We are celebrating our first year in Bulgaria this week. Looking back on the year it is hard to imagine what the house looked like when we arrived a year ago. Alot of work has taken place to make a building into a home. There is still much more to do but things are being worked on at a much slower pace now as we try to relax and enjoy the countryside Bulgaria has to offer.
With the arrival of spring the birds have arrived. Our acrobatic swallows and house martins are busy searching for places to build their homes. We think they are building in our barn which is much preferable to our house. They still cheekyly dive bomb us when they fly through our house though.
The golden oriels are also back with their bright flash of yellow as they swoop over the garden to the camoflage of the trees. The cuckoos are also back in strength and the cuckooing goes on from dawn to dusk.
To mark the aniversary of moving to Bulgaria we decided to take a much needed break and drove down to Greece to spend a week on the island of Samothraki. We wanted to mark the occasion but knew if we stayed at home we would have ended up working on the house.
Here's a selection of photos of our little holiday starting with Chris enjoying traditional Greek fare at a lovely fish restaurant overlooking the sea.
Chris on a deseted beach
Enjoying thermal springs
The Plane trees here are fabulous
A walk up to to a waterfall
On the way back in Bulgaria we discovered these strange rock formations
We also visited Perperikon, comparible to Delphi in Greece. Perperikon is where Alexander the Great was told to go and conquer the ancient world.
Back in Bulgaria, we have had the wall at the bottom of our garden rebuilt by our stonemasons. Previously it was tumbling down and overgrown with trees.
They made quick work of clearing our the undergrowth and pulling all the old stone out.
Two weeks later we have a beautifully rebuilt stone wall.
Other work that has been completed is our utility room which Chris has tiled and painted and he has been making fly screens for our kitchen doors. At the front of the house I have dug over and planted the front garden which has caused a lot interest with the local who are now inundating me with plants from their own garden.
The pointing on all the stone walls of the house has also been done.
