by "Vito" (24/07/2006) Non avevo mai pensato che un giorno sarei andato a visitare quel Paese, da noi non molto lontano, ma poco conosciuto. Tutto iniziò circa un paio di anni fa, quando tornando a casa dal lavoro, una sera vidi mio figlio vicino il pc e coinvolto in qualcosa che lo teneva lì con molto entusiasmo. Gli chiesi cosa stesse facendo e lui mi rispose che stava speaking, in real time with her friend in the States. At first I told him not to waste time and go to sleep, then, on second thought I went well and intrigued by him and asked him how he could speak and with what means. Find out in this way the existence of ICQ me and I installed it on my pc. I performed a search and the first person who replied to my banal "hi" was a Bulgarian girl called Mary with whom I had difficulty 'of communication as they do not speak Italian, but a terrible English language besides his mother, who was Bulgarian. I managed to exchange a few words but I realized the difficulty 'to make himself understood, but the stubborn girl like me, intrigued me and kept talking to her. To make things less difficult, or When I look for a translator Italian-Bulgarian state did not exist, but finding the phrases written on the site and its translation Bulgaria-Italy that helped me a bit 'in the company. Subsequently, I contacted other people in Bulgaria and finally found someone who speaks Italian, my dear Sissy, who patiently translated and I translated the phrases and I explained what was their world, their lives. I hit the sincerity, 'simplicity' and the pride of these people that give me the curiosity 'to know this nation. The same Sissi tells me that there is a forum run by an Italian resident in Sofia where we talk about Bulgaria and Bulgarians, I enrolled and seeking to participate in order to enter into the mentality 'of the locals and try to understand it. I am welcomed as "a person of family" except for some user (wades Italian case) and I feel immediately at ease. I can find information, images, contact people who otherwise would not have ever known and I begin to think about going there to visit that country that fascinates me more and more. I flashed the idea of \u200b\u200bgoing in motion on the internet and I find the travel notes of an Italian who, before we had exceeded the company, being excited about this nation and its people. Arrange for the summer of 2005, but everything is frustrated at the last moment from my friends who travel to various reasons have to be lost, I too have health problems at the same time and defer all next year. Get various information from the forum "meeting" that allow me to organize and plan my trip and to set times and stages. For us it is possible to leave the job after the referendum in June and, therefore, decided to leave on June 28 by ferry from Brindisi to Igoumenitsa in Greece at a time. We are 2 I and Alberto, a local policeman my friend and colleague, passionate about motorcycles as I do. The next morning at 5 o'clock we land with our Honda and Suzuki VStrom Dejaville soil greek and we start from the highway, still under construction, which leads to Thessaloniki. All goes well until a few kilometers from Ioannina where we are forced to leave the highway and mountain roads to climb up to Grevena, where we take the highway and then get to the 13:30 in Thessaloniki, the first stage of our journey. The temperature is high, about 38 degrees with the suits and motorcycle helmet, with the heat of motorcycles, traffic lights make you suffer so much, turn slightly and ask for a hotel, we hijack the top of the city 'where there some hotels, the only problem is the motion, for which there is no garage, but the fatigue takes over and decides to leave the street in front of the reception in the meantime we have find, unfortunately, no air conditioning and the night is almost impossible to sleep. But the desire and enthusiasm to arrive in Bulgaria is too strong, so we decided to leave early in the morning to 5 am, the time of Seres and the Bulgarian border. We set off in search of the street in a city 'chaotic as Thessaloniki, and we come to a traffic light in a motorcyclist who enthusiastically offered to accompany us on the road to Seres, we stock up to a traffic light and greets us warmly and thank him courtesy. Drive about an hour and a half of road riding our bikes from generous roads under construction up to the Bulgarian border to Marikostinovo. Solita row, short, Fortunately, the documents requested rite of passage of the wheels in motion disinfectant and as we monitor the documents they realize that it's my birthday. The customs officer asked me to offer you in to drink and I did not know what to do, I try to give it 5 € to allow it at your leisure later. This rejects making me out to be watched by cameras and then nothing to do. Immediately after the checks we stop to change money and we realize with surprise that the lever is very similar to the euro at least in outline. After this brief stop, I and Alberto, we decide to set