19 November – December 2015……Finding our way round

After we had the internet connected and had finished unpacking boxes, life began to take on a sense of normality.  We met some of the other expats living in the village and they were able to tell us the name of the vets in Dobrich that speak English, which timber yard to buy wood from, when to expect the energy bill etc, etc, etc.

Ed had thought we might need 5 ton of wood, so I googled how to ask for it and practised it in my head all the way to the timber yard, when we got there he threw me right off by saying we should get 3 just as I was in the middle of ordering 5 ton (pet tona ot durvo, molya).  3? You said 5!  I won’t bore you with the rest of the conversation but needless to say all I could do was hold up 3 fingers!  Somehow, we managed to order 3 ton of wood, provide our address and telephone number and arrange the time for it to be delivered the next day 😀   The cost was 440 leva including delivery, we were probably  over charged but what the heck we still felt quite smug as we drove home!!

The next day, the wood was duly delivered at the agreed time and the driver very kindly dropped it at the edge of the patio.    Ed and I began stacking it against the house, until the sun started to set and I suggested we stop and finish it tomorow, he looked at me for a second, then grinned and said “why not, we’re in no rush!”.  

So although most of it had been stacked we called it a day and headed inside for a well earned drink!

During the week Ed needed some rawl plugs, so that we could hang some pictures up. We headed to one of the hardware shops in General Toshevo and luck was on our side, we found them relatively easily on one of those twirly display stands. Thank goodness because I had no idea how to mime a rawl plug!   As the shopkeeper approached Ed said he would like 12.  “12?” I squeaked, “couldn’t we do with say, 10?” He looked at me and said “ok, but why?”  Laughing I replied “I can only count to ten!”   Ah yes, if out shopping with me you can have what you like so long as it isn’t more than 10!!

The last Sunday of November dawned bright and sunny, nothing unusual there however the wind had switched and was coming from a southerly direction,  which was a welcome change 😀  We headed to Balchik on the Black Sea coast.  The wind was whipping the sea up in to a frenzy and the waves were crashing over both the break water and the sea wall. Having grown up along the coasts of the West Country, I love to see a wild sea and this one didn’t fail to deliver 👏   Mum and Ed at one point missed timed the waves breaking over the sea wall and were soaked, I, had stopped to take a photo of one of the many statues that are dotted along the promenade and remained dry! 😂😂😂  We didn’t make it to the summer palace which was built for Queen Marie of Romania between 1926 and 1937 (this part of Bulgaria was under Romanian rule until 1940) or the botanical gardens, we’ll do them on another trip 😉   One thing that I am curious about is what connection Sir Francis Drake has  with Balchik?  I only ask because the restaurant belonging to the Mistral Hotel is called the “Francis Drake”?!?  Perhaps the owner is from Tavistock, or maybe they heard of Sir Francis as a child and wanted to sail the seven seas in search of adventures.  Who knows?  Not me, but I did feel a certain affinity with Balchik thanks to this tenuous link to my home town!