Just walking today and I got to some thinking.
I had my bag with with my cell phone and laptop and thought to myself that the value of these gadgets is more of less equivalent of the average YEARLY salary of the folks around here. The vast majority of them work hard, very hard.
The inequality in this world is staggering.
Arek is in Winnipeg and took a few shots of the two places I lived in. Looks like absolutely nothing has changed in well over 20 years.
I would never discourage anyone from any type of travel or exploring a foreign city but you’re honestly better off going camping in your back yard than going to Manitoba.
Ever see a Passat like this? Yeah, me neither. How cool would it be to have one of these brand new?
Bought these little port covers to keep the sea-breeze, sea eels, and sea sand out of my laptop.
Super craving some chicken wings today. Found a cute little British pub and didn’t order any booze.
Another absolutely wild night last night. I think it’s time for a bit of a break. We’ve got some house projects ahead and it will be nice to chill out for a few days.
If I continue at this pace my brain is going to ooze out.
If you do this fish spa thing you’re an idiot.
It’s expensive, does absolutely nothing and it’s very unsanitary. Why do tourists fall for this crap?
We want this table but have no space for it. It’s a huge nylon block cutting board with heavy duty steel legs. For now it’s only a dream.
McDonald’s on the beach. The prices here are exactly double of what they are in Burgas.
This sign has been up for the last two weeks and we’ve been here almost daily. 66 cent large beers on the main strip are hard to pass up.
Mission of 2013 is to visit 100 different beach bars but this one wasn’t particularly great.
Weird vibe. It was full of douchebag/ufc/sketchy/ugly tattoo types. Good music, though.
Most of the major resorts are finally open.
We found this pretty restaurant completely surrounded by roses with great music, 60 cent 1/2 Liter beers and super cheap food. As always, free use of the swimming pool and even a ping pong table. We will come here often, it’s just down the street.
The air conditioner is now running around the clock. It’s 33 degrees today, I believe the hottest day to date.
Imagine having a class 5 hurricane INSIDE your house all the time.
A deadly hurricane that not only hurricanes but also climbs, scratches, bites, argues with you, wants constant attention, moves things around, hides things and knows exactly when to scream for you, generally at around 3:45AM.
Well, we have TWO hurricanes.
Below are their “time out” buckets. Only effective for about 7 seconds. Still a nice, peaceful 7 seconds that I cherish greatly.
Best ketchup ever. Thick with a tinge of Worcestershire. We had beach-fries this afternoon and I consumed more ketchup than friy.
Restaurant down the street just opened. We will pig out next week. If I was a tad drunk and just a tad more brave I would have approached one of the swines and taken a bite.
Fridays are always great days for relaxation.
Today was a bit cooler and we spent the day drinking beers and reading our Kindles.
Amalia vegetarian chicken wings. Also, her home made spicy sauce she spent 4 hours making early this morning.
After no less than 6 hours of filling out paperwork, visiting 6 different offices, dealing with a dozen+ people, my DJ gear is finally here (it was shipped from New York).
Imagine dealing with the government of Communist Russia in 1940…but with more red tape, more frustration, overwhelming backwardness and bizarre rules……but 10X worser.
Check out this sign.
Supreme Burgas trip today.
Big city hike, shopping, pub hopping (sitting at one right now) and still dealing with government and customs paperwork. I’m hoping on getting a special import number that will allow me to receive big ticket items from outside the EU. The wheels are in motion.
These guys will be playing at the beach club pretty much downstairs from our loft. This poster is only for one club and only for a span of one month.
More than 100+++ clubs within walking distance.
I am back at my favorite restaurant. Sippin’ on Bulgarian ales and gorging on my favorite Bulgarian delights.
Amalia stayed home with the bad-cats.
You would think they are nice and polite. Nope, they are urban terrorists, pure and simple.
Depeche Mode.
What’s there to say, an incredible event. They played everything I wanted to hear, the beers were $1.30 (fuck Canada and $8 concert beers, fucking fuck asshole thieves), we danced and sang along.
The only small problem is they played a few too many slow ballads, if I go to a huge concert like this I WANT TO ROCK OUT!!!!!!
Our rain wear was a massive success, only problem was that it didn’t really rain.
Some of the best Chinese food is in Sofia, massive portions with pretty much everything costing about a dollar of two. Amazing hot and sour soup, too.
The pool is cleaned, drained and filled. Just waiting for the chemicals to stir around and dissipate. Two days max.
Drove for almost 1000 Kilometers. Amazing adventure. We came back with a car load of new IKEA stuff including a bunch of furniture. Loads of photos to come.
We picked up a 2.5 Liter plastic bottle of beer. Sadly, the 5 Liter bottles were sold out.
We’re having soooo much fun. Depeche Mode tonight. Check out our custom weather-wear.
Cannot stress this enough but yesterday was the best day ever.
Spent the WHOLE day (we wake up at 8am every morning these days, too bright to sleep) walking around all the beaches, hopping between beach bars and restaurants and on top of it all, I got a gorgeous haircut from the most amazing lady ever. I hate getting haircuts as I can’t sit still for over 2 minutes but yesterday’s experience was the best one yet. Walking around with bottles of champagne and chatting up the locals was RIDICULOUSLY fun. Everyone is just so crazy awesome and cool around here, holy doodles!!!!!! I think, on average, we meet about 30 new friends per day.
