(6909,1,'2012-07-24 16:49:51','2012-07-24 14:49:51','As I wrote earlier, I thought Copenhagen was a wonderfully easy city to get around. The buses were easy to take and the stops well labeled. At the individual bus stops there were digital clocks to let you know when to expect the next bus and what number it would be.\n<a title=\"Me and the Little Mermaid by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611312672/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7254/7611312672_7ea8f29622_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and the Little Mermaid\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe city was equally pedestrian friendly. In the city center there are a number of pedestrian only streets which were great to walk along and window shop. There are outdoor cafes on a number of different city squares and along a canal.<a title=\"Old town square by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611193896/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7611193896_3fc6378fa5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Old town square\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"IMG_6160Restaurants along Frederiksholms Kanal by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611175234/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7112/7611175234_231bc46ed9_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6160Restaurants along Frederiksholms Kanal\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Sailboats in Frederiksholms Kanal by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611176648/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7265/7611176648_44b122d8e0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sailboats in Frederiksholms Kanal\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nThe morning started out rainy and cold but we couldn\'t imagine letting a little rain deter us from exploring the city. So we started our day of with a walk which started at City Hall and ended with us on bikes. City hall doesn\'t look like much form the outside but once inside, the building is huge and covered in flags. It\'s impressive. What\'s more you can wander around city hall. I\'d recommending taking the stairs up to the higher levels. First because the view is pretty cool but also because the staircases are beautiful. One has a harbor scene from Copenhagen painted in it. <a title=\"Danish flags in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611221858/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7260/7611221858_1afdf5dd69_z.jpg\" alt=\"Danish flags in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Stain glass in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611210684/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8011/7611210684_b4ffb4b74d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Stain glass in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Stairway detail in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611211516/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7611211516_b0543dbd06_z.jpg\" alt=\"Stairway detail in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Ceiling detail and painting in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611219244/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8005/7611219244_05a77d4e9c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Ceiling detail and painting in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Painting in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611218328/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8164/7611218328_db0be513c8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Painting in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"City Hall Stairwell detail by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611220330/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7247/7611220330_1df49a73c1_z.jpg\" alt=\"City Hall Stairwell detail\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nWe ate yummy pasteries from a neighborhood shop that we happened to stumble upon. There were so many delicious looking choices and I didn\'t know how I was going to pick. I ended up ordering after a local man who seemed to be doing construction work in the neighborhood. I figured that he must know his pastries so I ordered what he did. Only he ordered to pastries and a sandwich and I just got a pastry.  <a title=\"Pastries by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611205392/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8142/7611205392_a61f8f9b8e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pastries\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Bakery by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611203518/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8288/7611203518_ea839ff231_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bakery\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Chocolate milk by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611206518/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7611206518_888ce84c3f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Chocolate milk\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWe popped into the university\'s main building which is in the Latin Quarter of Copenhagen. After four years of working at Georgetown, I was not prepared for the interior of the this building. The colors are bold and eye-catching.\n<a title=\"Inside the University by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611198880/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8013/7611198880_8e6ba604b7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the University\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Inside the University by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611197854/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7611197854_c14a435286_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the University\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"University buildings by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611199288/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7611199288_61a0aa2315_z.jpg\" alt=\"University buildings\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWe took pictures of Vor Frue Kirke but we didn\'t make it inside as there was a service taking place. We wandered to the Round Tower but didn\'t climb it. A girl doesn\'t need to climb every tower or church steeple she come along. So from here we went to check out parliament.\n<a title=\"Boats by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611183746/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7611183746_03e513793d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Boats\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Parliament by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611182626/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7611182626_9fc10f2c12_z.jpg\" alt=\"Parliament\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWe admired Christiansborg Palace the home of parliament. Look at how detailed the roof-line is and how long the building is.\n<a title=\"Opera House by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611173654/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7611173654_60192e2aa3_z.jpg\" alt=\"Opera House\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Sand castle compition by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611172572/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8158/7611172572_20c42865e9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sand castle compition\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWe ate take away Thai noodles across the harbor from the Opera House for lunch. These noodles were tasty and filling. The Opera House was impressive even from across the harbor and on our way to to check out Amalienborg Palace the home of the royal family we spotted a sandcastle competition. Then we headed up the street to see the Frederkskirken. A church otherwise know as the Marmorkirken or the marble church. You probably wont be surprised to learn the the church is marble.<a title=\"Amalienborg Palace square by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611166912/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8165/7611166912_2d795c9424_z.jpg\" alt=\"Amalienborg Palace square\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Horse on Amalienborg Palace square by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611167346/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7611167346_2b82d2167d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Horse on Amalienborg Palace square\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"the Marmokirken--the marble church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611165342/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8012/7611165342_68baff5ac2_z.jpg\" alt=\"the Marmokirken--the marble church\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWe topped the afternoon off with a visit to the Frihedsmuseet which is a museum that covers the history of the Dutch Resistance movement against the Nazis during WWII. The museum was well laid out, it took about an hour to get through and I thought very informative. It\'s also free.<a title=\"the Little Mermaid by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611313708/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7611313708_d4c3a98fc6_z.jpg\" alt=\"the Little Mermaid\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"The Gefion Fountain--representing the creation of Denmark by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611314468/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8001/7611314468_d9c2f06f59_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Gefion Fountain--representing the creation of Denmark\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nFrom the museum we wandered down to the water front past the Gefion Fountain and towards the Little Mermaid. In terms of scale and impressiveness, I thought that the Gefion Fountain was a lot more interesting than the Little Mermaid.  The Little Mermaid is just that a girl who may or may not have fish legs sitting on a rock but Gefion Fountain is a woman driving a cart with four large oxen. The woman is Gefion and she is apart of the creation myth of Denmark. She is given a day and a night to cut Zealand out of Sweden and so she turns in her sons into oxen to accomplish the task. Legend has it that the hole which was created is modern day Lake Vänern.\n<a title=\"Telephone booth detail by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611191196/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8149/7611191196_ab827592a5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Telephone booth detail\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nI\'ll leave you with this picture. It\'s a close up of an old phone-booth. Now it\'s a coffee stand but is used to house a phone. If you look closely you can see two people talking to each other on the phone. Isn\'t that cute?!','Snapshots of Copenhagen ','','inherit','open','open','','6907-revision-2','','','2012-07-24 16:49:51','2012-07-24 14:49:51','',6907,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/24/6907-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6910,1,'2012-07-24 16:54:58','2012-07-24 14:54:58','As I wrote earlier, I thought Copenhagen was a wonderfully easy city to get around. The buses were easy to take and the stops well labeled. At the individual bus stops there were digital clocks to let you know when to expect the next bus and what number it would be.