Snow in Oct - Plovdiv

At 3AM the European storm hit Sofia. Big drops hit my hotel room window. It was pouring, lightning and thundering. My sleep was intermitten. The rain didnt stop all night and it continued to pour during the morning. Yesterday when I arrived, it was warm. Today the temperature plunged at least 5 degrees C. The breakfast buffet was very good. It even had smoked salmon. We were on our way to Plovdiv and everywhere was flooding. About half way through, we saw snow on the road and on the trees. The wind was howling when we stopped at a gas station. It was freezing cold. This was only the beginning of Oct. So we walked through Plovdiv old town in the cold and rain. The revival houses were spectacularly beautiful. The exteriors were painted with leaf motifs and bright colors. Painted columns and art design that gave the walls a 3D feel. Reminded me of the designs of the CA missions. The interiors were Turkish style, long couches along the walls, first floor generally for storage, upper floors bigger, and the best and biggest rooms reserved for guests. Photos were not allowed. Shame! You couldnt even get inside the Roman amphitheater. It looked well preserved or reconstructed. They have concerts there. But it's locked otherwise. We could only look at and photograph it from behind the locked gates. Shame.

Everyone smokes here. I hardly see anyone without a cigarette on their fingers. My Novotel hotel room overlooked the river Marica and had a view of the mountains. Not bad. On the bridge shops I spotted cheap leather boots - about 70 leva. But most of the shops were closed already. Disappointed. Dinner tonight was mixed meat - chicken, pork and beef. I was disappointed there wasnt enough for a second serving.

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