off once in Blagoevgrad where we expected from our friend Ilona which will take us' to visit the Rila Monastery. We arrived after about one in Blagoevgrad hundred miles, and we meet with our friend from a distributor OMV, cafes and fast departure for Rila. We have now observed that the leadership of the Bulgarian is rather dangerous and above all fast, all running like crazy, but our guide who goes before us with the car, as it claims to be afraid of the bike, runs like crazy and we are forced to run we may not lose it. The road to Rila is quiet and runs through woods and streams to the destination. Once there, you feel an indescribable something, but palpable, the serenity 'of a sacred place that fills you. Our friend takes us around the monastery and showed us around the museum. After the visit, we return to Blagoevgrad and where we go lunch together and we stay until about 17 and then set off for Sofia, where we waited for the evening by the friends of the forum who have booked rooms for the night and we can expect in the restaurant to celebrate my birthday. We enter in Sofia and we can get up to Ruski Pamentik, a square where we meet with Vania and Sissy that make their way by taxi to the place where our rooms were booked. The first impact is devastating, a house that seems just out by the bombings of World War II, but the rooms are not so bad and, most importantly, there is a place for bikes with a dog that stands guard, and then we stop here , just a quick shower and we go along with Sissi, with taxi, restaurants where we have an appointment with the Italian friends. It 's the day of the semi-finals of world championships and ruin the evening with some friends who have the pleasure to meet eluding the game. Finally, I know those people with whom I have spoken many times in forums and chat, and I see for the first time. The first impression is that of friends who have known each other forever and the evening flowing fast and friendly, with an exchange of views and impressions of various people. My friend Alberto, while not participating in the forum and not having friends to chat, you are settling immediately, it must be said that these Bulgarians make us feel right at ease. Manuel, the board administrator, Italian married to Vania, a Bulgarian, is a friendly person and friendly, as well as his wife Sissi also know personally that speaks very good Italian, I also know a Maurizio toscanaccio living in BG with whom I had spoken a few times and VIII, his girlfriend, nice people and friendly, I have in front of Enderlandia me, a Bulgarian who speaks very well Italian accent Bergamo helmet too, and we taking it for my fellow countryman. After a while, 'here comes my friend Maria, the first person I had contact with the Bulgarian. It 's a big girl taller than me by about 5-10 cm, with a very sweet face that sits next to me and with which I try to strike up a conversation, but as usual, I have difficulty' to make myself understood in English but I am often help in Sissi which translates into Bulgarian. Albert, after a few minutes is perfectly at ease and fully enjoy the exhibition of Bulgarian cuisine, I differently from him, I do not eat everything and are forced to avoid foods that contain garlic and onions, practically all of them, and then enjoys a few dishes but no matter, I'm glad to be among friends and they seem to be equally happy to be with us. Around midnight, the blinking lights of the room informs us kindly toward the exit and we all go along with the Caffe 'Lavazza, the Italian meeting where we meet Pino, another Italian who works in Sofia and also because the locking is Lavazza, with him we go to a pub run by an Italian dove finiamo la serata, mentre un acquazzone si abbatte su Sofia. La mattina dopo abbiamo appuntamento con la nostra amica Nezi, suo marito Kamen e la loro figlia in un bar vicino il nostro albergo, dove ci incontriamo e ci mettiamo d’accordo per rivederci il giorno successivo a Veliko Tarnovo. Questa gente che non ci ha mai incontrato, è di una cordialita’ e disponibilita’ incredibili che ci sconcertano. Ci prenoteranno un albergo lì e ci attenderanno all’inizio della citta’. Ci salutiamo, mentre loro gia’ si avviano a Veliko Tarnovo dandoci appuntamento al giorno successivo. Cerchiamo qualcuno che ci porti in giro per Sofia e per non essere di peso per coloro che ci hanno gia’ tollerato il giorno prima, contatto a known friend in chat, that Galia is available as all the others, leads us to visit the capital of Bulgaria. In the evening, calls us and invites us to Mauritius to have dinner with him and Vili near Sofia, where we will see a show with traditional Bulgarian dance on hot coals. The restaurant is nice, very well cared for by European standards, with folkolorstica Bulgarian music that entertains us throughout the evening, except for about ten minutes where identified as Italians, we are singing a couple of old Italian songs that we appreciate. In late evening and Maurizio Vili accompany us to the hotel and we set