Travelling Tips For Bulgaria - Magic Maps, Sofia's Metro, Taxis and Buses Out Of Sofia to Borovets, For Walking and Skiing

The Bulgarian flag is easy to recognise and remember. White for purity, green for the countryside, red for the history of blood shed to win independence.

Within Bulgaria, Sofia is in the west, the mountainous west, far from the beaches on the Black Sea, regarded by some Bulgarians as their Blackpool, downmarket beaches for the masses, Vana, Burgas and Sunny Beach. A place to be, if you like beaches, but not a place to see.

Sofia was more of a map-reading challenge, but we walked along the main road and kept asking.

Bulgaria's capital Sofia is relaxing. In the hot summer at weekends the locals leave for a long weekend at the seaside the sea breezes or the cooler mountains. Trams and trolley buses zoom quietly along what look like speacious uncrowded pedestrian streets. Watch out for the trolley buses which sneak up on you silently and keep looking both ways.

On our Free Tour of Sofia, a walking tour, we took the underpass via the entrance to one of the major central stations and saw the Roman remains below the city.

I had yearned to see the Metro, and achieved my aim unexpectedly.

Returning to the Sofia airport we wanted to hire a car but they did not recognize a Singapore driving license. We had to meet our walking tour group. So we took a local bus to the walking area of Borovets mountain - Borovets means pines, not from the central bus station but the station in the south.

Confession time. We asked the car hire company where to get the bus to Borovets. They said the central bus station. That sounded logical. We should have checked to be sure. But we didn't.

So we took the metro from the airport to the central bus station. The signs are in Bulgarian.


Airport is the end of the line and easy.



However the train has announcements in English. Sofia has only two train lines in 2019 (a third planned), so you can't go far wrong.

However, we went far wrong. When we reached the central bus station, we learned that the bus to Borovets goes from the South Bus station!

So we got a taxi back towards the airport we had left and onwards to the south bus station. That spent time and money.

The South bus station is tiny. A building with a bus stop in front.

Sofia's Metro
However, I had wanted to see the Metro which I had heard was brand new.




Sophia's Metro, Bulgaria.

 How did it compare with the metro in Singapore? Singapore also has at least one brand new line.

Singapore Flag

Singapore's Holland Village
Singapore's Holland Village MRT shows a  windmill.

Holland Village station plastform with picture of Dutch windmill. Singapore. Photo by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.

The Sofia metro has very pleasant pink marble slabs everywhere, underfoot, up the walls, across the ceiling. Soothing curved ceilings. But no excitement, no history, no pictures to help you to identify your destination station.

UK flag

No features such as giant murals distinguished one Sofia station from another, unlike London underground which is gradually being redecorated and rebuilt.

The London underground now has pictures of Sherlock Holmes on the Baker Street station platforms. Also historic pictures of famous figures from history and a map adorn the Charing Cross station platforms.

Charing Cross Station. Photograph by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.


You don't need to see the Sofia Metro. The walking tour of Sofia is just fine, all the fun you need. But you can take the metro from the airport to the walking tour starting point.

Useful websites for travellers
Flights
Cheap Flights to Bularia and around Europe and the UK
ryanair.com
Flight Comparisons
skyscanner.com

Maps
sofia.inyourpocket.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia_Metro
https://freesofiatour.com/blog/guide-to-the-sofia-metro/

About the Author, Angela Lansbury
Travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please share links to your favourite posts.

The most luxurious - or the cheapest pull-on dresses in Singapore

I was intrigued by the name Homade Zakka. It sounds like home made. But it isn't. Mostly items made for the home, hangers and so on, but also inexpensive scarves and dresses.

Problem
Where do you buy a cheap dress in Singapore? I felt guilty after I made the impulse purchase of a 10 dollar dress from Homade Zakka. I could have spent only 5 dollars in the same shop on a satiny caftan in many prints, mainly of flowers.

Later that day I went into Robinsons Department Store on Orchard Road, Metro in the Paragon. Tangs. All had signs saying this percentage off and last chance. Lovely stuff.

But not in my price range.
I saw the pattern and had to have it. Lively reds. Soothing but vibrant royal blue.

Above all the pattern - Indian dancing girls.

I love my ten dollar dress. I wore it straight away.

The shop was Homade Zakka.

I asked, "May I try it on?"

"Cannot," she said. I wasn't sure whether she meant no fitting room or no trying because that creases the garments and you risk not wanting it if it doesn't fit. It looked like it might be too small. In which case I would have to cut the side seems and make it into a tabard with a waist level ribbon linking front and back, either pieces tying into a bow, or just fixed to make it larger, or maybe elastic.

I said, " I must try it to see if it fits" Before she had time to protest, I pulled it over my head.

"Yes, I said, "It fits. I'll buy it."

I always like to buy the item I have tried on - not another already wrapped and folded. The other one could be a different size, have a defect, or be a different pattern altogether. I once made a mistake, twice I think, and ended up with an item which was not what I wanted.