\r\n<a title=\"Me and the Little Mermaid by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611312672/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7254/7611312672_7ea8f29622_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and the Little Mermaid\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe city was equally pedestrian friendly. In the city center there are a number of pedestrian only streets which were great to walk along and window shop. There are outdoor cafes on a number of different city squares and along a canal.<a title=\"Old town square by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611193896/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7611193896_3fc6378fa5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Old town square\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_6160Restaurants along Frederiksholms Kanal by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611175234/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7112/7611175234_231bc46ed9_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6160Restaurants along Frederiksholms Kanal\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Sailboats in Frederiksholms Kanal by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611176648/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7265/7611176648_44b122d8e0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sailboats in Frederiksholms Kanal\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nThe morning started out rainy and cold but we couldn\'t imagine letting a little rain deter us from exploring the city. So we started our day of with a walk which started at City Hall and ended with us on bikes. City hall doesn\'t look like much form the outside but once inside, the building is huge and covered in flags. It\'s impressive. What\'s more you can wander around city hall. I\'d recommending taking the stairs up to the higher levels. First because the view is pretty cool but also because the staircases are beautiful. One has a harbor scene from Copenhagen painted in it. <a title=\"Danish flags in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611221858/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7260/7611221858_1afdf5dd69_z.jpg\" alt=\"Danish flags in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Stain glass in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611210684/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8011/7611210684_b4ffb4b74d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Stain glass in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Stairway detail in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611211516/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7611211516_b0543dbd06_z.jpg\" alt=\"Stairway detail in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Ceiling detail and painting in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611219244/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8005/7611219244_05a77d4e9c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Ceiling detail and painting in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Painting in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611218328/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8164/7611218328_db0be513c8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Painting in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"City Hall Stairwell detail by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611220330/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7247/7611220330_1df49a73c1_z.jpg\" alt=\"City Hall Stairwell detail\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nWe ate yummy pasteries from a neighborhood shop that we happened to stumble upon. There were so many delicious looking choices and I didn\'t know how I was going to pick. I ended up ordering after a local man who seemed to be doing construction work in the neighborhood. I figured that he must know his pastries so I ordered what he did. Only he ordered to pastries and a sandwich and I just got a pastry.  <a title=\"Pastries by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611205392/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8142/7611205392_a61f8f9b8e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pastries\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Bakery by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611203518/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8288/7611203518_ea839ff231_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bakery\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Chocolate milk by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611206518/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7611206518_888ce84c3f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Chocolate milk\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWe popped into the university\'s main building which is in the Latin Quarter of Copenhagen. After four years of working at Georgetown, I was not prepared for the interior of the this building. The colors are bold and eye-catching.\r\n<a title=\"Inside the University by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611198880/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8013/7611198880_8e6ba604b7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the University\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the University by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611197854/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7611197854_c14a435286_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the University\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"University buildings by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611199288/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7611199288_61a0aa2315_z.jpg\" alt=\"University buildings\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWe took pictures of Vor Frue Kirke but we didn\'t make it inside as there was a service taking place. We wandered to the Round Tower but didn\'t climb it. A girl doesn\'t need to climb every tower or church steeple she come along. So from here we went to check out parliament.\r\n<a title=\"Boats by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611183746/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7611183746_03e513793d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Boats\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Parliament by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611182626/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7611182626_9fc10f2c12_z.jpg\" alt=\"Parliament\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWe admired Christiansborg Palace the home of parliament. Look at how detailed the roof-line is and how long the building is.\r\n<a title=\"Opera House by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611173654/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7611173654_60192e2aa3_z.jpg\" alt=\"Opera House\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Sand castle compition by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611172572/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8158/7611172572_20c42865e9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sand castle compition\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWe ate take away Thai noodles across the harbor from the Opera House for lunch. These noodles were tasty and filling. The Opera House was impressive even from across the harbor and on our way to to check out Amalienborg Palace the home of the royal family we spotted a sandcastle competition. Then we headed up the street to see the Frederkskirken. A church otherwise know as the Marmorkirken or the marble church. You probably wont be surprised to learn the the church is marble.<a title=\"Amalienborg Palace square by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611166912/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8165/7611166912_2d795c9424_z.jpg\" alt=\"Amalienborg Palace square\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Horse on Amalienborg Palace square by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611167346/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7611167346_2b82d2167d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Horse on Amalienborg Palace square\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"the Marmokirken--the marble church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611165342/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8012/7611165342_68baff5ac2_z.jpg\" alt=\"the Marmokirken--the marble church\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWe topped the afternoon off with a visit to the Frihedsmuseet which is a museum that covers the history of the Dutch Resistance movement against the Nazis during WWII. The museum was well laid out, it took about an hour to get through and I thought very informative. It\'s also free.<a title=\"the Little Mermaid by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611313708/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7611313708_d4c3a98fc6_z.jpg\" alt=\"the Little Mermaid\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"The Gefion Fountain--representing the creation of Denmark by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611314468/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8001/7611314468_d9c2f06f59_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Gefion Fountain--representing the creation of Denmark\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom the museum we wandered down to the water front past the Gefion Fountain and towards the Little Mermaid. In terms of scale and impressiveness, I thought that the Gefion Fountain was a lot more interesting than the Little Mermaid.  The Little Mermaid is just that a girl who may or may not have fish legs sitting on a rock but Gefion Fountain is a woman driving a cart with four large oxen. The woman is Gefion and she is apart of the creation myth of Denmark. She is given a day and a night to cut Zealand out of Sweden and so she turns in her sons into oxen to accomplish the task. Legend has it that the hole which was created is modern day Lake Vänern.\r\n<a title=\"Telephone booth detail by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611191196/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8149/7611191196_ab827592a5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Telephone booth detail\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI\'ll leave you with this picture. It\'s a close up of an old phone-booth. Now it\'s a coffee stand but is used to house a phone. If you look closely you can see two people talking to each other on the phone. Isn\'t that cute?!','Snapshots of Copenhagen ','','inherit','open','open','','6907-revision-3','','','2012-07-24 16:54:58','2012-07-24 14:54:58','',6907,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/24/6907-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6911,1,'2012-07-24 16:59:29','2012-07-24 14:59:29','As I wrote earlier, I thought <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/20/copenhagen-and-our-bike-adventure/\" target=\"_blank\">Copenhagen was a wonderfully easy city to get around</a>. The buses were easy to take and the stops well labeled. At the individual bus stops there were digital clocks to let you know when to expect the next bus and what number it would be.