an appointment to meet again in Varna. Our journey includes the departure for Veliko Tarnovo, hold for the next day a day to visit the city '. In the morning, we wake up to clean a bike before you leave, as the rain of the night we arrived was dirty, the weather looks good and, shortly thereafter, Maurizio arrives with Vili, who guide us on the road to Veliko Tarnovo . We stopped for a coffee 'together with a petrol station, here it is clear that a mystery had accompanied us for several miles, we saw always a sign reading "cartoons" but we did not understand what it was, Vili and Maurizio tell us to buy this cartoon is nothing but a sort of fee to walk the streets of Bulgaria, buy and pasted the sticker on the windscreen, after which we say goodbye, giving us an appointment in Varna and resumed our journey at a time of Veliko Tarnovo. A few kilometers after leaving our friends, the beginning of the mountain road, they surprise rain and fog, but two crazy people like us could not even be equipped to deal with this eventuality, so we stop a moment and put on clothes rain in order to continue our journey. It rains and there is fog, but the road is good and you can 'walk quietly, what we do with one stop at a petrol station, where the full redo, redesign and we leave again for Veliko Tarnovo. On the outskirts of the city 'ahead Nezi, Kamen and their friend accompanying us Kras sino alla casa di quest’ultimo dove potremo mettere le moto in garage e poi andare in albergo. Una doccia calda, rimuove dal nostro corpo il freddo che avevamo sentito durante il tragitto, il tempo di cambiarsi ed i nostri amici portano a visitare un monastero e successivamente ad Arbarnasi, tranquillo posto di villeggiatura a pochi chilometri da Veliko Tarnovo dove passeggiamo per un po’ sotto un celo plumbeo e minaccioso. Finita la gita, ritorniamo in albergo e ci diamo appuntamento per una breve visita della citta’ con cena finale in un ristorante con vista panoramica, tutti insieme. Lì ci congediamo da Nezi e Kamen che ripartono la mattina successiva restando d’accordo con Krasi che dovra’ venirci a prendere per salire di nuovo in sella alle nostre moto e riprendere il viaggio. Il giorno successivo, partiti Nezi e Kamen, andiamo in giro per la citta’ e visitiamo il castello di Veliko Tarnovo, il panorama è bellissimo, ma l’impatto è deludente, sono strutture ricostruite, anche male, in c.a., la manutenzione dei luoghi è pessima così come le indicazioni. Giriamo in lungo ed in largo la zona del castello ed infine torniamo verso la citta’, accolti all’uscita da un puparo che selezionando la lingua inglese, ci racconta la storia del castello di Baldwin. La serata la trascorriamo ancora da soli ed andando in giro, troviamo un locale dove poter mangiare una pizza e bere una zagorka, ovviamente non esattamente quella italiana, ma ci si deve accontentare. The next morning, punctual as a Swiss watch, Kras, we are to take with her taxi and brings us to his house where our bikes, obviously does not understand a word of Italian he 'let alone English, and to thank him on the phone and call Nezi we do translate our thanks. Load your bike with our luggage, we are escorted up to the road to Varna and Balchik, and they 're there with a simple salute and a handshake. These are great Bulgarians are nice and hospitable to us, in a manner that surprised every time, as if we were their old friends. It 's a beautiful day, resumed the road to meet Balchik sunflowers that fascinate us so much and take us back over time, we are enchanted by its beauty, the journey continues to Balchik where we expect our friend Marian who has booked the hotel. At about 13 we are there and everything is going according to script, we are fortunate to have in almost every city 'somebody to help us properly and we are very soft. The hotel in Balchik is cute and comfortable, overlooking the sea and various restaurants therein. Downstairs there is a place for sunbathing and swimming, where it will make us leave the bikes, which look towards the reception. We were just lucky. We visit the seaside Balchik, the botanical garden and the residence of Princess Louise and then separate us from our friend and give us an appointment for the evening. In the evening, Mariana and her husband Marino, they come to take and walk a bit 'till you get to a restaurant with a deck right on the water where we eat a pizza and then, because there is pretty cool, we move on to a terrace close to seeing a game the world while sipping a beer and greeted in the evening. The next morning we load the bikes again, we salute our friend Mariana, visibly moved, Thank you for your active cooperation and shared to the time of Varna, where we expect Mauritius and VIII. It easily covered thirty miles that separate us from Varna and enter the city '. Take the signs to the center and continue for a long section and then we stop and ask for information but no one knows anything tell, do not understand English. Mauritius calls us and tells us that they are near