Thinking of buying property abroad? No? Neither did we, but friends of ours took the plunge & it got me thinking. A year or so ago, friends Paul (Fuzzy) & Sue said they were buying a house in Bulgaria, why would anyone want to go there I thought, I now apologise to the people of Bulgaria!
So, as the months passed Fuzzy & Sue sold everything they could & moved to Bulgaria, I was under the impression it was just a holiday home but there you go. They seemed to have done their homework & off they went driving across Europe in 2 vans in April of last year.
Then along comes a mutual friend of our called Ray, he said would I like to visit Fuzzy on our bikes, I thought this sounds fun. So after a bit of planning & working out costs we decided to go in June. After a few words with the wife who kindly pointed out 2 things, firstly she said your bike is 25 years old & secondly your back is f***ed, which one will give out first? She had a point!
After some more research, the 3000 mile round trip looked a bit expensive when you totalled up the cost of fuel, hotels & ferries etc. So it was an £85 return with Easy Jet!
June arrived & I booked an economy small car to collect from Sofia airport, which stated Corsa or similar & for less than £60 for the week who knows what to expect. I picked Ray up at around 2.30am & drove to Gatwick. A rather overpriced breakfast at the airport later & we were on the plane, 3hrs later were in Bulgaria where it was rather warm. We were met at the airport by the hire car rep where we were handed the keys to a 4 year old Chevrolet Aveo, which was basically an Astra sized saloon & a bit bigger than expected. A quick look round the car revealed front tyres that were as bald as me! The response from the rep was, its Bulgaria & it is what it is! With that we drove off following Fuzzy's very comprehensive directions.
We drove from the airport out of Sofia through a Gypsy village which was interesting then onto a dual carriage way & off on the open road. Head towards Botvegrad then turn off towards Montana & Vidin, then the schoolboy gigggles started. As we passed Botvegrad we saw several women in various lay-bys wearing bikinis & heels selling their wares, this we found was common on the outskirts of most larger towns, it kind of relieved (for want of a better word) the boredom of the 3 hour drive. We needed to get food for when we arrived at Fuzzy & Sue's so we found a Lidl in Vratsa & stocked up with something that resembled cheese, some bread, crisps & a large quantity of beer, Ray pointed out afterwards that he didn't really drink much, luckily i drink like a man thats just got out of prison!
We arrived around 5pm at Fuzzy & Sue's & had the grand tour of the lodge & the garden & then went to the local shop come bar where we were introduced to the local brew called Rakia which everybody makes & then takes to the bar. We were given a shot of Rakia which took the enamel off my teeth & removed the lining of my throat, but being a polite English boy i said thank you it was very nice. The response to this was oh, he likes it & more came my way. I don'tremember much else!
I awoke the next morning feeling slightly jaded to the sound of very loud birds singing & a cockerel that really was taking the piss! We spent the week being shown the local area, Lom is a nice small town with a few restaurants & bars, a nice bakery where I was most amused by Sue trying to buy a loaf of bread. Now speaking Bulgarian is like any other foreign language, you learn certain key words & phrases & do the best you can. the most difficult bit is yes & no. Da is yes & nay is no, simple you may think until your head moves, nodding in Bulgaria means no & shaking your head means yes. Now bare in mind that since most of us could crawl we learn the basic yes & no head gestures, welcome to Bulgaria where it is now a game. So we are in the bakery & Sue asks for a loaf of bread whist pointing to one she likes the look of, the young shop assistant acknowledges by pointing to the same loaf when Sue says yes & nods her head, the confused assistant moves to the adjacent loaf & points where Sue says no & shakes her head, the confused shop assistant moves back to the first loaf, i am now in tears of laughter & whisper to Sue keep your bloody head still. At this point i have to walk out, she emerges a few minutes later slightly red faced but clutching her bread.
As the week went on we visited Vidin, & went round the market amazed by the size of the vegetables & how cheap everything was. We spent all day looking at tools, household items & basically everything whilst complaining about how we are ripped off in the UK. So after a week of drinking beer at around 40p a bottle i dont want to leave. The area we are in is very rural & lacks all the creature comforts we are used to & i loved it! So the week comes to an end & Ray & I drive back to the airport giggling at the ladies in the lay-bys (£7 a go allegedly!). We've had a great week, the weather has been hot but rainy at times & has been eaten alive by mosquito's, i have not been bitten at all which i put down to my higher than average blood alcohol level & poorly controlled diabetes, which incidentally is due to my higher than average blood alcohol level!
We arrive back at Gatwick & head straight to McDonalds!
I now have to convince the wife to come to Bulgaria with me!
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