Ellis and Jodie's Bulgarian Adventure

When Ellis and I came to Bulgaria two years ago, we had no idea what awaited us. We just had a long-standing desire to try living in a different country for a limited, set period of time and to experience something else. So, when Ellis was approached by his company to relocate, we jumped at the chance. Most people's initial reaction to our announcement was "Bulgaria? What's in Bulgaria?" I admit that I was wondering the same thing, and asking myself, "why not England, or Spain, or Gibraltar?" Today, after living here for two years, I can tell you what is in Bulgaria. It is a country with friendly people, who are interested in the strangers living amongst them, and are happy to talk to you, even when you tell them that you don't understand their language. As Israelis, we never felt uncomfortable talking about where we come from - most people had a warm and positive feeling toward Israel. This can even been seen at government level - Bulgaria was one of th...

We still had the time to try out one more restaurant in Sofia, so today for lunch we headed to Cru , the city's healthy alternative. Cru is located on Tsar Assen Street, and it's quite a small boutique restaurant, with only about five tables. The waiter was very friendly and the service was excellent. We both started with the Pea Soup, which was spiced with curry and served in a very large bowl. It was made from fresh peas and was extremely tasty. Jodie had the Organic Adzuki Beans Croquette with fresh salad and sprouts. I had the Tortilla Pizza with roasted red peppers and mozzarella cheese. The food was very good. The only thing unhealthy about Cru is that the prices are a bit high. The lunchtime meal for the two of us came to 42.50 Leva, which was more expensive than we usually pay.

Happy is the name of a chain of Bulgarian fast food restaurants. This sign was seen in downtown Sofia. We had lunch at a Happy restaurant on Sunday. None of the waitresses were smiling, so maybe they weren't too happy to be working in the New Year.