Middle-aged flash packers

Day 1 – Stara Zagora

Another week in Bulgaria beckons. This time to explore a couple of things that caught our eye last time we visited, namely Rose Valley and a train journey into the mountains.  

Due  to a very busy week, my packing resembles a teenager’s cocktail made from the contents of his parent’s booze cabinet – random but will hopefully hit the spot.

We flew Ryanair from Stansted; two experiences we haven’t had for many years. The last Ryanair I can remember was to Krakow where we were delayed two days as the airport couldn’t cope with fog. 

Stansted’s airport has a very good meet and greet system let down by Ryanair’s not so good baggage drop off system. Works for them but not for their punters. 

I don’t know what it’s like normally at Stanstead, but this morning I wondered if an episode from “The only way is Essex” was being filmed. Tanned, lip plumped and trim, that was just the men,  the women looked even better. All the kids were immaculately dressed (not a football strip in sight) and the perfumeries were doing a roaring trade. The sound of Estuary English rang loud and clear.

The flight was unremarkable other than we got chatting to a very nice Bulgarian lady and her son who gave us some restaurant recommendations should we visit Plovdiv.

Our car rental from Top Cars did not go quite so smoothly. Billed as “collection from the terminal”, this applied to us and not the car. As instructed by S, I bundled into the courtesy van when it arrived while he dealt with the luggage but before I could reserve him a seat, a giant Bulgarian squashed into the seat next to me and I was trapped in the back while the other seats were filled not with S. Luckily he managed to squeeze in next to the driver which was just as well as I couldn’t get out and goodness knows when the next bus would be.

It took us almost half an hour to get to the car collection point then another 20 minutes to sort the paperwork. Every time we rent a car , they make us duplicate the information we’ve already provided. They then hard sell all sorts of add ons that we don’t need. I let Steve deal with this tedium while I ate my sandwich and observed an older British couple who were fully masked up getting to grips with an enormous car they were no doubt “upgraded” to and really would have preferred a Honda Jazz.

2.5 hours later we arrived at The Best Boutique Hotel in Stara Zagora. Not having time to stay in any other hotels in the town, I’ll take their word for it.

What a surprise! I was expecting a Soviet style grey and run down town. Instead we are close to a park and a long street of cafes, restaurants and shops. It’s buzzing with people drinking and eating. Stara Zagora will be our base for exploring the Rose Valley and I’m happy with it.

Not so happy with the prices though. Since our last visit to Bulgaria in 2023, they seem to have rocketed. Food and drink is much more expensive. Wine in particular is not far off British prices. 

After a disappointing attempt to get fed at the Zaar restaurant (they just ignored us – too busy to be bothered with a table of two) we ended up at Leon which is a huge restaurant and was filled with people. What is going on here – it’s Wednesday and you should all be getting a good nights sleep ready for work tomorrow. 

Luckily our meal arrived promptly and we back in the BBH by 10.30pm.

Tomorrow we explore the Rose  Valley, visiting a number of villages and towns to see what goes on during rose pressing time.

Apologies for the lack of photos by the way. Will do better tomorrow.