In a trice, I was out. Mission accomplished. Not a brilliant item. No cut. Not ankle length. I would need to wear it over a long underskirt. But with four colours, white red, royal blue, green, yellow and traces of black, I would be able to find something to co-ordinate.

If it did not turn out to be a firm favourite, or not nice enough to wear out, only good enough for lounging around at home, never mind, worthwhile at that price.

I thought it was good value. It even had a string-width belt with two loops to tighten it.

I happened to like the pattern which reminded me of my paintings.

The painting is religious, with the God born on a lotus flower in the middle, with his milkmaids and holy cows. 

My painting's design, I presume will cause no trouble offending any religious sensbilities, is a tree with a bird, with horses below.

You might like something else. If you arrived in Singapore and lost your luggage and needed an instant outfit, or need lots of gifts at reasonable prices, dash along here.

Cheap clothes have certain disadvantages, they may pull apart if you put them in a washing machine. The colours could run even if you wash them by hand. So hang them to drip dry over a plastic bowl or something which won't stain.

If you'd rather buy designer clothes, go into Isetan in Nex next door, and read my next post.

Zakka
Zak-ka is Japanese for miscellaneous things. Cutesy and kitch.

Homade Zakka
Ground floor
Near the bus station at Serangoon MRT beside Nex shopping mall.
I searched online for Homade and found several locations and qoo10 had other items from the same store and different dresses at budget prices from other stores.

Homade Zakka
#B2-21 Serangoon Nex
23 Serangoon Central
Singapore 556083

https://www.qoo10.sg/gmkt.inc/Search/Default.aspx?keyword=Dress
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakka

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.

Chocolate for the weekend - Chocolate Show at Olympia

If you missed the opening day of the Chocolate Show, or you loved it so much you want to go back, you have two days this weekend. Book early and go early. They emailed me because I went to a previous show. I've seen their advertisements while reading the free newspapers you are given on the London underground (Metro and Evening Standard) which keep you up with the latest events in London.

Here's the Rococo chocolate shop in Moxon street, London. I went to their even pairing chocolates with meat from the Ginger Pig (the shop opposite) earlier this year. After the chocolate show their will be more events throughout the year by several of the participants at the show.

See my earlier posts on the Rococo event and last year's chocolate show.

See pictures on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/ChocolateWeek?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer.

Idea Home Show, back at Olympia, London

Here's a date for your diary, the Ideal Home show back at Olympia, 'returns to its original home' says the ad.
20 March-6 April 2015.
Save £6 quote METRO
Call or book online
0844 858 6763
Adult price £17.50 weekday, £19.50 weekends. Does not apply to concessions. £1.70 transaction fee.

Children under 15 free with a paying adult.
Sponsor Anglian windows. (Oops - nearly called them Anglican, but corrected my typo.)
Home improvements, gardens, furniture, food, fashion, technology, gadgets and gifts.
Discounts and competitions on the website for magazines, shows, rail travel, hotels and restaurants.

More details from
www.idealhomeshow.co.uk
Expect to see it written up in the newspaper.

Angela Lansbury B A Hons, chocoholic author, photographer, speaker.

Chocolate delights discovered today: chocolate chickens to buy, and Museums in Minsk and London

Where can you buy and try chocolate eggs, and chocolate chickens? Which came first, the chocolate chicken or the chocolate egg?

Chocolate hen and eggs, according to the ad in today's UK Metro newspaper, (which is free at London underground stations most mornings), £2.99 from Lidl supermarket. (The small print informs you: 250 grams, selected stores, £1.20 /100g.

Nestle Smarties Egg, an egg filled with Smarties, costs £1.50 for the (122g egg, but only £1.35 with a MyWaitrose card.

You can join and get a card from waitrose.com/mywaitrose - also 10% off Easter confectionery. Small print on their ad reads: Selected stores and lines. Offer ends March 22nd.

Asda's ad in yesterday's Metro suggested get egg-cited for Easter and offered three eggs for £10. The five varies are Mars and friends egg containing three bars, Snickers, Mars and Twix, £5 each 327g.
The Galaxy Minstrels contains three Minstrels. The Maltesers teasers contains three Teasers. The Twirl contains 2 Twirls (I needed a magnifying class to check the small print on the box, but the box picture accurately shows the number you receive). The Cadbury Heroes contains a variety of miniatures.  Click and collect ASDA.com/clickandcollect

If you want to visit a chocolate museum and cafe in London, England, there's one in Brixton, south London:
The Chocolate Museum

187 Ferndale Road, 

Brixton

London, UK SW9 8BA

United Kingdom
www.thechocolatemuseum.co.uk

Other chocolate museums are in Belgium, Belarus, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the USA and more countries. Just a few:

Choco-story, Bruges, Belgium.

Chocolate Museum, Minsk, Belarus.

Chocolate Museum, Minsk, Belarus. According to Metro, the Chocolate Museum in Minsk, Belarus asked visitors to stop eating the displays, otherwise there would soon by nothing left. Better visit it soon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_chocolate_museums
You can read reviews of chocolate museums on Tripadvisor.

Angela Lansbury B A Hons, chocoholic author, photographer, speaker.