\n<a title=\"Me and the Little Mermaid by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611312672/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7254/7611312672_7ea8f29622_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and the Little Mermaid\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe city was equally pedestrian friendly. In the city center there are a number of pedestrian only streets which were great to walk along and window shop. There are outdoor cafes on a number of different city squares and along a canal.<a title=\"Old town square by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611193896/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7611193896_3fc6378fa5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Old town square\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"IMG_6160Restaurants along Frederiksholms Kanal by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611175234/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7112/7611175234_231bc46ed9_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_6160Restaurants along Frederiksholms Kanal\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Sailboats in Frederiksholms Kanal by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611176648/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7265/7611176648_44b122d8e0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sailboats in Frederiksholms Kanal\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nThe morning started out rainy and cold but we couldn\'t imagine letting a little rain deter us from exploring the city. So we started our day of with a walk which started at City Hall and ended with us on bikes. City hall doesn\'t look like much form the outside but once inside, the building is huge and covered in flags. It\'s impressive. <!--more-->What\'s more you can wander around city hall. I\'d recommending taking the stairs up to the higher levels. First because the view is pretty cool but also because the staircases are beautiful. One has a harbor scene from Copenhagen painted in it. <a title=\"Danish flags in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611221858/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7260/7611221858_1afdf5dd69_z.jpg\" alt=\"Danish flags in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Stain glass in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611210684/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8011/7611210684_b4ffb4b74d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Stain glass in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Stairway detail in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611211516/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7611211516_b0543dbd06_z.jpg\" alt=\"Stairway detail in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Ceiling detail and painting in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611219244/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8005/7611219244_05a77d4e9c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Ceiling detail and painting in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Painting in City Hall by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611218328/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8164/7611218328_db0be513c8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Painting in City Hall\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"City Hall Stairwell detail by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611220330/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7247/7611220330_1df49a73c1_z.jpg\" alt=\"City Hall Stairwell detail\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nWe ate yummy pasteries from a neighborhood shop that we happened to stumble upon. There were so many delicious looking choices and I didn\'t know how I was going to pick. I ended up ordering after a local man who seemed to be doing construction work in the neighborhood. I figured that he must know his pastries so I ordered what he did. Only he ordered to pastries and a sandwich and I just got a pastry.  <a title=\"Pastries by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611205392/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8142/7611205392_a61f8f9b8e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Pastries\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Bakery by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611203518/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8288/7611203518_ea839ff231_z.jpg\" alt=\"Bakery\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Chocolate milk by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611206518/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7611206518_888ce84c3f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Chocolate milk\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWe popped into the university\'s main building which is in the Latin Quarter of Copenhagen. After four years of working at Georgetown, I was not prepared for the interior of the this building. The colors are bold and eye-catching.\n<a title=\"Inside the University by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611198880/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8013/7611198880_8e6ba604b7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the University\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Inside the University by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611197854/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7611197854_c14a435286_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the University\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"University buildings by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611199288/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7611199288_61a0aa2315_z.jpg\" alt=\"University buildings\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWe took pictures of Vor Frue Kirke but we didn\'t make it inside as there was a service taking place. We wandered to the Round Tower but didn\'t climb it. A girl doesn\'t need to climb every tower or church steeple she come along. So from here we went to check out parliament.\n<a title=\"Boats by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611183746/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7611183746_03e513793d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Boats\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Parliament by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611182626/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7611182626_9fc10f2c12_z.jpg\" alt=\"Parliament\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWe admired Christiansborg Palace the home of parliament. Look at how detailed the roof-line is and how long the building is.\n<a title=\"Opera House by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611173654/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7611173654_60192e2aa3_z.jpg\" alt=\"Opera House\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Sand castle compition by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611172572/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8158/7611172572_20c42865e9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sand castle compition\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWe ate take away Thai noodles across the harbor from the Opera House for lunch. These noodles were tasty and filling. The Opera House was impressive even from across the harbor and on our way to to check out Amalienborg Palace the home of the royal family we spotted a sandcastle competition. Then we headed up the street to see the Frederkskirken. A church otherwise know as the Marmorkirken or the marble church. You probably wont be surprised to learn the the church is marble.<a title=\"Amalienborg Palace square by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611166912/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8165/7611166912_2d795c9424_z.jpg\" alt=\"Amalienborg Palace square\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Horse on Amalienborg Palace square by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611167346/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7611167346_2b82d2167d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Horse on Amalienborg Palace square\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"the Marmokirken--the marble church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611165342/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8012/7611165342_68baff5ac2_z.jpg\" alt=\"the Marmokirken--the marble church\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWe topped the afternoon off with a visit to the Frihedsmuseet which is a museum that covers the history of the Dutch Resistance movement against the Nazis during WWII. The museum was well laid out, it took about an hour to get through and I thought very informative. It\'s also free.<a title=\"the Little Mermaid by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611313708/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7611313708_d4c3a98fc6_z.jpg\" alt=\"the Little Mermaid\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"The Gefion Fountain--representing the creation of Denmark by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611314468/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8001/7611314468_d9c2f06f59_z.jpg\" alt=\"The Gefion Fountain--representing the creation of Denmark\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nFrom the museum we wandered down to the water front past the Gefion Fountain and towards the Little Mermaid. In terms of scale and impressiveness, I thought that the Gefion Fountain was a lot more interesting than the Little Mermaid.  The Little Mermaid is just that a girl who may or may not have fish legs sitting on a rock but Gefion Fountain is a woman driving a cart with four large oxen. The woman is Gefion and she is apart of the creation myth of Denmark. She is given a day and a night to cut Zealand out of Sweden and so she turns in her sons into oxen to accomplish the task. Legend has it that the hole which was created is modern day Lake Vänern.\n<a title=\"Telephone booth detail by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7611191196/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8149/7611191196_ab827592a5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Telephone booth detail\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nI\'ll leave you with this picture. It\'s a close up of an old phone-booth. Now it\'s a coffee stand but is used to house a phone. If you look closely you can see two people talking to each other on the phone. Isn\'t that cute?!','Snapshots of Copenhagen ','','inherit','open','open','','6907-autosave','','','2012-07-24 16:59:29','2012-07-24 14:59:29','',6907,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/24/6907-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6912,1,'2012-07-24 17:21:16','2012-07-24 15:21:16','I know that I am not breaking any news here. In fact, I wasn\'t sure if it was even something that I should write about here but this morning I decided that it was. Last Wednesday evening the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Burgas was rocked by a suicide bomber. A bomb went off killing five Israeli tourists and the Bulgarian bus driver. Scores of people where injured in the attack as well.\n\nThe bombing has been all over the news from CNN to the BBC and major newspapers like the New York Times as well as the Bulgarian media and English language media in Bulgaria. Aside from the initial report of the bombing I\'ve found it nearly impossible to keep up with the details.  