My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
We had an excellent dinner at a nearby restaurant called Cava.
Tomorrow we leave Sofia. If you would like to see my next post click here.
Today we went out exploring in Sofia. But before that we had breakfast at our hotel. When we went down to breakfast they gave me a red rose and said, “Happy Mother’s Day!” Today is Mother’s Day in Bulgaria!
After breakfast we went out for a walk. We started at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral and then went to the Bulgarian Orthodox Cathedral.
Next we went to the Art Museum and the Regional History Museum.
When they were building the Metro station that we came into last night, they discovered the archaeological ruins of Serdica, the Roman Town that was in this location in the 4th century AD.
On our way back to our hotel we stopped for coffee on Vitosha Blvd., the main pedestrian street of Sofia. it was packed with people. I’m sure that was at least partly because it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and also Mother’sDay.
For dinner we went to a nearby traditional Bulgarian Restaurant called Izbata II. the food was really good and everyone was friendly.
To read my next blog post about our last day in Sofia click here.
It took us four days, but we made it!!
Wednesday we drove from Reno to Walnut Creek. Duke checked off four things from his “things for Grandpa to do” checklist. I rested, socialized, and tried to get rid of my cold.
Thursday we took BART to San Francisco Airport, and at 4pm boarded an SAS plane bound for Copenhagen, Denmark.
On Friday around noon we landed, exhausted in Copenhagen. We stayed at a great airport hotel, napped, then walked across the freeway to a sandwich shop for dinner. We tried to stay awake but by 8:30 I was sound asleep. I woke almost every hour but went right back to sleep and didn’t get up until 8am. Jet lag is hell!! Getting a good night’s sleep gave me a new outlook on life.
Saturday we had a fabulous breakfast at our hotel. In the afternoon we took a RyanAir flight to Sofia, Bulgaria. We took the metro into the center and walked to our hotel. That’s where we are tonight.
We had a very good dinner at a nearby restaurant called Social Café.
If you would like to read our next blog post about our trip click on this link.
Marion's Blog 