After breakfast we returned to our room and packed everything up. Then we took a little walk to the corner grocery store. It was about 15 feet by 30 feet, had two aisles but a little of everything. We bought two 1 1/2 liters of water and two large chocolate bars, Milka brand. It only cost about $3 USD. The only English the cashiers spoke was "no" and "no english."
We still had a few hours to kill, so I took a nap while Daryl watched some sports on the TV - football (soccer) is really popular here and there was a big game here in the capitol on Friday. He enjoyed watching some football even though there was no English spoken - sports for him is enjoyable in any language! I actually had the best sleep yet, but felt like a drunken sailor when I got up (it was then 2 am home time!).
We went back to the restaurant (we had the same waitor for every single meal, such a sweet young man!) and ordered a sandwich to split. We also asked to substitute a salad for the french fries. He brought out two plates that looked like the photo above. Once again, beautiful presentation and it tasted even better! It was filled with chicken, fried eggs, cheese, lettuce and tomato and a mayonaise like spread. And it was only about $7.00.
We had noticed that when we ordered pop, they came in a very thick glass bottle (we have been ordering sprite and today I ordered an iced tea). The glass bottles had wear markings, so we asked our driver about it. Here the recycle the bottles - re-use/refill them! That was cool to learn. There is a Coke bottling plant right in the capitol!
The buildings here are mostly in great disrepair. The poverty is very apparent. The buildings are mostly in use, but there are also many abandoned buildings too. Many businesses are gone and nothing has replaced them. The streets are not properly kept, but not too much garbage to see. But you have to watch you step as the sidewalks are very uneven. It would be very easy to trip - I've already tripped a couple of times while gawking at the architecture. So many buildings are so very old with ornate tops, but most are not well kept.
After lunch we brough our luggage down to the lobby and soon our driver showed up. We left at 1:30 pm. I just have to say that driving in here is insane. Rules of the road are optional. Lanes changes can happen at any time, usually with no blinkers used. Strandling lanes or even the center lane is expected if there is no oncoming traffic. I've seen this done in Iowa, but not in a city! And the highway? The speed limit is 90 MILEs an hour! Fun if you love driving fast, but not so fun when the other drivers (and sometimes our driver) drive so insanely! I tried just not watching but then I was getting car sick due to the on/off on the gas and rapid lane changing. I was in the back seat, so by the end of the day I was nearly a basket case. Jet lag + 4 hours of insane traffic = one splitting headache. Thankfully we stopped at a gas station on the way and I was able to take some migraine medicine and my headache was gone by the time we went to dinner.
On the way, we passed through many "villages" that were made up of several hundred buildings, mostly homes, that were run down, partially built or completely abandoned. There were some well kept, and some had lovely little yards with grape trellises with grape vines growing on them. We saw gypsies, and several wagon like things - picture the fortune teller (later he's OZ) in The Wizard of Oz and the wagon that he had and you'll know what I'm talking about. We also saw donkeys and horses pulling wagons, and herds of goats, sheep and cows being herded by shepherds. There are some bicycles and in the city there was even electric trolleys and buses for public transportation.
We arrived at our destination after 4 hours of driving. Our driver had no idea where the hotel was, so he stopped in at a very official looking buildging (we found out that it was a customs building as this city is a border town). He got some general directions, but he was told he would have to get more specific directions once he got in the general neighborhood. It didn't take long, and after asking two ladies for more specific directions we were able to locate the hotel.
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| The customs buildling This was about 1/4 of the whole building |
On arriving at the hotel, we got our rooms. Our driver is on the "2nd" floor (which is really the 3rd floor as around here the main floor is called "zero") and ours is on the 23rd floor - and no elevator! I was exhausted and suffering from a sore muscle from our escapades in London so Daryl and Yavor (our driver) brought our bags up and then came back down and we headed out to find the restaurant that the hotel attendant recommended. The attendant spoke amazing English. He told us that he had spent time in the US on the East coast (I think he said he worked there).
We walked to the restaurant (had to ask for directions at least once in order to find it). Again, most building were in disrepair but showed former grandeur. This city is one of the oldest cities in this country! I'll try to get some photos of the buildings over the next few days.
The restaurant was amazing. Even the driver was really impressed. He told us that is was decorated very authentically like a 19th century meditoranian village. Some of the tables were made from wagons, there were wagon wheels used as decorations even. The bench we sat on was covered with real goat/sheep skins. The overhang above us was like a bavarian cottage eve.
The menu was like a book - there were at least 12 pages of items to order. Most of them did not sound apetizing (chicken gizzards, liver and "pope's nose" better know as the tailbone!). But we found a chicken dish with cheese, mushrooms, cheese and a sauzce. Daryl and I weren't very hungry, so we split the dinner and each ordered a sprite. The dinner was about $12 USD. More than the restaurant we ate in at the last hotel, but still a good deal.
Before I dinner arrived, I asked to use the restroom so Yavor (our driver) asked the waiter to show me where the bathrooms were. One of the waters showed me where it was. Dary said that he then was talking with the other waiters, and it seemed that they were discussing my using the restroom. When I got to the restroom, there were no stall doors and only a hole in the floor with ceramic around it and a place on each side for your feet. I thought for sure that I had wandered into the men's bathroom, but no, the door had a woman figure on it! I stood there dumbfounded for a minute and then left without using it - not in a million years would I use that! I think the waiters were placing bets on whether or not the American Woman would use the facilities! YUCK!
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| This is Yavor, our driver/enterpreture - he's a very nice guy too! |
The dinner was very tasty, but the service wasn't the best. The restaurant was HUGE - like 1/2 a block with many smaller rooms like the one we were in. We just might go again, but I'll be sure to use the hotel bathroom first (but I might take a photo of the bathroom just to prove my outrageous story!).
After dinner we returned to the hotel and I was able to see our room for the first time. It is beautiful. I unpacked, facebooked and now blogged. It's now 10:30 pm here so I must get to sleep! Tomorrow we see Christy, and I can't wait to share those photos with you. But just so you all know, until we get there we have no idea what the director's policy is on photographs. We might get free reign to publish photos and this blog can go public, or we might be allowed to publish photos in only closed setting like we have now, or we may even not be allowed to take photos at all - please pray that we will at least be allowed to take photos!
Blessings to you all from the other side of the planet!
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