Many reports contradict each other while others claim to have new information but in fact just rehash old details.\n\nThe NYT has been covering this story since Wednesday and over the course of the last few days has reported <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/world/europe/explosion-on-bulgaria-tour-bus-kills-at-least-four-israelis.html?src=recg\" target=\"_blank\">on the event</a>, the release of video tape from the airport with the suspected bomber and today they are <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/world/europe/inquiry-seeks-accomplices-of-bomber-in-bulgaria.html?_r=1&amp;smid=tw-nytimesglobal&amp;seid=auto\" target=\"_blank\">reporting that the official inquiry is interested in finding and identifying the bomber\'s accomplices</a>. The reporting here seems measured and serious while many of the other pieces I\'ve read seem rushed and sloppy.\n\nIt\'s an interesting problem. This is the first terror attack in Bulgaria so neither the Bulgarian police nor the Bulgarian media has a precedent for how to handle or investigate a bombing like this. Experts have been called in from around Europe and from the States to help investigate the actual bombing and plenty of people and new papers have been speculating about the identity of the dead suicide bomber, which groups he has links to and who helped him pull this off.\n\nSo what does all of this mean for those of us living in Bulgaria?\n\nWell, it means lots of questions. Questions that no one seems able to answer. The big question remains: who was the suicide bomber. Nearly a week later no one seems to know. This also means that there\'s been lots of blame shifted around and plenty of accusations have been passed out. All of this has been topped of with a large dose of political posturing.\n\nWhile the questions remain: who was the bomber and what group was . The media is in the process of replacing this with conjecture and supposition.','','','inherit','open','open','','6898-revision-2','','','2012-07-24 17:21:16','2012-07-24 15:21:16','',6898,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/24/6898-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6913,1,'2012-07-24 17:23:11','2012-07-24 15:23:11','I know that I am not breaking any news here. In fact, I wasn\'t sure if it was even something that I should write about here but this morning I decided that it was. Last Wednesday evening the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Burgas was rocked by a suicide bomber. A bomb went off killing five Israeli tourists and the Bulgarian bus driver. Scores of people where injured in the attack as well.\n\nThe bombing has been all over the news from CNN to the BBC and major newspapers like the New York Times as well as the Bulgarian media and English language media in Bulgaria. Aside from the initial report of the bombing I\'ve found it nearly impossible to keep up with the details.  Many reports contradict each other while others claim to have new information but in fact just rehash old details.\n\nThe NYT has been covering this story since Wednesday and over the course of the last few days has reported <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/world/europe/explosion-on-bulgaria-tour-bus-kills-at-least-four-israelis.html?src=recg\" target=\"_blank\">on the event</a>, the release of video tape from the airport with the suspected bomber and today they are <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/world/europe/inquiry-seeks-accomplices-of-bomber-in-bulgaria.html?_r=1&amp;smid=tw-nytimesglobal&amp;seid=auto\" target=\"_blank\">reporting that the official inquiry is interested in finding and identifying the bomber\'s accomplices</a>. The reporting here seems measured and serious while many of the other pieces I\'ve read seem rushed and sloppy.\n\nIt\'s an interesting problem. This is the first terror attack in Bulgaria so neither the Bulgarian police nor the Bulgarian media has a precedent for how to handle or investigate a bombing like this. Experts have been called in from around Europe and from the States to help investigate the actual bombing and plenty of people and new papers have been speculating about the identity of the dead suicide bomber, which groups he has links to and who helped him pull this off.\n\nSo what does all of this mean for those of us living in Bulgaria?\n\nWell, it means lots of questions. Questions that no one seems able to answer. The big question remains: who was the suicide bomber. Nearly a week later no one seems to know. This also means that there\'s been lots of blame shifted around and plenty of accusations have been passed out. All of this has been topped of with a large dose of political posturing.\n\nWhile the questions remain: who was the bomber and what group was he working with. There are no clear answers. As such it appears that the media is in the process of substituting answers with conjecture and supposition.','','','inherit','open','open','','6898-revision-3','','','2012-07-24 17:23:11','2012-07-24 15:23:11','',6898,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/24/6898-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6915,1,'2012-07-25 08:29:56','2012-07-25 06:29:56','I know that I am not breaking any news here. In fact, I wasn\'t sure if it was even something that I should write about here but this morning I decided that it was. Last Wednesday evening the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Burgas was rocked by a suicide bomber. A bomb went off killing five Israeli tourists and the Bulgarian bus driver. Scores of people where injured in the attack as well.\n\nThe bombing has been all over the news from CNN to the BBC and major newspapers like the New York Times as well as the Bulgarian media and English language media in Bulgaria. Aside from the initial report of the bombing I\'ve found it nearly impossible to keep up with the details.  Many reports contradict each other while others claim to have new information but in fact just rehash old details.\n\nThe NYT has been covering this story since Wednesday and over the course of the last few days has reported <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/world/europe/explosion-on-bulgaria-tour-bus-kills-at-least-four-israelis.html?src=recg\" target=\"_blank\">on the event</a>, the release of video tape from the airport with the suspected bomber and today they are <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/world/europe/inquiry-seeks-accomplices-of-bomber-in-bulgaria.html?_r=1&amp;smid=tw-nytimesglobal&amp;seid=auto\" target=\"_blank\">reporting that the official inquiry is interested in finding and identifying the bomber\'s accomplices</a>. The reporting here seems measured and serious while many of the other pieces I\'ve read seem rushed and sloppy.\n\nIt\'s an interesting problem. This is the first terror attack in Bulgaria so neither the Bulgarian police nor the Bulgarian media has a precedent for how to handle or investigate a bombing like this. Experts have been called in from around Europe and from the States to help investigate the actual bombing and plenty of people and new papers have been speculating about the identity of the dead suicide bomber, which groups he has links to and who helped him pull this off.\n\nSo what does all of this mean for those of us living in Bulgaria?<!--more-->\n\nWell, it means lots of questions. Questions that no one seems able to answer. The big question remains: who was the suicide bomber. Nearly a week later no one seems to know. This also means that there\'s been lots of blame shifted around and plenty of accusations have been passed out. All of this has been topped of with a large dose of political posturing.\n\nWhile the questions remain: who was the bomber and what group was he working with. There are no clear answers. As such it appears that the media is in the process of substituting answers with conjecture and supposition. It would be almost laughable the headlines that are emerging, if it wasn\'t for the fact that at its core the stories are about a terrorist attack.\n\nThere\'s this headline: <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=141611&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Terrorist Attack Bomber May Have Been Deluded Drug Smuggler</a>. But my favorite right now is this one: <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=141609&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_blank\">Suicide Bomber May Have Arrived from Schengen</a>. Oh because that seems to seem to be one of the two ways he could arrive given the fact that on flights into Bulgaria you either arrive from a Schengen country or a non-Schengen country. I am also not sure what the exact point of this distinction is given the fact that Bulgaria while part of the EU is not a part of Schengen. So it\'s not as if the bomber just slipped across any boarders into Bulgaria. Well, I guess he could have but that might hurt our chances of joining Schengen.\n\nThen there\'s this completely and totally unhelpful headline: <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=141619&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_blank\">New Controversies Emerge in Bulgaria Suicide Bombing Leads</a>. Turns out if you read the article that the autopsy of the bomber\'s head may have revealed that he was mentally retarded (their words not mine). I had no idea that this was possible. Then again all of my forensic science knowledge comes from Law &amp; Order SVU, CSI, Bones and to a lesser extent NCIS.\n\nSo I\'ll end on a personal note. I feel very removed from this whole thing. It\'s summer time in Bulgaria. Most of my work friends are traveling and many of my Bulgarian friends are gearing up for holiday as well. So there\'s very little routine driving my days at this point. This attack while unsettling seems to have had a specific target group--Israeli  tourists--and while things like this could happen anywhere the Burgas airport seems much less secure than say the Sofia airport terminal 2 or so I tell myself.\n\nAll of this said, I\'ll continue to continue to follow this story as there\'s this intangible something that continues to pull me back to it. That and I\'m dying to know who the bomber was and his back story.','Last week\'s terrorist attack in Burgas ','','inherit','open','open','','6898-revision-4','','','2012-07-25 08:29:56','2012-07-25 06:29:56','',6898,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/25/6898-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6916,1,'2012-07-25 08:31:16','2012-07-25 06:31:16','I know that I am not breaking any news here. In fact, I wasn\'t sure if it was even something that I should write about here but this morning I decided that it was. Last Wednesday evening the Bulgarian Black Sea town of Burgas was rocked by a suicide bomber. A bomb went off killing five Israeli tourists and the Bulgarian bus driver. Scores of people where injured in the attack as well.\n\nThe bombing has been all over the news from CNN to the BBC and major newspapers like the New York Times as well as the Bulgarian media and English language media in Bulgaria. Aside from the initial report of the bombing I\'ve found it nearly impossible to keep up with the details.  Many reports contradict each other while others claim to have new information but in fact just rehash old details.\n\nThe NYT has been covering this story since Wednesday and over the course of the last few days has reported <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/19/world/europe/explosion-on-bulgaria-tour-bus-kills-at-least-four-israelis.html?src=recg\" target=\"_blank\">on the event</a>, the release of video tape from the airport with the suspected bomber and today they are <a href=\"http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/21/world/europe/inquiry-seeks-accomplices-of-bomber-in-bulgaria.html?