THOUGHTS, PRACTICAL INFORMATION AND SUGGESTIONS

- If you have a cat and you love him, don’t take it with you to Gabrovo… it can be dangerous  for it!

-          Connections to and fromSofia airport are not that fast and not that frequent.. But you will be amazed by the natural landscape you will see from the bus window. It might be  easier to get a car

Don’t think you will be able to use your credit card a lot! Only a very few places accept them… so we left Italy with 4.800 euros cash, hidden everywhere.

-           Don’t waste your time at the bank to change euros into leva. They don’t sell that currency! You will change them in a Bulgarian bank (avoid the airport: the exchange rates are not profitable)

-           If you want to call home from Gabrovo, you may realize it is can be a little hard. Phone calls with your mobile phone can be expensive. And calling from a public telephone, quite difficult. There are blue and orange telephones, each one operating with a different card. And nobody can tell you where to buy the right card… So, if you really want to use a public telephone.. good luck!! I suggest  you go to an internet caf?.

-           Amazing traffic lights, they will tell you how long you have to wait before crossing the street.

-          Don’t expect to be understood if you speak English. Most of the people understand Russian, instead.

-           Don’t expect to be able to read many signs. Before leaving to Bulgaria, try to get a little confident with the Cyrillic alphabet. That will help a lot.

-           If you are not an Italian citizen, check with the local foreign offices the documents you need (you may need a visa)

-           You must enjoy the touching and highly spiritual atmosphere of the many orthodox churches.

-           You must not miss the Gabrovo daily open-air market with all the scents and colours of the fruit,   vegetables and flowers.

-           Don’t leave without a piece of local pottery, at least! Pottery is cheap and really beautiful. I wish I had bought more!!

-           The perfect souvenir is one of the many funny objects that you can buy at the House of Humour and Satire or in some of the shops in the town centre.

-          Pretend to be a real Bulgarian and drink Rak?a (the typical spirit) in one shot before dinner.

-          If you are a smoker, you can enjoy your cigarette after the meal, sitting at the table and sipping a coffee. Smoking is still allowed everywhere.

-          You can shop at VERY GOOD prices. But don’t expect to find shopping malls.

Roxana, Marina and Viktoria really LOVED the clothes shops and made a lot of good bargains. They say “We are enthusiastic… We loved the clothes shops and we bought a lot of nice stuff. We paid very little: a good reason to come back!”

-          There are many clubs and discos but during the week, they are not very lively. Better try on a Saturday or on a Sunday.

-          The people in Gabrovo are very friendly and kind

-          Bulgarians dress differently from Italian people, many young girls wear high heels and wear smart and more formal clothes

-          Food is very rich, and sometimes a little too heavy for us. We are used to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables. Bulgarian cousine is based on meat (pork, sheep, beef…) and is rich in proteins. Red pepper is widely used. The yogurt with honey and nuts is simply delicious!

Forget espresso. Coffee is similar to “American” coffee. You may also find “Turkish” coffee.