the Cathedral and the McDonalds, but we do not sell anything yet, until a young boy, understood our difficulties' tells us that we are very close and continue a little longer, because after a few hundred meters meet Maurice and VIII we show the hotel. We go there and take the rooms, Vili, and I must go away, Maurice and Alberto we go around the city, 'cute and lively, with many green areas, like all the city' of Bulgaria, to end all ' lunch in a restaurant on the beach where we eat something. We spend il pomeriggio andando in giro per la citta’, visitiamo il museo delle navi e di altri mezzi militari e poi lentamente ritorniamo in albergo per riposare un po’, lavarci e cambiarci per ritrovarci la sera nuovamente a cena in un ristorantino tipico vicino al lungomare di Varna. Alle 22 dobbiamo tornare un attimo in albergo per mettere le moto nel bar attiguo che dovremo andare a riprendere la mattina successiva alle 6.00 prima della riapertura. Il giorno dopo alle 6.00 in piedi per riprendere le moto e si riparte alla volta di Burgas, altra citta’ sul mar Nero con sosta obbligata, prima di arrivarci, a Nesebar, lasciamo auto e moto in un parcheggio a pagamento e ci avventuriamo sotto un sole caldissimo tra le vie della citta’ per ammirare le bellissime buildings situated there, mingling with tourists. Hunger is felt and the heat also, and then we stop at a restaurant overlooking the sea air to silence your stomach before you take another short tour and return to the parking lot to resume the means and move towards Burgas. In the evening we are at Burgas, where there is always the hotel with the help of Maurice and VIII and to be more 'precise idea of \u200b\u200btheir sister who is working to find the rooms with air conditioning. A short nap and then all together for dinner at an Italian restaurant (finally) where I am referring of various abstinence with a nice plate of spaghetti with seafood, a little chat 'with the owner and then we start walking toward the center City ', in contrast to Varna, it is not very busy at night until you get to a local piano bar where we stop for a drink and so we end the evening. The next day, we move to Primosko, another popular resort 'beach resort on the Black Sea, visit the City' in the morning, it seems to me very similar to Nesebar, then we go to a residence, where he had worked the late son Vili's and where were his friends. She stands with the boys, we go to the sea via a narrow road through a marshy area until you reach the beach, not crowded, where we lie in the sun and then do the bathroom. In the late afternoon we take the road to Burgas, Sozopol where we stop to eat something and pass on the sea to greet them an Italian friend who has a restaurant, not yet completed, where we drink something and then return to Burgas in the hotel for wash and change us. In the evening we Maurizio calls and tells us the place where we meet, an outdoor restaurant in the center of Burgas, are we doing to address them and take a taxi. The next day, always with our friends we go to sea near Burgas and spend the whole day, with the short break a couple of hours for lunch. In the evening we return to the hotel and we say goodbye to our friends the next morning to go home to parents of Aitos VIII. We say goodbye to great friends and they Thank you very much for everything you have done for us, inviting them to visit us when they wanted to do it. We take advantage of the fact of being alone and at my suggestion, we return for dinner at Italian restaurant to eat a pizza. The next morning, breakfast and operations of the ritual, close bags and install them on the bikes at a time of Plodiv. While we are starting to call us and visit Mauritius Aitos is on the road we travel, we invite you to take a coffee together. Once in Aitos, we meet with our friends who took us to a bar run by an Italian where we stay for an hour talking about the best 'this and that, Vili then invites us to his parents' house, and we welcome this additional stop. It's getting late and the road ahead is still much to Plodiv so we salute her again and we head for our destination. It is very hot, we walk the streets of sunflowers, a unique show, at one point we meet a group of bikers who greets us and say goodbye with a wave of his hand, are like these small gestures of solidarity 'between MOTORCYCLES. Near Stara Zagora surprises us a time and therefore anti reindossiamo rain suits to keep some seventy miles, then we stop at a motorway service station sull'altostrada and we get rid of that burden, because in the meantime the time is back the beautiful. A few minutes for a sandwich, filled with bikes and depart for Plodiv where we arrived in the evening, we settle a hotel where the bikes, we wash and then in the center part of the city 'which is empty because there is the final of the World Cup. We stopped in an Italian style restaurant where we ask for a pizza while we watch the game, you feel in the room next to several people who incite the French, Italians are in the