Also, I’ve never been more tanned (tannder?) than I am today.
Haven’t dined there yet but it’s finally open, brand new and absolutely gorgeous. My childhood dream of eating a triple Whopper with extra pickles on the beach will finally come true.
We went to the pier to make out last night. Drank a bag of wine and peed off the edge. It was really fun.
This gas station offers a free bottle of vermouth with every fill-up. Smart.
Cleaned the van from top to bottom, it’s extremely hot outside and I was gasping for air the whole time, the coldest day in the coming week will be 26 degrees.
Dropped the van off at the shop for an oil and filter change and she should be ready to roar later this afternoon.
Strollin’ down my street the other day then suddenly……
Obviously knocked on the door and was greeted by a super cool and very friendly French dude who’s been traveling all over Europe alone for the last year.
We grabbed a beer at the restaurant next door and talked about our adventures for almost two hours. His views on the world were exactly like mine. We covered everything, from the stupidity of Polish people, the French government, the friendliness of everyone and the common challenges of living the nomadic lifestyle (finding WIFI, electricity, parking etc.).
For the duration of our heated chat he was my very best friend.
Check out his rig, pretty much as badass of a machine as you can get. It’s called the Iveco Daily 4X4. 3Liter common rail diesel, 4X4 chassis, air suspension, crazy high ground clearance, fully insulated for winter use, super pimped out interior, solar, countless batteries and gadgets. Hubert is planning on visiting Mongolia and is awaiting his paperwork and visa. Jealous doesn’t even remotely describe how I felt when talking with him.
Planning on purchasing one? The prices START, with very few options at $250,000 (yes..quarter of a million dollars).
Amalia and I are taking our van and heading West to explore a few Bulgarian cities early Sunday morning, can’t wait to live in the van again….even if it’s just for a few days. If it wasn’t for the kitties we would go for a much longer trip but they’re still too fragile to take along.
This is how much a large, freezing cold beer costs at a really cool umbrella bar one block from the beach. 87 cents.
A regular can-sized beer is about 60 cents, shots are 55 cents.
Also, starting June 1st..it’s open 24/7. Brilliant for those 6AM cravings.
This is the nearest beach bar to our condo. Just about a 6 minute walk from our front door and t opens in just a few days.
Today is our 19 month wedding anniversary.
Also… Amalia has been working on a HUGE European photo project that will more than likely be posted on Flickr. We have boxes full of photos that still need to be sorted out, organized and dated.
The project will take another month or so. Ohhhh…we’re also writing a book.
Thank You…
Like a brand new Buick in the driveway, his and hers peepholes have always been synonymous with status, affluence and prestige.
Check out the pate Amalia made. It had to be refrigerated overnight and we woke up early (7AM) just to eat it.
At 1100 calories per teaspoon, it’s an delicious treat.
Mid afternoon snack. The smoked fish in Bulgaria is so incredibly tasty it brings tears to my eyes.
Really love Mondays. To the beach, bar hopping, friend making and exploring..…again.
Someone, one day…years from now will come up with something funnier than this….maybe.
On average, 263 people have checked this blog every day (in 2013) from almost every continent. I should start a movement.
Let’s be honest, if your computer….or any device in your house has a plastic CD-ROM unit…you’re probably poor.
I would strongly suggest picking up some extra shifts at the sandwich store to get rid of this embarrassment.
My DJ gear should be here on Tuesday.
I also want THIS really bad. Need to pay off some bills…then I get…maybe next week.
Furniture is coming soon (Sofia trip), a projector and a Kyle-trancelaser. Raving, imminent.
Also, expect an old-school Trance mix..soon.
Sadly we don’t drink much hard booze anymore but when we do….
Didn’t have any vodka mix so Amalia made delicious jam-water. She froze a mixture of strawberry jam and water and turned it into ice cubes.
Did I tell you we will build a house one day?
It’s true. The condo is just an in-between living solution and in a few years (about 2, probably more) we will start building a super custom house that’s going to break all the rules of house building. We will buy a small plot near the water (in Sunny Beach) and build a tiny home that’s mostly kitchen with more outside than inside space. One bedroom, one bathroom, cat area, a two person 80’s music dance floor, hot tub and a huge garden.
It’s going to be really fucking cool.
Completely off topic : there is a restaurant that recently failed and the space was converted into a supermarket. They have a surplus gas stove that we’re hoping to buy. It’s a beast of a unit, commercial/heavy duty…just a freakkin’ monster (you could broil a large male bear in the oven). If we get it, it will replace the living room couch in our loft….we want it, but we have zero space for it…wish me luck..
It will be the exact opposite of this.
I’ve just reached the 10 phone call mark of 2013, mostly with my amazing-awesome Ivan (real estate agent). I am hoping to keep the year under 20 phone conversations. Wish me luck.
Also, I haven’t…….nor will I ever setup my voicemail.
