May 23rd Reached the Bulgarian boarder at just before 1am and had to get off and get a leaving stamp. Then it was back on the bus and came to a duty free mall and toilet break. Our grouped headed to the toilet while the more locals all went and brought as many cigarettes as they possible could duty free. Then it was time to cross into turkey. Had to wonder out and around at the crossing to get a visa. $20us dollars ( very grateful to the girl in the group that w...

May 22nd Was woken at 3am by a small earth quake. The hotel shock for about a minute and then settled again. Was possible and after affect from on the day before in Italy. No damage was reported and they were vary accounts of the scale but around 5 magnatidue. Was in a deep sleep so just rolled over and went back to sleep. Had an early start to the day, not sure why because it is going to be a long day with the overnight bus to Istanbul turkey. Enjoyed a large l...

May 21st, Up early to try and wash my hair but there was only cold water so tried as best I could in the sink. Breakfast was better this morning with eggs with toast and jam. Then it was on the bus to head towards Plovdiv. We drove through picturesque countryside leaving the mountains behinds and wound our way through a valley. Was disappointing to see all the rubbish on the edges of the streams. The country is trying to introduce rubbish collection and recycl...

May 20th Had a good sleep with my second night in a single room. Breakfast was donuts with jam and cheese and side of thick sheep yoghurt.... I like donuts but at breakfast it is a bit much. The host was funny he called it special bread... But it is just batter that has been deep fried. Not sure if I have mentioned this yet but one of the odd things about Bulgaria is they shake their head for yes and nod there head for no. It is so confusing. Today is a free d...

May 18th Overslept, the room was very dark and warm due to leaving the heating on high to try and dry the wet clothes from yesterday. Decided to take advantage of the excellent shower and wash my hair , turned out to be good choice as the guide was saying the next few days we are in home stay and smaller hotels with back to a random shower head over the toilet and sink the bathroom closet. Again had a light breakfast as I don't want to overwhelm my stomach agai...