27 de septiembre de 2011

Saying goodbye to Bulgaria... Exams, snowboarding, parties and food! Days 119-121

Days 119-121:


On Friday the 17th of December, we had our final English exam, with an oral and a written part. It was long but we all passed, the title we received is an equivalent of B2 level (upper-intermediate). It wasn't bad, but the funniest part came after the exam, when we gave a present to our dear teacher Katie (fabulous educator, I wish all of our Spanish teachers were so good and passionate…). After that, we went to a nearby Ugo (pizzeria) to have lunch all the class together. It was our farewell with all this great guys. That night, with 10 grades below zero, we went to Bizarro club with Adri, Josemi, Sofia and Des. 

Marcos, Monroy, Rosi, Mila, Adri.
On Saturday, Adri, Monroy and me met with Rosi and Mila to go to Borovets, all together in Rosi’s car. She drives fast. Really fast. And road conditions were not the best (ice, snow…), so the trip wasn’t precisely boring. At around 11 AM we arrived there and rented the snowboards and boots. Both things, plus 1-day forfeit for the incredible price of… 16 € per person! The price was really low because it was the official opening day for the new season. But in the negative side, half of the tracks were closed and only a few greens and reds were available. We started with the (too) easy green tracks to warm up. But soon we felt that was not enough for us, so we took the lift to the highest station of Borovets. The views from there were fantastic, nevertheless the wind was furious and the temperature too cold, so the snow were really hard and icy. –Ok, who goes first?? ...

Monroy, in Borovets

We did several times the longest red track, with enormous problems avoiding the rest of experienced snowboarders who were overtaking us for both sides. The ride was as hard as the fucking snow below us, we fell off the board many times, our asses could ratify it. It was my fifth or sixth time snowboarding, and was the toughest one. At the end of the session, Rossi and Mila were waiting for us to drink that typical bloody hot wine, not bad, not bad… The way back home was even more terrific than the outward journey... The ice and snow mixed with the darkness and speed, yeah, Rositza for F1!

              
Our collection in Pacas and Monroy's place, simply ridiculous!

This party was also ridiculous!!! :)

Ronnie was waiting for us at 9 that night, for our farewell party. We took a big pack of beers and went to Malaga’s flat and later to Rock’n’rolla. Great party there, that place is fucking killer! Later, when I tried to enter to my flat... shit! The door was broken (and also my hand 10 minutes later). It was around 6:30 AM and quite cold, so finally we went to sleep all together at Monroy’s flat. We went to Pacas’ room, he was there with no signals of life, absolutely unconscious. Apparently, he had several problems arriving home…  Dubré” (Monroy and Pacas’ landlord) came the next morning to check the flat and we all woke up then… That night, once recovered, I was invited by Didka’s mother to have dinner in their place. I was really pleased to do it, they had been incredibly warm all this months. I felt like at home with them, lovely people! By the way, thefood was delicious!!

11 de julio de 2011

Last day in Istanbul, winter is waiting for us in Sofia. Days 114-118


 Days 114-118:

Galata Tower and the Golden Horn

Sunday, the 12th of December. Eyes opened around 13:30. The room is a mess and our heads are fucking hammered. We left the hostel a bit embarrassed, but fortunately, the staff is used to see this things. In our last day in Istanbul, we visited the Spice Bazaar and Suleymaniye Mosque, and stopped again in Galata bridge, this time to eat some fresh mussels. The day is sunny, but really cold. After eating our last kebap, we continued walking up to Galata Tower, and Istiklal street all straight ahead, to catch the bus at Taksim Square. There were too many people for only 2 buses, so everybody went crazy when the door opened… We had to elbow our way inside, no choice! We landed at Sofia airport around 9:30 pm, and the intense trip finished. 

Galata bridge. Istanbul

But our last days in Bulgaria were not going to be boring… On Monday, once recovered of our Turkish trip, Sofia appeared completely white!! Absolutely covered with snow. Great news for us, because we wanted to see (and feel) the real Bulgarian winter before leaving. Suddenly, going to class turned into a little adventure, with the streets full of snow and ice, and temperatures below zero. Something new for Spanish guys…  

Communism monument in Borisova Gradina, Sofia


During these days we enjoyed the snow in the city. Everybody there is really used to it, but we felt like a child with new shoes. We explored in detail the big park near city centre (Borisova Gradina). It is like a forest, but with bizarre surprises inside: communism monuments, old football stadiums (CSKA Sofia), ice-skating park, deserted restaurants... We also met with some Spanish Erasmus friends to say good-bye (they were leaving) and drink some beers, and precisely then, the Bulgarian TV interviewed us in the street! We appeared in a TV programme in the public channel. That was funny...

Last days in Bulgaria... and time running out to go to Borovets for some snowboarding... We started to plan it with Rositza. Another little events: we visited the superb Laguna (ice-creams and much more) with Eli and Miriam (their favourite!), and on day 15, Tuesday, was Daniela's birthday (Iva's cousin), so we all met with her to have a drink. Hurry up! This experience is ending...

Auto-gifts from Istanbul: 3 Gutis!

And here is our particular TV show... Business All the time!!!