Plovdiv. And cleaning.

On Saturday the assembled Fulbright group took a bus trip to Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second-largest city, to tour the old town.  Plovdiv, like Sofia, has Roman ruins and these were quite impressive.  A Roman stadium lies beneath a main shopping street and part of it hs been excavated. 

Roman amphitheater

The main draw of Plovdiv is the old town, which occupies several of the city's seven hills.  The old town contains buildings from the 17th to 19th centuries, many of which had fallen into severe disrepair and were only restored in recent years, as well as the Roman amphitheater.  We went into several of the buildings which are preserved as museums.  The ceilings in these buildings are particularly noteworthy with their elaborate carved wood and paint schemes.

Most of our group stayed in Plovdiv for the night, as it is two hours southeast of Sofia and was more convnient for them to travel directly back to their assignments across the country from Plovdiv.  I enjoyed the two days I had to get to know the other members of this Fulbright group.  I probably won't cross paths with many of the English Teaching Assistants again, but enjoyed getting to know them.  They are an impressive bunch.  I do expect that I will have several opportunities to visit again with the other lecturer this fall.

On Sunday morning I met Mariana, the head of the constitutional law department and my academic contact, for a quick tour of the Sofia University facilities.  I worked at the univeristy for a bit, and enjoyed lunch in the university restaurant (where I enjoy a 10% discount!).  I then walked to Billa, a Bulgarian supermarket chain, to do some shopping.  This particular store is located in the subway space in front of the university.  I always enjoy poking around grocery stores in foreign lands, and in this case was even a bit more challenged in trying to figure out what was what (I almost bought flour instead of sugar).  After buying some staples and cleaning supplies, I walked back home to being a big day of cleaning.  I am happy to report that all of our linens and dishes have been washed, and our floors, funiture, kitchen and bathrooms are clean!

Later, I visited my neighbors upstairs.  They are Bulgarians who recently moved back to Sofia after a dozen years or so in New York City.  They provided a lot of useful information and suggestions about the building, neighborhood, and city.  They have a young daughter, so I am particularly grateful to have them as a resource as I plan the logistics of my own family's arrival in Sofia.