As my travel mate and I navigated the streets of Sofia on our own, we found more Roman ruins. In fact, they are on every corner of the city! We also passed by street markets selling art, including Orthodox iconographic paintings. I am fascinated with those because of the technique and the materials that they use. Eastern Orthodox iconography is not considered regular artwork, but rather, a sacred image used in religious devotion. Unlike Western religious art, production of th

A small van took me and seven other travellers from the Sofia International Airport to our hotel. They were all from England – five ladies and two guys. I was the only one from North America. During the ride, after introductions were made, we asked each other about our afternoon plans. That day was designated as the official arrival day for everybody, so there were no scheduled activities, except for an orientation meeting with our Tour Director in the evening and an optional

The Balkans is the region in southeast Europe long overshadowed by its western, central, and northern counterparts, but is now emerging as a tourism hotspot. More than a decade ago, I almost visited this place when my Iberian trip nearly fell through the cracks but got salvaged at the last minute. The Balkans was my second choice that time. Fast forward 2019 and it was also second on my travel options list. I was traveling solo again that time. My first plan was to visit Mach