_r=1&amp;smid=tw-nytimesglobal&amp;seid=auto\" target=\"_blank\">reporting that the official inquiry is interested in finding and identifying the bomber\'s accomplices</a>. The reporting here seems measured and serious while many of the other pieces I\'ve read seem rushed and sloppy.\n\nIt\'s an interesting problem. This is the first terror attack in Bulgaria so neither the Bulgarian police nor the Bulgarian media has a precedent for how to handle or investigate a bombing like this. Experts have been called in from around Europe and from the States to help investigate the actual bombing and plenty of people and new papers have been speculating about the identity of the dead suicide bomber, which groups he has links to and who helped him pull this off.\n\nSo what does all of this mean for those of us living in Bulgaria?<!--more-->\n\nWell, it means lots of questions. Questions that no one seems able to answer. The big question remains: who was the suicide bomber. Nearly a week later no one seems to know. This also means that there\'s been lots of blame shifted around and plenty of accusations have been passed out. All of this has been topped of with a large dose of political posturing.\n\nWhile the questions remain: who was the bomber and what group was he working with. There are no clear answers. As such it appears that the media is in the process of substituting answers with conjecture and supposition. It would be almost laughable the headlines that are emerging, if it wasn\'t for the fact that at its core the stories are about a terrorist attack.\n\nThere\'s this headline: <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=141611&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_blank\">Bulgarian Terrorist Attack Bomber May Have Been Deluded Drug Smuggler</a>. But my favorite right now is this one: <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=141609&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_blank\">Suicide Bomber May Have Arrived from Schengen</a>. Oh because that seems to seem to be one of the two ways he could arrive given the fact that on flights into Bulgaria you either arrive from a Schengen country or a non-Schengen country. I am also not sure what the exact point of this distinction is given the fact that Bulgaria while part of the EU is not a part of Schengen. So it\'s not as if the bomber just slipped across any boarders into Bulgaria. Well, I guess he could have but that might hurt our chances of joining Schengen.\n\nThen there\'s this completely and totally unhelpful headline: <a href=\"http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=141619&amp;utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter\" target=\"_blank\">New Controversies Emerge in Bulgaria Suicide Bombing Leads</a>. Turns out if you read the article that the autopsy of the bomber\'s head may have revealed that he was mentally retarded (their words not mine). I had no idea that this was possible. Then again all of my forensic science knowledge comes from Law &amp; Order SVU, CSI, Bones and to a lesser extent NCIS.\n\nSo I\'ll end on a personal note. I feel very removed from this whole thing. It\'s summer time in Bulgaria. Most of my work friends are traveling and many of my Bulgarian friends are gearing up for holiday as well. So there\'s very little routine driving my days at this point. This attack while unsettling seems to have had a specific target group--Israeli  tourists--and while things like this could happen anywhere the Burgas airport seems much less secure than say the Sofia airport terminal 2 or so I tell myself.\n\nAll of this said, I\'ll continue to continue to follow this story as there\'s this intangible something that continues to pull me back to it. That and I\'m dying to know who the bomber was and his back story.','Last week\'s terrorist attack in Burgas ','','inherit','open','open','','6898-autosave','','','2012-07-25 08:31:16','2012-07-25 06:31:16','',6898,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/25/6898-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6956,1,'2012-08-03 16:33:05','2012-08-03 14:33:05','I woke up this morning in my childhood bedroom. It\'s nice to be home. Sure I\'ve only been here for one day but that\'s okay.\r\n\r\nYesterday, I woke up early--like 3:30am early. Then I drank coffee and read magazines until my parents woke up. My mom didn\'t get up until sometime after 6am. So I had a lot of time to myself.\r\n\r\nMy dad made me oatmeal. I ate it out of a Bulgarian bowl topped with strawberries. Yum, yum.\r\n\r\nAfter this, I ran some errands with my mom. We went to Staples. We went to Ace Hardware. We went to Albertson\'s. We went to the bank. I drank an iced Americano. I stopped by my dAd\'s antique store.\r\n\r\nThen I took a nap. When I woke up my suitcase had arrived and my new computer. Naps are magic.\r\n\r\nMy brother and his fiancee came over after work to say hello. After this, all I could think about was my pillow and by 9pm I was in bed asleep.\r\n\r\nIt\'s nice to be home.\r\n\r\nOh and today my friend R. arrives. You may remember her from such hijinks as my Balkan adventure two summers ago or my first year in Bulgaria when I was on a Fulbright and she was on a Fulbright in Budapest. Watch out Walla Walla, watch out.','I\'ve been in Walla Walla for a Day!! ','','publish','open','open','','ive-been-in-walla-walla-for-a-day','','','2012-08-03 16:33:05','2012-08-03 14:33:05','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6956',0,'post','',1),(6918,1,'2012-07-27 10:32:41','2012-07-27 08:32:41','Hey, hey, it\'s summertime in Sofia. Go figure. This past week it\'s been well over 30 c. most days but I haven\'t had to work.\r\n\r\nAt all.\r\n\r\nI\'m on vacation. Over the last few days, that\'s meant a lot of coffee drinking, book reading and generally being lazy. Oh and cocktail hour. Because really, all semi-girly, verging on cheesy, page turning, New York Times best sellers are better with a glass of white wine or a dry rose.\r\n<a title=\"Drinks at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655069264/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8026/7655069264_fe0fc7d554_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks at Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nA part of me feels like I should be out exploring Sofia. Walking around. Seeing what\'s new. Drinking coffee in a cafe in the city center. While another part of me is happy to laze around my house and while the laze around part has been winning out, it\'s not as if I\'ve become a hermit. Not anyway, yet.\r\n\r\nInstead I\'ve been taking things easy. I\'ve been<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/22/summer-in-bulgaria-a-cantaloupe/\" target=\"_blank\"> loving all of the fresh melon</a> and then A. showed up recently with a bag of tomatoes. This lead me to renew my love affair with tomatoes. There was a little bit of an apology for them, A. explained: they\'re homegrown so they aren\'t perfectly shaped. Um, I don\'t care. <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/24/because-tomatoes-cant-speak-for-themselves/\" target=\"_blank\">I love, love tomatoes</a>. Heck, I even<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/26/an-american-in-bulgarias-take-on-heavenly-tomato-pie/\" target=\"_blank\"> made a tomato pie last year</a>. Maybe I\'ll do that again.\r\n\r\n<em>But</em>, it\'s a lot easier to slice them up and eat them. Or to throw together my new favorite salad: cube a tomato, nectarine and fresh mozzarella, put these in a bowl, add a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar and ta-da you\'re done. It\'s the perfect mix of sweet, savory and summer time fresh.\r\n<a title=\"Outdoor umbrella at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655070008/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7655070008_e01a5d6c58_z.jpg\" alt=\"Outdoor umbrella at Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThis said, my friend and Bulgarian tutor I. found a discovered<a href=\"http://sofialive.bg/place/1151-colibri.html\" target=\"_blank\"> a new bar--Colibri--recently on SofiaLive</a>. She suggested that we go and check it out. <em>Um, yes</em>. I\'d looked at the pictures and thought: cute. But it wasn\'t until I was at the bar that I realized this a sea side bar in the middle of downtown Sofia. I didn\'t even know that I wanted such a thing to exist until I arrived at Colibri and sat down.\r\n\r\n<!--more--> <a title=\"At Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655070254/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7655070254_0367aae30a_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655070930/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8143/7655070930_da48bc070e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nIt\'s pretty magical. The main color is white. I am talking: white walls, white chairs and cushions, white umbrellas, white bar. The accent colors are blue and yellow. The seats are pretty low to the ground. They\'ve been made out of a couple of moving pallets surprise, surprise painted white and the the tables all seem to the be the standard issue square white ikea coffee table. It\'s simple but it works.\r\n<a title=\"Drinks at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655069720/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7655069720_3acefd2677_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks at Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe feel is summer. It\'s light and airy and the cocktails pull the whole place together. I had a Caipirinha (rum, lime and sugar muddled together). I. went with the classic mojito and J. the strawberry mojito.<a title=\"Yellow planter at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655068122/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8282/7655068122_e7361dd3e9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Yellow planter at Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Seating at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655068866/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8011/7655068866_3f3aee4406_z.jpg\" alt=\"Seating at Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nSo while it looks I am not making it to the Bulgarian Black Sea this summer and that\'s okay. Between this sea-inspired bar in Sofia, a trip through Scandinavia at the beginning of the summer and Thassos in early September right before school starts, I\'ll live.\r\n\r\nOh and I am going back to the States in a few days. My bother is getting married, I\'ve got some friends to catch up with and there\'s a swimming pool in my parent\'s backyard calling my name. Then I\'ll be back in Sofia at the end of August. You know to start year five in Bulgaria. <em>Yes, year five.</em>\r\n<a title=\"The bill in a watering can at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655068504/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7655068504_49a1b524ef_z.jpg\" alt=\"The bill in a watering can at Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAnyhow, because you should go and check out Colibri here\'s the information you need. The address on Sofia Live is: ул. Узунджовска 2 (вход откъм ул. Княз Борис). The important part of this is to know that the entrance is on Knyaz Boris. For a point of reference, it\'s about a block away from the vegetarian restaurant Sun/Moon also on Knyaz Boris. But really, once you turn the corner from Uzundzhovska, it\'s hard to miss. Oh and if you make all the way down the block to William Galdstone you\'ve gone too far.