Shopping ranges from the very, very cheapest to the very, very expensive.
The weather was bone chillingly cold and I had no warm clothing with me. Walking through one of the underpasses I saw racks of coats on sale…..for the princely sum on 10levs, I’ve got myself and incredibly warm, dark green (favourite colour) coat with a fabulous leopard print, faux fur hood and collar….look damned smart in it 😮 ) and I certainly had no problem with the cold from then on in.
Further down the Yellow Brick road we found the TZUM…now, this used to be the ‘soviet’ department store but has now been transformed into a four storey, designer label, top quality goods department store in a beautiful old building…still called TZUM, but apparently carrying products that bear no resemblance at all to what was there before. Again though, the goods on sale are way cheaper than you would pay for the same in most countries.
And if you have a shoe fetish…..this is the country to visit…the shoes are amazing.
Observed a rather strange shop thing ….when you’re walking around the streets, you see small corner shop type items stacked against the walls in some places. If you look closely, you’ll see a small opening to the basement below the building, and if you wish to buy any of the items on display, the shop owners pop their heads up through this gap, you ask for what you want and the transaction takes place…….I wasn’t sure whether to lie or kneel down on the pavement while I was buying something….very strange shop concept indeed. But I guess if you’re the shop owner tucked away down there, no one could rob you 😮 )
Unfortunately, while in Sofia, I managed to come down with a rather nasty chest infection…..did I go to a doctor ?? Don’t be silly…one of the hotel porters took me to an ‘Apteka’ (pharmacy) where the pharmacist spoke English, and I walked out 15 minutes later with a box of very strong antibiotics !!! And I’m feeling very much better now….thanks for asking 😮 )
Wednesday….time to say goodbye to Kerry. I felt rather flat as I got myself to the bus station to return to Yambol. It was fabulous to have some familiar company, and she’s such a fun person to travel with. Much laughter, seeing lots of fabulous places, many big glasses of good wine and just a really enjoyable break from the endless working on the house.
Now, I’m back in Yambol but haven’t actually made it back to the Big Hoose yet…but that’s another diary, one that will be laced with visitors, snakes and wolves. 😮