minority, but the end result is what counts and what I see, majority of the Bulgarian fans of Italy and it makes me very happy. The next morning, breakfast, you load your bags on the bikes and we leave for Sofia in the evening where we greet our friends, before returning to Italy. We find a nearby hotel than we had found our friends the arrival and establishment of motion in a closed room. Let's just in time to bring up your luggage that takes a sudden downpour, but we are now indoors. Expect to finish the rain and we do give a restaurant doorman who is generous with information following our tips. We follow his instructions and arrive in a typical Bulgarian restaurant where we order two kebabs and chips, as well as the inevitable Zagorka. After the coffee 'back to the hotel and as we rest in the evening we meet with Manuel and Co. In another typical Bulgarian restaurant where it will' leave the Bulgarian and Italian with friends since the day we leave for boot Sofia to Greece. The evening is spent in happiness between a hellish noise, there are also musicians in traditional costumes who entertain customers in the restaurant and order dinner, we are out of the restaurant we salute you with you next time, and in taxi back to the hotel. The next day, operations of ritual, lunch bags on the bikes and you go on the way back, we do show the way by a taxi that takes us up to Ruski Pamentic, the square where we were taken by our friends when we arrived and we start, with sadness in my heart, at a time of Blagoevgrad where we expect our friend Ilona who has booked a good hotel with swimming pool, sauna, parking, and all the comforts and brings us around the entire evening. We also salute the morning with her because we have a long way to go, so we have decided not to stop in Thessaloniki and go directly to Igoumenitsa, where we will embark for Italy. Until the border with Greece, there are about 120 km. In the vicinity 'of the police stop us Sandaski we check the documents and then very kindly let us leave. We arrive at the Bulgarian customs, go away for about half an hour the formalities' of rite and then move to the Greek customs where we check your bags in addition to the documents. After his hitch and we move towards Seres Thessaloniki, then take the Athens-Thessaloniki highway to the junction where we deviate to Kozani and we put on the road to Kozani-Ioannina-Igoumenitsa. We walk along a nearly deserted highway, passing by two nuclear power plants for electricity, where surprisingly the rain again and again we are forced to wear suits and rain arrive in Grevena. We should be very close to Ioannina, but unlike Bulgaria's road signs here are almost non-existent and we end up doing a long ride a hundred miles in an endless time and mountain roads, with the bikes on that type of asphalt loses its grip and become unmanageable and dangerous, until we reach a stretch of road under construction where some workers give us directions to reimmeterci on the road to Ioannina. Arrivals follow signs to Igoumenitsa, and not finding 'the highway that we traveled the first leg, but the old road that passes through the mountains, encountering herds of goats, horses and other animals in the wild. We are tired and wet, but we know that we are close to Igoumenitsa and we'll have time to make a reservation for departure as we open a ticket for the return. At some point it seems a mirage: coffee we read 'Italian (Illy) and we stopped because the call is too strong, we are about twenty kilometers from Igoumenitsa, we take advantage to removing clothes from rain, and Illy coffee is really done right, salute and leave again. After a few minutes We try to Igoumenitsa, where the maritime station and we can book the ferry at 22.30 to take us back 'in Italy. Since they are 19:30 and we have time, though we have not had lunch, we stopped at a small restaurant on the waterfront and we enjoy the souvlaki and French fries along with a beer (mistakenly ask a Zagorka, but the waiter looked at me astonished and said to me which has only heineken) and finally conclude with an ouzo. We go to the maritime station, a new control before we start to come in and arrive at the pier 12, where 'our boat and we already' on hold, two other Belgians bikers with their BMW and an Italian with his wife, who has been around the Peloponnese in motion. Once on board, settle the bikes (there are the wire because it provides a rough sea), we leave our stuff in the car and we go over the bridge where the melancholy assails us from seeing the ship and while the lights fade away and to see the final scene of Igoumenitsa Our fantastic trip. A special thanks goes to Manuel and his wife, Vania, in Sissi, Nezi and Kamen and their friends of Veliko Tarnovo, in Mauritius and VIII and their in-laws, to Marian and all the people who made this possible and easy in our adventure Bikes on the streets of Bulgaria. You are all in our hearts, like old and dear friends and you'll never forget.
Do Skora, friends.
Vito and Alberto
