We arrived in town and were immediately treated like royalty at the Family Renaissance Hotel (thinking we may have been the only guests as we never saw anyone else during our entire stay!). Dimetri, the owner, was incredibly helpful. When I mean helpful, he was such a stark contrast from the communist-style customer service we were used to in Veliko Tărnovo. He gave us a map of the town, told us the top 3 sites we should visit with our limited time, reserved our bus trip to Istanbul (and we got one of the two last seats), did our laundry (for free!!) and delivered it to our room, folded, the next morning, made us huge Bulgarian breakfast every morning (turned on CNN Bulgaria in English for our personal entertainment), negotiated a taxi driver for our visit to monasteries and various stops the next day, and finally wrote a note in Bulgarian for us to deliver to Metro Turizm Bus Company to pick up our tickets!! I am only sorry I forgot to save our note or take a photo of it😟. He was truly our shining star in Bulgaria!!!
Our other great experience was the Plovdiv Free Walking tour at 6pm. We were the only people that showed up initially, so we had a private tour. This is when we met Tsveta Pancheva. Tsveta, our volunteer guide, is actually a professional opera singer whose English is impeccable, only matched by her love and refreshing enthusiasm for the history of Plovdiv. She delivered an outstanding walking tour of over 3 hours, and afterwards we invited her for dinner. She chose a charming local restaurant- University House- where we ordered local wine and delicacies. Even though it was down pouring, we had the best time. Somehow she walked us through the steep, wet and slippery cobblestone streets and walled city to arrive safely back at our hotel.
So a bit about Plovdiv....one of the most picturesque historic urban cities in Bulgaria. It is situated along the two banks of the Marista River. It is the 2nd largest city, after Sofia, but it feels small and quaint. Settled as early as 700BC (yes, that's BC!!), the city was controlled by the Romans between the 1st-4th centuries. It rose to economic dominance in the 14th century under the Ottoman's rule bringing a revival to the city when wealthy citizens built ornamented houses. In 1885, Plovdiv became part of Bulgaria. During the two wars, they backed the Germans and then endured almost 40 years of Communist rule but seemed to remain somewhat insular from their influence versus Romania or Vekiko Tărnovo.
Today, the old town is lined with National Revival homes, colorfully rendered exteriors protruding over high walls. We were able to visit two of these home's interiors (3rd was closed due to a performance). Most of the old town is now under state protection as an architectural reserve so a lot of renovation is still taking place. Within the old town, we were able to visit mosques, churches, Roman ruins, and these National Revival mansions. Plovdiv definitely had an old world European charm, but very inexpensive (ate in the 2nd best restaurant, 3-course meal, wine and dessert for $15/per person!!). Wish I could have stayed longer in this city, but Turkey awaits me!!
Roman Stadium, built in the 2c AD, could set up to 30,000 spectators. Today it is oddly incorporated into the city center and we had drinks in the cafe built into the side of the stadium.
The well-preserved Roman theater with seating for 6,000 spectators. Still in use today for performances.
No comments:
Post a Comment