Plovdiv Walkabout

Horowitz Travel- May 10, 2017- Plovdiv Walkabout

Having a private guide means never having to look for parking at a hotel. Patrick is friends with the owners and it's not unusual for the proprietor to be removing the no parking sign as we pull up. After touring this afternoon, we went to our rooms to freshen up before having coffee at the hotel cafe. When we came downstairs, Patrick and the owner were sitting at a table in order to save it for us. Then Patrick was off to nap before his big evening of dinner at the hotelier's house and watching another football match. He admitted that touring wasn't as easy as it used to be, and we told him to rest before tonight. Now we're parenting him. 

This was a day of walking and museums. Judi has an app that counts steps. We've been doing an easy 7-10K steps a day. I'm sure today was no different. Plovdiv is known for its Revival architecture (mid-1800's). Exteriors are colorfully painted and decorated with designs while interiors have carved wood ceilings and walls painted in florals and geometrics resembling wallpaper. We toured the Nedkovich house belonging to a wealthy merchant and built in 1863. It was spacious and grand, but had no indoor plumbing or electricity. Interior windows opened to the grand entry hall or second floor landing to admit more light from exterior rooms. The kitchen was in an adjacent building.

The ethnographic museum was housed in a most beautiful structure showing off the best of Revival design. It highlighted different metal work, the wool industry that provided cloth for the Ottoman army, agriculture, bagpipes from when Celts were here (still a favorite music of Bulgarians), and Mummers costumes (started here, folks) worn during Lent, and their version of Mardi Gras. 

We hopscotched our way uphill carefully stepping from rock to rock on the cobblerock streets to an overlook where I took a picture of the ruin of a Roman wall with a McDonald's sign in the valley below. Down we went to remnants of a Roman theater and stadium.

Speedily moving along, we arrived at an archaeological museum where it was clearly illustrated how this was a crossroads of many cultures. Thracian items of finely designed gold pieces mixed with the Greek urns and amphora that traders brought back to this region. A mosaic floor depicting a menorah with a Greek inscription of names of donors was prominent in the collection. We weren't supposed to take photos in the museum, so Patrick left the room while we took contraband pictures of the 3rd century floor. A guard appeared out of nowhere, but we'd already put our phones away. We figured out that they had video surveillance. There was no incident.

Finally, it was lunchtime. We got to relax at an outdoor venue and watch the world go by. Judi and I tried einkorn in a salad and looked it up later. It's a type of wheat. Then we had spinach balls stuffed with cheese with yogurt dip. Yum! David found BBQ beef ribs on the menu and couldn't resist. He said they were awful.

We had a quick run through a museum with more mosaic floors and lovely examples of Thracian millefiori glass. I started taking notes when Patrick told me not to bother. The museum guide was just making up stories. He gave us his version later.

We had a date at a winery owned by friends of his, of course. It's a boutique winery that only sells to limited clientele who come to them to order. They have no salespeople and no retail sales. The winery, established in 1881, was privately owned before the communists took it over. It was a popular place for multi-national Party dignitaries. Several important meetings were held there. It is once more in private hands. We had a grand tour and tasting. Unfortunately, I don't appreciate good wine. The rich oak smell reeks of oil or gasoline to my nose. David couldn't wait to rinse the taste out of his mouth. Patrick adores their top of the line Chardonnay. At the end of the tour we tried to secretly buy him a bottle, but he figured out what we were up to. He consented to having us buy a less expensive version that he could share with his wife. It seems that her nose is similar to mine. For those interested, the label is Strata Izba Parvenetz. 

Tonight is a milestone in our relationship with Patrick. He's trusting us to walk to a restaurant on our own after he only went over the directions and walked the route with us once. There were a few discussions about the route as we walked it alone that night, but we finally agreed and arrived at Hemingway's. It's an upscale restaurant by any standards except price. Our total bill for three of us was $13 per person without the tip. David and Judi had duck and we shared two appetizers. One appetizer was arancini (3 large balls) and the other was riblair cheese in a thin crust with honey, walnuts, and apples. No one ordered the horse either grilled or jerked.

After dinner, we went for a short walk on the pedestrian mall. Judi had her purse cross-body over her jacket. I asked if she could hide it underneath. She couldn't and was in the process of moving her wallet and phone to a zippered jacket pocket when a beggar approached. I pushed Judi aside and strongly and loudly told him, "NO!" David thought I overreacted, but after we were mugged in Arles I was ready to lay the beggar out flat. He's probably just a poor man doing the best he can. By then Judi and I were concerned about getting back to the hotel before dark. The beggar and the bad footing of the streets was motivation enough. David wanted to walk some more so we saw Judi to the hotel and strolled on. We ended up buying ice-cream bars and eating them in our lobby. I left a note on Patrick's door assuring him of our safe return.

Tomorrow we try to part the Iron Curtain.

Toby

Revival srchitcture-Plovdiv

Menorah mosaic

Winery