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Read my blog posts for our 2026 European Trip from the beginning

To make it easier for you to follow our 2026 Spring European trip from the beginning I’ve linked the blog posts in order.

You can go to the first blog post of our trip by clicking on this link.

At the end of each blog post after that, there is a link to the next day’s blog post.

Velingrad, Bulgaria to Kato Poroia, Greece

This morning before leaving the Hotel Arte SPA & Park we took advantage of the Spa one more time.

We used the sauna, steam room, and “Experience Shower”!!

From Velingrad we headed south towards Greece and the Mediterranean. The drive was only about 140 miles but the route through the mountains took almost 4 hours.

Our route today
Entering Greece

Tonight we are staying in the little town of Kato Poroia not far from the Greek – Bulgarian border. There is only one other room occupied in our hotel.

Hotel Epavlis

For dinner we went down into the village and ate at a little restaurant called The Kiosk – To Κιόδκι. I think we were his only customers tonight. We had a great meal.

The restaurant
Our Greek salad.
We had ouzo to go with our dinner.

Velingrad day 2

You can see here where Velingrad is located. That’s the Black Sea to the east and Greece and Turkey to the south.

This morning after breakfast we drove into the Lidl store in Velingrad and bought six big bottles of water.

Duke checking out.
On Jan 1, 2026 Bulgaria changed over from the the Lev to the Euro.
Today was a beautiful day

Velingrad is located in one of the largest geothermal regions in Bulgaria. There are more than 90 mineral water springs in and around Velingrad. When we got back to the hotel we took advantage of the spa facilities.

We swam in the indoor/outdoor pool
The indoor pool connects to the outside.
The air temperature was around 50 and the pool temperature was perfectly warm.
Then we used the jacuzzi
Me in the jacuzzi

After we got back to the room Duke went down and had his hammam massage. He said it was good.

We had another great buffet dinner.

Dinner buffet

Sofia to Velingrad

This morning we left Sofia and headed south. We picked up a rental car at the airport in Sofia. From there we drove south for about 2 hours. We are in Velingrad about half way between Sofia and the Greek-Bulgarian border.

At the airport we had a nice view of the snowy peaks south of Sofia
On the road to Velingrad

We are staying at a fabulous hotel and spa, the hotel Arte Resort and Spa. They have an indoor pool and outdoor pools plus saunas, steam rooms and jacuzzis. Dinner and breakfast are included in the price. The dinner was an excellent buffet and we realized that there are lots of families staying here. We saw play rooms and game rooms with cameras so parents sitting in the restaurant or bar could keep an eye on their kids in the play room. Duke booked a hammam massage for tomorrow.

Our room at Arte Resort and Spa

If you want to read my next post from Velingrad click here.

Sofia Day 3

Our last full day in Sofia was lovely and restful. We’re still working on conquering jet lag. I didn’t fall asleep till well after midnight so it was heavenly to sleep in until almost 10. Duke’s first task today was to get a haircut.

The before shot
The after shot.

I stayed at the barber shop long enough to get a picture of Duke in the chair. While I was waiting I had a nice chat in English with a young boy (about 10 I think) who had just had his hair cut. He seemed eager to practice his English and it was very good.

It was a nice sunny day so we went for a couple walks. We had a good view of the mountains that overlook Sofia.

Out for a walk in Sofia

We had an excellent dinner at a nearby restaurant called Cava.

Duke’s steak

Tomorrow we leave Sofia. If you would like to see my next post click here.