\r\n\r\nEnjoy.','Summertime in Sofia and Colibri (a sea-side bar in the city)','','publish','open','open','','summertime-in-sofia-and-colibri-a-sea-side-bar-in-the-city','','','2012-07-27 10:32:41','2012-07-27 08:32:41','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6918',0,'post','',1),(6919,1,'2012-07-27 10:23:31','2012-07-27 08:23:31','Hey, hey, it\'s summertime in Sofia. Go figure. This past week it\'s been well over 30 c. most days and I haven\'t had to work.\n\nAt all.\n\nI\'m on vacation. Over the last few days, that\'s meant a lot of coffee drinking, book reading and generally being lazy. Oh and cocktail hour. Because really, all semi-girly, verging on cheesy, page turning, New York Times best sellers are better with a glass of white wine or a dry rose.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655069264/\" title=\"Drinks at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8026/7655069264_fe0fc7d554_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Drinks at Colibri\"></a>\nA part of me feels like I should be out exploring Sofia. Walking around. Seeing what\'s new. Drinking coffee in a cafe in the city center. While another part of me is happy to laze around my house and while the laze around part has been winning out. It\'s not as if I\'ve become a hermit.\n\nI\'ve been loving all of the fresh melon and then A. showed up recently with a bag of tomatoes. There was a little bit of an apology for them: they\'re homegrown so they aren\'t perfectly shaped. Um, I don\'t care. <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/24/because-tomatoes-cant-speak-for-themselves/\" target=\"_blank\">I love, love tomatoes</a>. Heck, I even<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/26/an-american-in-bulgarias-take-on-heavenly-tomato-pie/\" target=\"_blank\"> made a tomato pie last year</a>. Maybe I\'ll do that again. But it\'s a lot easier to slice them up and eat them. Or my new favorite salad: cube a tomato, nectarine and fresh mozzarella, put these in a bowl, and add a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It\'s the perfect mix of sweet, savory and summer time fresh.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655070008/\" title=\"Outdoor umbrella at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7655070008_e01a5d6c58_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Outdoor umbrella at Colibri\"></a>\nThis said, my friend and Bulgarian tutor I. found a discovered<a href=\"http://sofialive.bg/place/1151-colibri.html\" target=\"_blank\"> a new bar--Colibri--recently on SofiaLive</a>. She suggested that we go and check it out. <em>Um, yes</em>. I\'d looked at the pictures and thought: cute. But it wasn\'t until I was at the bar that I realized this a sea side bar in the middle of downtown Sofia.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655070254/\" title=\"At Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7655070254_0367aae30a_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Colibri\"></a>\nIt\'s pretty magical. The main color is white. I am talking: white walls, white chairs and cushions, white umbrellas, white bar. The accent colors are blue and yellow. The seats are pretty low to the ground. They\'ve been made out of a couple of moving pallets surprise, surprise painted white and the the tables all seem to the be the standard issue square white ikea coffee table. It\'s simple but it works.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655069720/\" title=\"Drinks at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7655069720_3acefd2677_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Drinks at Colibri\"></a>\nThe feel is summer. It\'s light and airy and the cocktails pull the whole place together. I had a Caipirinha (rum, lime and sugar muddled together). I. went with the classic mojito and J. the strawberry mojito.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655068122/\" title=\"Yellow planter at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8282/7655068122_e7361dd3e9_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Yellow planter at Colibri\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655068866/\" title=\"Seating at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8011/7655068866_3f3aee4406_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Seating at Colibri\"></a>\nSo while it looks I am not making it to the Bulgarian Black Sea this summer and that\'s okay. Between this sea-inspired bar in Sofia, a trip through Scandinavia at the beginning of the summer and Thassos in early September right before school starts, I\'ll live.\n\nOh and I am going back to the States in a few days. My bother is getting married, I\'ve got some friends to catch up with and there\'s a swimming pool in my parent\'s backyard calling my name. Then I\'ll be back in Sofia at the end of August. You know to start year five in Bulgaria. <em>Yes, year five.</em>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655068504/\" title=\"The bill in a watering can at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7655068504_49a1b524ef_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"The bill in a watering can at Colibri\"></a>\nAnyhow, because you should go and check out Colibri here\'s the information you need. The address on Sofia Live is: ул. Узунджовска 2 (вход откъм ул. Княз Борис). The important part of this is to know that the entrance is on Knyaz Boris. For a point of reference, it\'s about a block away from the vegetarian restaurant Sun/Moon also on Knyaz Boris. But really, once you turn the corner from Uzundzhovska, it\'s hard to miss. Oh and if you make all the way down the block to William Galdstone you\'ve gone too far.\n\nEnjoy.','Summertime in Sofia and Colibri','','inherit','open','open','','6918-revision','','','2012-07-27 10:23:31','2012-07-27 08:23:31','',6918,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/27/6918-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6920,1,'2012-07-27 10:23:59','2012-07-27 08:23:59','Hey, hey, it\'s summertime in Sofia. Go figure. This past week it\'s been well over 30 c. most days and I haven\'t had to work.\r\n\r\nAt all.\r\n\r\nI\'m on vacation. Over the last few days, that\'s meant a lot of coffee drinking, book reading and generally being lazy. Oh and cocktail hour. Because really, all semi-girly, verging on cheesy, page turning, New York Times best sellers are better with a glass of white wine or a dry rose.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655069264/\" title=\"Drinks at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8026/7655069264_fe0fc7d554_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Drinks at Colibri\"></a>\r\nA part of me feels like I should be out exploring Sofia. Walking around. Seeing what\'s new. Drinking coffee in a cafe in the city center. While another part of me is happy to laze around my house and while the laze around part has been winning out. It\'s not as if I\'ve become a hermit.\r\n\r\nI\'ve been loving all of the fresh melon and then A. showed up recently with a bag of tomatoes. There was a little bit of an apology for them: they\'re homegrown so they aren\'t perfectly shaped. Um, I don\'t care. <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/24/because-tomatoes-cant-speak-for-themselves/\" target=\"_blank\">I love, love tomatoes</a>. Heck, I even<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/26/an-american-in-bulgarias-take-on-heavenly-tomato-pie/\" target=\"_blank\"> made a tomato pie last year</a>. Maybe I\'ll do that again. But it\'s a lot easier to slice them up and eat them. Or my new favorite salad: cube a tomato, nectarine and fresh mozzarella, put these in a bowl, and add a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It\'s the perfect mix of sweet, savory and summer time fresh.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655070008/\" title=\"Outdoor umbrella at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7655070008_e01a5d6c58_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Outdoor umbrella at Colibri\"></a>\r\nThis said, my friend and Bulgarian tutor I. found a discovered<a href=\"http://sofialive.bg/place/1151-colibri.html\" target=\"_blank\"> a new bar--Colibri--recently on SofiaLive</a>. She suggested that we go and check it out. <em>Um, yes</em>. I\'d looked at the pictures and thought: cute. But it wasn\'t until I was at the bar that I realized this a sea side bar in the middle of downtown Sofia.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655070254/\" title=\"At Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7655070254_0367aae30a_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Colibri\"></a>\r\nIt\'s pretty magical. The main color is white. I am talking: white walls, white chairs and cushions, white umbrellas, white bar. The accent colors are blue and yellow. The seats are pretty low to the ground. They\'ve been made out of a couple of moving pallets surprise, surprise painted white and the the tables all seem to the be the standard issue square white ikea coffee table. It\'s simple but it works.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655069720/\" title=\"Drinks at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7655069720_3acefd2677_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Drinks at Colibri\"></a>\r\nThe feel is summer. It\'s light and airy and the cocktails pull the whole place together. I had a Caipirinha (rum, lime and sugar muddled together). I. went with the classic mojito and J. the strawberry mojito.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655068122/\" title=\"Yellow planter at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8282/7655068122_e7361dd3e9_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Yellow planter at Colibri\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655068866/\" title=\"Seating at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8011/7655068866_3f3aee4406_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Seating at Colibri\"></a>\r\nSo while it looks I am not making it to the Bulgarian Black Sea this summer and that\'s okay. Between this sea-inspired bar in Sofia, a trip through Scandinavia at the beginning of the summer and Thassos in early September right before school starts, I\'ll live.\r\n\r\nOh and I am going back to the States in a few days. My bother is getting married, I\'ve got some friends to catch up with and there\'s a swimming pool in my parent\'s backyard calling my name. Then I\'ll be back in Sofia at the end of August. You know to start year five in Bulgaria. <em>Yes, year five.</em>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655068504/\" title=\"The bill in a watering can at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7655068504_49a1b524ef_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"The bill in a watering can at Colibri\"></a>\r\nAnyhow, because you should go and check out Colibri here\'s the information you need. The address on Sofia Live is: ул. Узунджовска 2 (вход откъм ул. Княз Борис). The important part of this is to know that the entrance is on Knyaz Boris. For a point of reference, it\'s about a block away from the vegetarian restaurant Sun/Moon also on Knyaz Boris. But really, once you turn the corner from Uzundzhovska, it\'s hard to miss. Oh and if you make all the way down the block to William Galdstone you\'ve gone too far.