch at a place we had researched to try some local Bulgarian food.
Hadjidraganov’s Cellars was a traditional and authentic Bulgarian restaurant where we splashed out on a mixed grill sharing plate, with bread that we didn’t need, and 2 half litre beers for €47.33 (£40.52). It was quite pricey for a lunch stop but it was incredible and massive! We paid the bill and wandered the city some more until one of us needed the loo and we had a tea and a coffee in a cafe for €3.60 (£3.08).
We walked to the train station by which time my blisters were coming back and we attempted to buy train tickets from Sofia to Plovdiv, in advance of our trip to the Phillgood festival. Unfortunately, neither of us had accounted for the fact that all the trains were sold out already. We tried the automated ticket machine and asked a lady at the counter but got nowhere. We marched off to the nearby bus station but the kiosk we needed was unmanned. We soon found out why when a worker started shouting in English that there were no more buses available to Plovdiv as they were all full. Crikey! What were we going to do? Captain Caveman loves to solve problems so he strode off back to the train station, determined to find an alternative way. Meanwhile I looked at prices of taxis from Sofia to Plovdiv, £200+ was not going to happen and I really didn’t fancy hitchhiking! We couldn’t miss it as we were going for Captain Caveman’s birthday, so I was getting a bit upset and stressed!
Having been particularly disappointed at not being able to get any transport from Sofia to Plovdiv, Captain Caveman had come up with a cunning plan. We were due to checkout of Hotel Niky at noon tomorrow and get to Plovdiv any time we could in readiness for the Phillgood festival. What we hadn’t considered until now was checking what trains went any time between now and before the first sold out train tomorrow. The idea being, we sacrifice our last night in Sofia and just get to Plovdiv on any train we could. Back to the train station automated ticket machine we trotted and started looking at other options. Low and behold the plan worked and we got 2 seats on a train at 5.30am from Sofia to Plovdiv. We celebrated with more walking but this time to a craft beer bar. We had crisps and 2 beers, then 2 more beers and chatted to the lovely owner who gave Captain Caveman his map, who then took a photo of it and gave it back to give to the next person. We loved it in there and got chatting to a tourist and a guide before heading off to another bar.
The 5 Corners pub was like a tardis and completely surprising from how the outside looked. We had pints of Stout and Hoegaarden beer, chips & cheese and a sausage plate which was fantastic. The price was cheap too, at only €24.40 (£21) but Captain Caveman noticed the bar man had not added his extra beer on so he rounded it up when the guy said it didn’t matter. We went back to Hotel Niky to pack and let them know we wouldn’t be at breakfast and were checking out before 5am. It was a 24 hour reception so they were fine with that and we got some much needed sleep and set all the alarms – we were still off to Plovdiv!
Gratitude List
1. Lunch at Hadjidraganov’s Cellars
2. Booking 2 train tickets to Plovdiv
3. Having an amazing day in Sofia with Captain Caveman.
I’d been away from Dalyan’s Fat Club for so long now that the weigh day on Wednesday 15th July almost felt pointless. Luckily, we Fat Club ladies have a group chat and they are 2 hours ahead in Türkiye so there were already messages – mainly encouraging and humourous. It’s great because it keeps me conscious of trying to maintain some semblance of sensible eating and I do miss the group a lot when I’m not there. So, I got on the scales in Barnes and took my measurements (I always carry my tape measure). I was shocked to find I had lost 1.5kg (3.3lb), lost 2cm from my bust, no change to my hips but had put 2cm on my waist. I was pleased with that but I now still needed to lose quite a bit more to get back to my target weight. What I didn’t realise is that Captain Caveman had done his work for the week, was now on holiday and was sat playing Bridge on his phone when I came back from the bakery. I’d been to get croissants from Gail’s but there was a massive queue. A cute dog alerted me to a counter at another bakery a few doors down, he was waiting to be served and there were dog biscuits on the counter. I paid £6.20 for a croissant and a pain au chocolat, the dog biscuits were free so my new pal got given one for helping me. There was no sign of an owner but the dog was obviously a local. After me cramming in some work, we left Barnes at midday. We said farewell to Captain Caveman’s Ma but I only shouted up ‘bye’ to Pa, who I hope had his hearing aid switched on. Captain Caveman’s parents are always so welcoming and accommodating so I was actually sad to be leaving. We got the bus back to Heathrow airport (again) ready for our 3.25pm BA flight to Sofia. We were off to Bulgaria for the Phillgood festival in Plovdiv and were really looking forward to seeing more bands. On our way through a precinct in Hammersmith we nipped in Tesco to stock up on meal deals for dinner as we didn’t want to be spending money unnecessarily in the airport or on the plane. We paid £12 for 2 meal deals which included a chicken katsu bento box for me and a sandwich for Captain Caveman. We both had a snack and a smoothie too.
The flight to Sofia went as planned and we landed in to Sofia where we were staying for 2 nights. The navigation of the train/metro from the airport to our hotel was easy and it wasn’t busy at 9pm. We arrived at Hotel Niky which I had booked with Resort Expert’s for an excellent price and it was very comfy and in a great location. Captain Caveman decided we would pop to an ale house for beer and sausages but it was closed. Instead we ended up at a lovely pizza restaurant on the main street. At La Piazzetta we ordered a beer and a red wine and 2 pizzas. The wine serving was massive and so were the pizzas. Captain Caveman had a spicy one and I had a BBQ chicken. They tasted great and it wasn’t expensive – Captain Caveman paid. Back at the hotel, it was late so we were looking forward to a good sleep and exploring Sofia tomorrow – neither of us had been before.
Gratitude List 1. Losing weight this week 2. Being able to stay in Barnes again 3. Another trip away to somewhere new, with Captain Caveman.
joloyolo 