Goodbye Goreme

We knew the night bus back into Bulgaria was going to be rough. After a late shuttle ride to the Nevishar airport and 32 hours of travel by plane and bus we arrived in Plovdiv at 7:00 a.m.  The first worst part was not knowing what the hell the argument between a fired up passenger and a pissed off ticket checker was all about. I was sure we were going to have front row tickets to a bus brawl. Whatever happened, it set us back almost an hour from leaving on time. The second worst part was the two and a half hours spent at the border crossing at two in the morning. The third worst part was not being able to check in to our Airbnb until 2:00 p.m. That's the price we pay for cheap travel. 

It was an extremely exhausting long day of sitting and waiting. Thankfully Jim kept a watchful eye over me and our belongings while I caught a few zzz's on the park bench near the Singing Fountains. Staying awake for a day and a half somehow adds weight to your backpack, but we decided to walk "just" another mile from the park to our home. 

After a seamless check in, quick shower and a load of stinky laundry, we laid down for a well deserved nap with the alarm set for two hours. In what seemed like 10 minutes the sound I hate most woke us up and as tempting as it was to turn it off and sleep the night away I knew better. After an hour of slow searching for endless options for dinner we settled on Happy's Sushi, a great chain restaurant in Bulgaria and a close walk. 

Walking through the streets of Plovdiv as the sun was setting was beautiful. It had the feel of the Europe I am use to; outside tables filled with people laughing lined the alleyways of endless restaurants filling the air with wonderful smells complimented by colorful flowers. Unfortunately when we got to Happy's there was a line and we didn't feel like waiting, and had no back up plan. 

Sometimes finding a spot to eat that we can both agree upon, with good ratings can be challenging and takes time, time that "hungry Alisa" didn't have...so Jim said there is this Mexican restaurant but it's another 15 minute walk or Burger King, it was a no brainer.

Leaving the cozy comfy area we proceeded to a different area of town, in the dark, under bridges...fingers crossed this didn't turn into an hour long adventure involving who knows what.

We finally arrived at Taco Reyes Mexican Grill a small place, with only two other customers finishing up. We grabbed a table outside. As our waiter approached, Jim says Hola! Poor guy gave Jim a funny look and said he only speak a little Spanish. Jim replied, "un pocco Espanol," he looked even more confused. He spoke perfect English so Jim gave up practicing his rusty Spanish and asked about the bottled beer in the cooler.

George, our waiter said it was their house brew, Juanita's Mexican spicy beer, with a hint of Habenero. Jim never passes up an opportunity to try a new beer. I settled for a Stella. His beer was delicious. As we ordered George recommended a beef tongue taco, the last of the remaining batch. Why not? Sitting there sipping our beer something made Jim jump. We looked down the local cat named Lily had snuggled up in my bag on the floor.

Even though we've only had a sneak peek of Plovdiv, it has a super cool vibe and so while eating dinner we decided to extend our stay here another week. Jim assured me this has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that we just had one of the best Mexican dinners anywhere in the world.