Lovely to hear such a positive report on our lovely historic town of Veliko Turnovo. Did you see Marno Polo Park? Its had a great makeover courtesy of EU and the fountains are now working and very spectacular. The Summer Theatre is also under construction. VT had to supply a million levs and the EU LOADS! Roads and drainage are also under makeovers which has meant a summer of dust but will be well worth it and should stop some of the flooding in bad weather.
Veliko Turnovo has the old and the new parts to explore and my Hero and I have begun a Sunday lunch ritual in town and a bit of a shop while waiting for the bus home. We have twice eaten at a lovely restaurant which has also been renovated and grown since we have lived here. Its near a park and 2 great pizzas, shopska salad, potatoes and 3 beers cost 22.70. Very pleasant waiter who was surprised we could read the Bulgarian menu but made sure we knew we had a 'special' shopska. I think it was because we had to wait for it (maybe he forgot the order!) This is a lovely break from cooking for me and nice to see some of the world outside Mindya, much as we love village life. We are hoping to continue this treat into winter as the restaurant has a completely refurbished inside and decent loos.
Its no surprise that so many Brits live in this area.
On the bus journey home in lovely sunshine, I, once again, thought what beautiful scenery we pass through. Each village is pleasant and the mountain scenery in the distance is fabulous.
Sorry to hi-jack this thread - but it was great to see this post Tony.
Thu Oct 04, 2012 11:40 am
But be prepared with decent footwear as there are plenty of hills. 
The food in the cafes and restaurants is good and mostly not too expensive. The road to VT from Yambol via Sliven was our route but beware some of the mountain roads are very narrow in places and there are often road surfaces that are driven over with extreme caution. But the views as you go along are terrific. 
