Travels by Marco

Thassos, Greece

Marco — Tue, 31 May 2011 09:43:57 +0000

For Easter we drove about 6 hours to Thassos, Greece. It is the most northern island in Greece and is a popular destination for Bulgarians over the Easter holiday. I don’t think the border police see many Americans through there because every time they see my passport they get confused and are not sure what to do. “Ohhhh Americano…” they said to us. We always have to pull over to the side and wait while they find the right stamp or ask someone else what to do. I am a troublemaker wherever I go.

To get on Thassos you have to take a ferry. It only takes about 20 minutes once on the boat and the seagulls follow the boat the whole way. People throw bread into the air and like fighter jets the birds swoop in and gobble it up in mid air. Quite impressive.

Now, not to be rude but the Greeks are not a good looking people. We saw so many strange looking people shoveling food in there mouths like there was no tomorrow. It was an all inclusive deal so maybe they wanted to get the most of it.

We ate a lot of seafood and drank a lot of ouzo.

Gilligan’s Island? Love Boat? Insert joke here.

We tried to go to Church but I guess the Greeks were on strike. No one showed up!

Ancient Greek theater over looking the port.

Incredible place!

Bojentsi

Marco — Tue, 31 May 2011 06:58:35 +0000

I am a bad boy. I am still trying to get caught up on my blog and I keep getting further behind. Last April we went with friends to Bojentsi, a small village in the middle of Bulgaria. There is a quaint hotel in the woods that screws patrons enough so that they decide to never come back. “Fool me once…” sort of thing. They say breakfast is free but they charge you for the extras and everything is an extra. Want tea? Ok, but honey is 50 cents. Not even real honey from the village that they operate in but a plastic bottle of honey probably made in a factory in Germany. Bulgarians are clever people, never missing a chance to ~~steal~~ make a few cents, to turn a 3 lev bottle of honey into 50 lev in profits. And this is how it goes in Bojentsi; they nickel and dime you till you are shocked at how much a free breakfast costs.

Anyway, I don’t want to dwell on the negative because the region itself is very beautiful. We were there at the end of winter so it was still a bit cold but we found enough things to do. Here is a picture of the TV in the room (My iPad is bigger I think).

A picture of the surrounding area of the hotel:

A restaurant in the middle of nowhere:

Old Bulgarian monument:

A small village that is an artisan center. Leather, candy, wool, etc. All in the old style.

It was so cold that we had to escape inside to the old-time coffee bar for something warm. It was a tiny room that served some strong coffee that came out like a syrup it was so thick. Then we had liqueurs from almonds and berries. Very traditional stuff.

Moena, Italy

Marco — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 09:11:24 +0000

In February we drove to Moena, Italy way up in the Italian Alps. It took two long days but it was worth it; it is an incredibly beautiful place and the skiing is amazing. There are about 40 different resorts to ski at so it really is the amusement park of skiing. The quality of skiers was much better in Italy too. Unfortunately in Bulgaria you get a lot of hotdog types mixed in with fat rude Greeks who think to try skiing for the first time in their lives. In Italy there were no Greeks. Happy about that. In fact, it was great to be in Italy again, as soon as we crossed the border I felt very good.

View of the Alps from the car. Almost there!

Gaby and her father on top of the world…

Frozen lake right out of James Bond Golden Eye…

This is downtown Moena.

Dolomites!

First run of the day. Virgin snow is the best!

Spring has sprung!

Marco — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:24:12 +0000

Spring has arrived in Sofia. THANK MY LUCKY STARS! (So tired of that frigid winter nonsense!)

The Food Post

Marco — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 13:10:54 +0000

I am still trying to catch up with my blog so forgive me for posting from my trip the States over Christmas. I promise it will be worth while.

1) Firstly, Mexican food. Having lived in California for most of my life I never thought I would miss Mexicans very much, but now that I live in the whitest part of the world (Sorry England and Germany, you are becoming too “melting mixed salad pot” for me) I find myself really missing Mexicans (Well, their food at least). Mexican food is great and the frozen Mexican taco set we found at one store here really isn’t cutting it. While I was home in California, we went to Safeway with my grandpa and I saw something that I had not seen in a really long time. See photo below. Not only tortillas but 50 different kinds of tortillas and salsas and ~~beaner~~ goodness. I think I farted a little bit just thinking about it. It is funny the things you take for granted.

