07-31-09 VELIKO TARNOVO

Here is Veliko Tarnovo, the ancient capital of Bulgaria. The map gives you an idea of the extent of the walled city positioned on top of a hill mostly surrounded by a river. Our plan was to walk around the old castle and fortress in the morning, then go on a hike to a nearby village in the afternoon. Temps over 100, though, wore us out and we had to head back to the hotel early afternoon before our hike.

FRIENDS AND FAMILY

07/23-07/28 AROUND VARNA

ROMAN BATH

These are ruins of an ancient Roman bath...the 4th largest in Europe. Around 200AD. It is located in downtown Varna.

07/28/09 ICE SKATING

One day in Varna, the temp was over 100. To escape the heat we went ice skating! The air was cooler, but still quite hot, so there was a good layer of water on top of the ice. If you fell down you got wet....but it didn't feel bad. No one broke or sprained a limb, so it was a very successful outing. Afterwards, no one was interested in doing any of the outdoors activities in the park in the blazing sun.