Bulgarian Adventure

Taking advantage of the long-ish weekend, we decided to head on over to Bulgaria, deciding it was time to sun ourselves at the seaside. And so we booked ourselves at sunny beach. Only, we forgot to book in the sun as well. So there we were at Sunny beach, which is the only bit of 'sunny' we got at this beach. We had perhaps jumped the gun a bit and had arrived just before the start of the season. Hence we were greeted by rows of shut shops, eateries that taunted us with 'open non-stop' signs, when they opened. Also rows and rows of abandoned parasols on a rather windy beach. All rather sorry looking. But the upside was that we had some fantastic views all to ourselves.

The baa-lamb (after getting slightly apoplexic about finding the hotel wi-fi completely useless) rooted through the web and discovered that we were just a stone's throw from a UNESCO heritage site and that's when we decided the head off to Nesebar. (I knew there was a reason I still love the man)
I think I was slightly tempted to buy property in this place from the millions I am going to win at the Euromillions lottery. It would still leave behind enough for the place in Bruges. :)

Here, we spotted a few shops that were open, but were slightly apologetic about it.

They also had slightly strange welcome signs on sale.

The kids had a blast too. They visited a shore made completely of shells, and spotted their first jellyfish (the sea was full of them. Jellyfish and seaweed. Just the thing one needs while wading in the sea. Why, in a spa you'd be forking out hundreds of pounds to anoint yourself with these things. You got these here absolutely free!)

We even had a surprise visit from a school of Dolphins. I was so excited to see them, I completely forgot to click any photographs until it was too late, and all I got was this teeny shot.

All in all, good trip. Definitely worth a visit once again, this time when the shops are actually open, please. :)

Romania in Focus: through the lenses of expat women

So. if you want to know what I've been to while being holed away in Romania, part of the time was spent doing this:

Photo credit: Mihai Constantineanu

This book and a photo exhibition featuring some of that photographs from the book was launched at the Crowne Plaza hotel, Bucharest last evening. Apart from being so much fun, being part of this lovely group of expat women who happen to share a common love for photography, what really stands out is the dedication of the ladies who want to give back something to this beautiful country.

Photo credit: Mihai Constantineanu

The proceeds from the sales of this book as well as from the prints (which are also on sale) will go to six worthy charities in Romania. This is the 5th Year of the project, but my first, and hopefully, not the last.
I'll try and post the pictures soon, of all the photographs, so you can order prints if you'd like (they'll look great adorning your office space or wall at home), and what the hey, I'll try and get it signed for you by the photographer :) . Also, the book makes great gifts (besides making you feel really good that you're helping out some really worthy causes), so let me know if you'd like some copies.

Photo credit: Mihai Constantineanu

Cheers!
R