\r\n\r\nEnjoy.','Summertime in Sofia and Colibri','','inherit','open','open','','6918-revision-2','','','2012-07-27 10:23:59','2012-07-27 08:23:59','',6918,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/27/6918-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6921,1,'2012-07-27 10:33:48','2012-07-27 08:33:48','Hey, hey, it\'s summertime in Sofia. Go figure. This past week it\'s been well over 30 c. most days but I haven\'t had to work.\n\nAt all.\n\nI\'m on vacation. Over the last few days, that\'s meant a lot of coffee drinking, book reading and generally being lazy. Oh and cocktail hour. Because really, all semi-girly, verging on cheesy, page turning, New York Times best sellers are better with a glass of white wine or a dry rose.\n<a title=\"Drinks at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655069264/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8026/7655069264_fe0fc7d554_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks at Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nA part of me feels like I should be out exploring Sofia. Walking around. Seeing what\'s new. Drinking coffee in a cafe in the city center. While another part of me is happy to laze around my house and while the laze around part has been winning out, it\'s not as if I\'ve become a hermit. Not anyway, yet.\n\nInstead I\'ve been taking things easy. I\'ve been<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/22/summer-in-bulgaria-a-cantaloupe/\" target=\"_blank\"> loving all of the fresh melon</a> and then A. showed up recently with a bag of tomatoes. This lead me to renew my love affair with tomatoes. There was a little bit of an apology for them, A. explained: they\'re homegrown so they aren\'t perfectly shaped. Um, I don\'t care. <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/24/because-tomatoes-cant-speak-for-themselves/\" target=\"_blank\">I love, love tomatoes</a>. Heck, I even<a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2011/08/26/an-american-in-bulgarias-take-on-heavenly-tomato-pie/\" target=\"_blank\"> made a tomato pie last year</a>. Maybe I\'ll do that again.\n\n<em>But</em>, it\'s a lot easier to slice them up and eat them. Or to throw together my new favorite salad: cube a tomato, nectarine and fresh mozzarella, put these in a bowl, add a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar and ta-da you\'re done. It\'s the perfect mix of sweet, savory and summer time fresh.\n<a title=\"Outdoor umbrella at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655070008/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7655070008_e01a5d6c58_z.jpg\" alt=\"Outdoor umbrella at Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThis said, my friend and Bulgarian tutor I. found a discovered<a href=\"http://sofialive.bg/place/1151-colibri.html\" target=\"_blank\"> a new bar--Colibri--recently on SofiaLive</a>. She suggested that we go and check it out. <em>Um, yes</em>. I\'d looked at the pictures and thought: cute. But it wasn\'t until I was at the bar that I realized this a sea side bar in the middle of downtown Sofia. I didn\'t even know that I wanted such a thing to exist until I arrived at Colibri and sat down.\n\n<!--more--> <a title=\"At Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655070254/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7655070254_0367aae30a_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655070930/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8143/7655070930_da48bc070e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nIt\'s pretty magical. The main color is white. I am talking: white walls, white chairs and cushions, white umbrellas, white bar. The accent colors are blue and yellow. The seats are pretty low to the ground. They\'ve been made out of a couple of moving pallets surprise, surprise painted white and the the tables all seem to the be the standard issue square white ikea coffee table. It\'s simple but it works.\n<a title=\"Drinks at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655069720/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7655069720_3acefd2677_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks at Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe feel is summer. It\'s light and airy and the cocktails pull the whole place together. I had a Caipirinha (rum, lime and sugar muddled together). I. went with the classic mojito and J. the strawberry mojito.<a title=\"Yellow planter at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655068122/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8282/7655068122_e7361dd3e9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Yellow planter at Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Seating at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655068866/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8011/7655068866_3f3aee4406_z.jpg\" alt=\"Seating at Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nSo while it looks I am not making it to the Bulgarian Black Sea this summer and that\'s okay. Between this sea-inspired bar in Sofia, a trip through Scandinavia at the beginning of the summer and Thassos in early September right before school starts, I\'ll live.\n\nOh and I am going back to the States in a few days. My bother is getting married, I\'ve got some friends to catch up with and there\'s a swimming pool in my parent\'s backyard calling my name. Then I\'ll be back in Sofia at the end of August. You know to start year five in Bulgaria. <em>Yes, year five.</em>\n<a title=\"The bill in a watering can at Colibri by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7655068504/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7655068504_49a1b524ef_z.jpg\" alt=\"The bill in a watering can at Colibri\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAnyhow, because you should go and check out Colibri here\'s the information you need. The address on Sofia Live is: ул. Узунджовска 2 (вход откъм ул. Княз Борис). The important part of this is to know that the entrance is on Knyaz Boris. For a point of reference, it\'s about a block away from the vegetarian restaurant Sun/Moon also on Knyaz Boris. But really, once you turn the corner from Uzundzhovska, it\'s hard to miss. Oh and if you make all the way down the block to William Galdstone you\'ve gone too far.\n\nEnjoy.','Summertime in Sofia and Colibri (a sea-side bar in the city)','','inherit','open','open','','6918-autosave','','','2012-07-27 10:33:48','2012-07-27 08:33:48','',6918,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/27/6918-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6923,1,'2012-07-28 19:58:00','2012-07-28 17:58:00','Vacation is the best.\n\nBut I probably don\'t need to tell you this. I\'ve been on summer vacation since the first week of July and I don\'t have to go back to work until September. Seriously. I can\'t believe that I am so lucky.\n\nThe thing about having this much holiday is that you begin to sleep in later. You lounge around in your pjs longer. You watch more tv. You read more stupid things on the internet (and some smart things too). You worry about the upcoming presidential elections in the States and you consider buying a new Obama t-shirt. You find yourself rummaging through your fridge more and wondering what\'s for lunch. You catch yourself thinking: how can I be responsible for feeding myself lunch every day?! Yes, this is true. It happened to me. It happens because for the last 9 months I\'ve eaten lunch at school five days a week.\n\nAt some point in all of this you realize that you could drink coffee at a cafe rather than in your kitchen. You realize that you should schedule a haircut for your bother\'s upcoming wedding and buy a wedding shower gift for his soon to be bride. Most important, you remember that there were bars that once-upon-a-time before you were a full time teacher and you were living in Sofia on a Fulbright that you liked to go to in afternoons.\n\nYep. All of this came together recently for a splendid lazy (but very hot) afternoon in Sofia. A. and I took the metro downtown. We walked down Vitosha to have a coffee at Memento.\n\nI told him: I think they make a great cappuccino and serve some of the best coffee in Sofia. He sipped his espresso with milk and said: not bad. I\'d translate that into Carolyn-speak as good. But maybe that\'s unfair. My cappuccino was delicious. The milk was thick and foamy and the espresso was smooth with no bitter flavor. Oh and it came with a pretty-pretty leaf in the milk-foam.\n\nWe did some people watching. There were plenty of older women out drinking cocktails at 1:30pm and lots of people riding bikes around. I swear, I see more and more people riding their bikes around the city each time I go out. I am beginning to suspect that this is going to be a biking city before I know it. I\'m just holding out for some more dedicated bike lanes before I get a bike.\n\nThen I went on a hunt for a wedding shower gift for my bother\'s fiancee','A Seriously Lazy Afternoon ','','inherit','open','open','','6922-revision','','','2012-07-28 19:58:00','2012-07-28 17:58:00','',6922,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/28/6922-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6924,1,'2012-07-28 20:37:10','2012-07-28 18:37:10','Vacation is the best.\n\nBut I probably don\'t need to tell you this. I\'ve been on summer vacation since the first week of July and I don\'t have to go back to work until September. Seriously. I can\'t believe that I am so lucky.\n\nThe thing about having this much holiday is that you begin to sleep in later. You lounge around in your pjs longer. You watch more tv. You read more stupid things on the internet (and some smart things too). You worry about the upcoming presidential elections in the States and you consider buying a new Obama t-shirt. You find yourself rummaging through your fridge more and wondering what\'s for lunch. You catch yourself thinking: how can I be responsible for feeding myself lunch every day?! Yes, this is true. It happened to me. It happens because for the last 9 months I\'ve eaten lunch at school five days a week.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661119068/\" title=\"Coffee at Memento by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7136/7661119068_368346384d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Coffee at Memento\"></a>\nAt some point in all of this you realize that you could drink coffee at a cafe rather than in your kitchen. You realize that you should schedule a haircut for your bother\'s upcoming wedding and buy a wedding shower gift for his soon to be bride. Most important, you remember that there were bars that once-upon-a-time before you were a full time teacher and you were living in Sofia on a Fulbright that you liked to go to in afternoons.\n\nYep. All of this came together recently for a splendid lazy (but very hot) afternoon in Sofia. A. and I took the metro downtown. We walked down Vitosha to have a coffee at Memento.\n\nI told him: I think they make a great cappuccino and serve some of the best coffee in Sofia. He sipped his espresso with milk and said: not bad. I\'d translate that into Carolyn-speak as good. But maybe that\'s unfair. My cappuccino was delicious. The milk was thick and foamy and the espresso was smooth with no bitter flavor. Oh and it came with a pretty-pretty leaf in the milk-foam.\n\nWe did some people watching. There were plenty of older women out drinking cocktails at 1:30pm and lots of people riding bikes around. I swear, I see more and more people riding their bikes around the city each time I go out. I am beginning to suspect that this is going to be a biking city before I know it. I\'m just holding out for some more dedicated bike lanes before I get a bike.