Starting my travel journal in my hometown may be odd……but…..
Isn’t this picture of a laneway in Prince George pretty? It’s not even the best picture I have, but I like it.
As humans, we long for green spaces, and it’s interesting how in a town plopped in the middle of miles of forest, not only do we love our green spaces, we don’t think we have enough of them. Seeing a laneway with a narrow path for vehicles and trees and bushes coming in close on each side, makes me reach for my camera to take a quick pic.
I am not alone in this, am I?
Join me as I travel through Bulgaria.
Bulgaria? Yep. Never thought I would travel to a former Soviet-bloc country, but sure glad I did!
First pic: a hotel. Not our hotel. The one across the narrow street. My kids asked “Is it better to BE in the gorgeous hotel or to be across the street from one. Good question! It was pretty sweet to step outside each day and bathe in the beauty of that hotel. It felt like a big piece of art.
The yellow and white colour is gorgeous, but take a closer look and you see the beautiful wrought iron filigree railings on the balcony. Then also the circular balconies. Like I wrote, it felt like I was walking by a piece of public art.
Next pic. So, how gorgeous is this street? Grand old buildings, trees, yes TREES in the street. I was told by City staff that trees in the street meant roots destroying the sidewalks and road……this looks mighty fine, and no uprooted bricks. Maybe it’s the kind of trees we are planting?
This is the promenade in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. It’s a long street with several offshoots filled with shops, restaurant patios, markets and, of course, people. Lots of people. It was obvious that people enjoyed being here.
Walking down the promenade, we headed up a hill where we were told we would see a Roman ruin of sorts. Up a narrow cobblestone path one past an old church, past some Ottoman-era apartments. ‘Round a corner and……:
A real live Roman Ampitheatre.
Not a ruin excavated to tour. An ampitheatre that we couldn’t tour the whole area because it was being set up for a concert!
It was mind-blowing. Incredible. A two-thousand-year-old building that was still in use. Still beautiful. Still useful. Wow. Can we do that today?
A Roman Stadium.
Then on the way back to our hotel, we came again to this “hole in the ground.” Right in the middle of the promenade in Plovdiv; an excavated Roman Stadium. The tunnel is where chariots would have entered, the benches where Romans would have sat, still able to be used today.
I guess the reason I find this so incredible is because in many ways, we still live in a “Wild West” where we don’t build with a clear picture of the future past a few years or at most, our lifetimes. We really need to improve our vision, or else we will continue to pour money into temporary civic structures not meant to last the ages. Are we brave enough to do that? Can we consider building an ice rink, concert hall, or a home for the PGSO that will last more than fifty years? The Romans did it.
Then on to Hysaria, Bulgaria.
Our guides didn’t tell us, instead we were simply told to follow their little blue car. This was a bit difficult for control-freak me, but my goodness, what a surprise waited for us!
I couldn’t believe my eyes as we came into this town. I had been impressed by the Roman walls surrounding York in the UK. Well, these walls were so much higher, and were 2.7km long. I will show more pics.