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Trip to Bulgaria 2009

Today is a gloomy day and it feels like autumn. Although technically there are 2 more weeks of summer till the autumnal equinox, September 22, 2009, I look at summer 2009 in retrospect. I enjoyed an incredible summer this year with my trip to Bulgaria, at the end of August, being the highlight.

Madonna was in concert on August 29, 2009 in Sofia and my best friend, DJ Paul De Pascale, got invited to spin the Madonna after party at club ID in Sofia. This was a great opportunity that we took advantage of and turned it in to a remarkable vacation. Thanks to Zakki we enjoyed a fantastic accommodation and travel.

This was my first time traveling with friends to Bulgaria. Paul, Raul and I flew Czech Air; NY-Prague-Sofia. The service was fine but we had a long layover in Prague, we had 6 hours at the airport. Neither of us was able to sleep on the Cross-Atlantic flight but we chatted and the time passed by. Despite the excitement though on the 4th hour at the Prague airport we had run out of stories and energy, for the time being, and felt the long wait. Paul came up with a game (My initial is …) which helped us pass a boring hour.

We arrived in Sofia on Friday, August 21, 2009 and had an awesome dinner at my family’s house. My mom and aunt had cooked and cooked for what seemed like an army.

Saturday we went to the gym and lunched at “Pod Lipite” restaurant. After lunch we had a tour in downtown Sofia, which we finished with coffee and cocktails at a nice garden bar. That night we went to check out the club, ID, in which Paul was going to spin next Saturday.

Sunday morning we took off for the Black Sea coast, headed to Ravda. The Balkan mountain majestically lies in the middle of Bulgaria perfectly oriented east to west thus splitting the country south and north. There are 2 main seaports on the Black Sea coast in Bulgaria – Varna in the north and Burgas in the south. Ravda is between the 2 but closer to Burgas.

Zakki’s original idea was to be in a hotel that is close to the beach so that we didn’t have to drive to the beach. This is why he had booked rooms at a splendid, little hotel which’s deck was above the beach. The view was stunning. There was the hotel, a pool in front of it, then the deck for the restaurant, and the beach.

Upon our arrival on Sunday afternoon we took a stroll down the beach and despite Zakki’s original idea, somehow, decided to drive to Sozopol for the beach next day. I think this is how the traveling obsession took over us. That night we had dinner in the ancient town of Nesebar, where we laughed so hard that our faces hurt. For dessert we had ice cream and I decided that we have to find the right kind next day – Raffy.

Monday, we went to the astounding beach “Smokinia” (Fig) in Sozopol where Paul and I had our first ‘official’ photo shoot. After the beach we hit the gym and then dinner. Another fantastic restaurant and another night full of laughter. Here we found Raffy and everybody had ice cream like there is no tomorrow. In this trip we also saw the city of Burgas.

Tuesday, we sacrificed the beach and took a drive to Balchick, which is almost at the very northern part of the Bulgarian sea coast. There we had lunch and proceeded to see the Balchik Palace and its botanical gardens. On our way back we visited Varna and had dinner at a great restaurant on the beach. My favorite part was us walking up Main Street in Varna, eating Raffy ice cream, and all of a sudden we hear a street singer performing Zakki’s song.

Wednesday, we checked out from the wonderful hotel and went to Chernomoretz to enjoy a day on a beach of cliffs instead of send. After the beach we left for Zakki’s villa in the middle of the Balkan. On the way we stopped by to pick up groceries which we turned into the most delicious dinner that night.

Thursday, we spent most of the day in Kupen, where Zakki’s villa is and Thursday night we arrived back in Sofia.

Friday, we all met early in the morning for yet another exciting adventure – the Seven Rila lakes and the Rila Monastery. The best part was that my mom was able to join us for this journey. The entire time we’ve been riding in 2 amazing cars generously provided by Zakki – a 2008 Jaguar (Jaguar baby, Da) and a Mitsubishi SUV.

Saturday, was a big day. I had breakfast with my family and met Zakki at the gym. After the gym Paul, Mary and I went to the club so that Paul can do a sound check. Then we pretty much rushed back home to change and went to see Madonna. We had very little time to go back, change and grab Paul’s CD’s before he had to start at the club but made it on time. It was an utterly amazing night of fun!

This appears to be a very brief chronology of our marvelous trip in my homeland. I’ve been back for 2 weeks now but I’m still reliving a lot of the moments spent with my family and friends.