2) International food is actually hard to find in the States. We think we are so international and multi cultural in America, but it is not true. We love our name brands and toned down ethnic foods. By toned down I mean, Mexican food made by Kraft really isn’t Mexican food right? To go find authentic ingredients made in, lets say a “more” traditional way, you have to out of your way. And by out of your way I mean probably down the street and the strip mall that you never go to because there are too many ethnics hanging around there all the time. This is what happened to us. Literally down the street from my house is an international food store that is so close that it is ridiculous (even for Americans) to drive to. It will take you longer to park than to walk. Anyway, in this store you will see so many products that you have never seen before (or heard of) and so many foreigners (whatever that means in the States anymore). It was kinda of like walking into a food bazar in Morocco, or so I would imagine, less the yelling and haggling. Greek food, Turkish food, Hungarian food, Russian food, Persian food, etc. So many wonderful things I want to try, but alas, they will never make it to Safeway. I challenge you to be adventurous with your next meal! See below.

We found what we were looking for. Bulgarian white cheese for Gaby’s guvajay (don’t ask). Funny that they call it feta. Feta cheese is Greek but for us Americans it is the best way to explain it even though it is very different.

We opted for the fresh stuff that actually came from Bulgaria. See below. Globalization is not all bad.

Oh and we saw an albino alligator at the San Francisco Academy of Sciences. We could not eat it but I thought it looked like a marshmallow. MMMmmmmm albino alligator marshmallow.

Cultural Differences

Marco — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 09:41:37 +0000

I just finished reading an interview with the American Ambassador to Bulgaria. He has been in Bulgaria about the same amount of time as I have, so to read about what he has learned and his impressions so far was interesting for me. He said that he has traveled all over Bulgaria, met with people in and out of government and has come to the conclusion that the American people and the Bulgarian people are not so different. Everyone worries about the future and has day to day needs that are similar so he thinks maybe we are not all that different. Maybe it is because we are in very different social circles or maybe it is because as the ambassador it is his duty to bring the two cultures together on a path of economic & social harmony he says such nice things about how we all are the “same” and we can all get along. Well with all due respect Mr. Ambassador, I disagree. We all may have the same problems, but that should not be such a revelation. We all need to breath, eat and shit everyday but that does not make us similar. The more time I spend in Bulgaria the more I realize how different we are. It is not the similar problems that are the issue here, it is the way, the method of looking at and dealing with problems. The very basic outlook on life is inherently different. This is the real life and the real issue with cultures colliding. At first, the colorful and multi-faceted cultural experiences are fun, interesting and adventurous. Then, as time goes by and your patience wears off because the differences begin to grind you everyday. Don’t worry, I’m not going to go on rant about all the things that I don’t like about Bulgaria. There are many things here that I like better than the United States and I have to put up with some other things that I don’t like at the same time. However, I am not going to walk around and say how we are all the same and should live in peace and harmony. It is foolish to look in the face of generations of cultural tradition and mentality and expect change. Ok, that’s all.

American Hotrod! (That’s what she said!)

Marco — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:17:13 +0000

So, I went home to California for Christmas with Gaby. We were walking into the parking garage of SFO and this was the first car I saw. Good to be home!!! God love you America!

New Factory

Marco — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 15:08:50 +0000

My company, Sopharma, is building a new factory to produce medicines. It is a pretty big project and is going to almost double our capacity. The company really is becoming big time. There was a ground breaking ceremony where we all stood around in the mud (really happy I wore my good dress shoes that day) for an hour looking at a big hole in the ground. Anyway…there we a lot of people there, including the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister is on the left. I could almost touch him!

Bulgarian Thanksgiving

Marco — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:15:27 +0000

I know Thanksgiving was a while ago, but I have a lot of catching up to do with my blog. With Kiko’s help I successfully cooked an entire Thanksgiving dinner. Yes, me, the microwave king cooked a whole turkey…and it was delicious. The Bulgarians particularly liked the gravy, go figure since they love heavy, full flavored foods. I wish I could say I have done it and never have to do it again, but I think the Bulgarians liked the holiday and want to do it again this year.

Chic & Cozy

Marco — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:53:03 +0000

Gaby and I attended a “Chic & Cozy International Party”. As you can tell it was a masquerade.