\n\nThen I went on a hunt for a wedding shower gift for my bother\'s fiancee. We popped into lots of shops around Sofia. The shower theme is kitchen. The thing is that she and my bother bought a house together last year and lived together before that and as such I suspect that they have all of the basics necessary for cooking in the kitchen already. Thus the challenge is finding her something that she will like and find useful but I don\'t want to buy her a gift that she\'ll never use or worse yet something that she already has. The problem for me is that I\'ve been in their house in Walla Walla exactly one time and in their apartment in San Francisco once as well. So I have a general sense of her taste and style and I went out hoping that something would scream: Buy me! I\'m perfect for N. &amp; K!\n\nWe stumbled upon this lovely shop on Shishman called <a href=\"http://gourmethouse.bg/catalog/shop\" target=\"_blank\">the Gourmet House</a> that were the wedding say in (or around) Sofia and the bride and groom lived in (or around) Sofia I would definitely consider buying something from. They have some seriously beautiful things from wine glasses to photo albums and frames to sterling silver cake knives and decorative art-glass serving dishes. I would have loved to buy my brother and his soon to be wife a gift from this shop but there was no way I could risk buying something glass and carrying it with me back to the States on not one but three different airplanes.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7663105708/\" title=\"beer at bilkova by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7663105708_dbe8df968b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"beer at bilkova\"></a>\nFinally I found a little something for the shower (but I can\'t say what because I know that K. regularly reads my blog). It\'s nice to be able to check things off your to-do list. Then A. and I celebrated with a late afternoon beer at Bilkova on their terrace. Terrace sounds a little fancy for what it is but garden does too. So I guess I\'ll say this. We had a beer on the cement pad shaded by trees set back from the sidewalk right outside the basement level bar and it was perfect.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661118272/\" title=\"IMG_7960Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7661118272_8e475b2f14_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_7960Street Art\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661119882/\" title=\"Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7129/7661119882_214e91e96c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Street Art\"></a>\nOh and on the way from Memento to Bilkova we took a circuitious route that took us past a number of different pieces of street art. It was a lovely afternoon.','A Seriously Lazy Afternoon ','','inherit','open','open','','6922-revision-2','','','2012-07-28 20:37:10','2012-07-28 18:37:10','',6922,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/28/6922-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6925,1,'2012-07-28 20:38:03','2012-07-28 18:38:03','Vacation is the best.\r\n\r\nBut I probably don\'t need to tell you this. I\'ve been on summer vacation since the first week of July and I don\'t have to go back to work until September. Seriously. I can\'t believe that I am so lucky.\r\n\r\nThe thing about having this much holiday is that you begin to sleep in later. You lounge around in your pjs longer. You watch more tv. You read more stupid things on the internet (and some smart things too). You worry about the upcoming presidential elections in the States and you consider buying a new Obama t-shirt. You find yourself rummaging through your fridge more and wondering what\'s for lunch. You catch yourself thinking: how can I be responsible for feeding myself lunch every day?! Yes, this is true. It happened to me. It happens because for the last 9 months I\'ve eaten lunch at school five days a week.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661119068/\" title=\"Coffee at Memento by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7136/7661119068_368346384d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Coffee at Memento\"></a>\r\nAt some point in all of this you realize that you could drink coffee at a cafe rather than in your kitchen. You realize that you should schedule a haircut for your bother\'s upcoming wedding and buy a wedding shower gift for his soon to be bride. Most important, you remember that there were bars that once-upon-a-time before you were a full time teacher and you were living in Sofia on a Fulbright that you liked to go to in afternoons.\r\n\r\nYep. All of this came together recently for a splendid lazy (but very hot) afternoon in Sofia. A. and I took the metro downtown. We walked down Vitosha to have a coffee at Memento.\r\n\r\nI told him: I think they make a great cappuccino and serve some of the best coffee in Sofia. He sipped his espresso with milk and said: not bad. I\'d translate that into Carolyn-speak as good. But maybe that\'s unfair. My cappuccino was delicious. The milk was thick and foamy and the espresso was smooth with no bitter flavor. Oh and it came with a pretty-pretty leaf in the milk-foam.\r\n\r\nWe did some people watching. There were plenty of older women out drinking cocktails at 1:30pm and lots of people riding bikes around. I swear, I see more and more people riding their bikes around the city each time I go out. I am beginning to suspect that this is going to be a biking city before I know it. I\'m just holding out for some more dedicated bike lanes before I get a bike.\r\n\r\nThen I went on a hunt for a wedding shower gift for my bother\'s fiancee. We popped into lots of shops around Sofia. The shower theme is kitchen. The thing is that she and my bother bought a house together last year and lived together before that and as such I suspect that they have all of the basics necessary for cooking in the kitchen already. Thus the challenge is finding her something that she will like and find useful but I don\'t want to buy her a gift that she\'ll never use or worse yet something that she already has. The problem for me is that I\'ve been in their house in Walla Walla exactly one time and in their apartment in San Francisco once as well. So I have a general sense of her taste and style and I went out hoping that something would scream: Buy me! I\'m perfect for N. &amp; K!\r\n\r\nWe stumbled upon this lovely shop on Shishman called <a href=\"http://gourmethouse.bg/catalog/shop\" target=\"_blank\">the Gourmet House</a> that were the wedding say in (or around) Sofia and the bride and groom lived in (or around) Sofia I would definitely consider buying something from. They have some seriously beautiful things from wine glasses to photo albums and frames to sterling silver cake knives and decorative art-glass serving dishes. I would have loved to buy my brother and his soon to be wife a gift from this shop but there was no way I could risk buying something glass and carrying it with me back to the States on not one but three different airplanes.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7663105708/\" title=\"beer at bilkova by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7663105708_dbe8df968b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"beer at bilkova\"></a>\r\nFinally I found a little something for the shower (but I can\'t say what because I know that K. regularly reads my blog). It\'s nice to be able to check things off your to-do list. Then A. and I celebrated with a late afternoon beer at Bilkova on their terrace. Terrace sounds a little fancy for what it is but garden does too. So I guess I\'ll say this. We had a beer on the cement pad shaded by trees set back from the sidewalk right outside the basement level bar and it was perfect.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661118272/\" title=\"IMG_7960Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7661118272_8e475b2f14_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_7960Street Art\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661119882/\" title=\"Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7129/7661119882_214e91e96c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Street Art\"></a>\r\nOh and on the way from Memento to Bilkova we took a circuitious route that took us past a number of different pieces of street art. It was a lovely afternoon.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661117418/\" title=\"Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8004/7661117418_a8fcd21c95_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Street Art\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661120638/\" title=\"Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8142/7661120638_20b93e33b2_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Street Art\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661119404/\" title=\"Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8153/7661119404_ac4d747841_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Street Art\"></a>','A Seriously Lazy Afternoon ','','inherit','open','open','','6922-revision-3','','','2012-07-28 20:38:03','2012-07-28 18:38:03','',6922,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/28/6922-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6926,1,'2012-07-28 20:39:15','2012-07-28 18:39:15','Vacation is the best.\r\n\r\nBut I probably don\'t need to tell you this. I\'ve been on summer vacation since the first week of July and I don\'t have to go back to work until September. Seriously. I can\'t believe that I am so lucky.\r\n\r\nThe thing about having this much holiday is that you begin to sleep in later. You lounge around in your pjs longer. You watch more tv. You read more stupid things on the internet (and some smart things too). You worry about the upcoming presidential elections in the States and you consider buying a new Obama t-shirt. You find yourself rummaging through your fridge more and wondering what\'s for lunch. You catch yourself thinking: how can I be responsible for feeding myself lunch every day?! Yes, this is true. It happened to me. It happens because for the last 9 months I\'ve eaten lunch at school five days a week.\r\n<a title=\"Coffee at Memento by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661119068/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7136/7661119068_368346384d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Coffee at Memento\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAt some point in all of this you realize that you could drink coffee at a cafe rather than in your kitchen. You realize that you should schedule a haircut for your bother\'s upcoming wedding and buy a wedding shower gift for his soon to be bride. Most important, you remember that there were bars that once-upon-a-time before you were a full time teacher and you were living in Sofia on a Fulbright that you liked to go to in afternoons.\r\n\r\nYep. All of this came together recently for a splendid lazy (but very hot) afternoon in Sofia. A. and I took the metro downtown. We walked down Vitosha to have a coffee at Memento.\r\n\r\nI told him: I think they make a great cappuccino and serve some of the best coffee in Sofia. He sipped his espresso with milk and said: not bad. I\'d translate that into Carolyn-speak as good. But maybe that\'s unfair. My cappuccino was delicious. The milk was thick and foamy and the espresso was smooth with no bitter flavor. Oh and it came with a pretty-pretty leaf in the milk-foam.\r\n\r\nWe did some people watching. There were plenty of older women out drinking cocktails at 1:30pm and lots of people riding bikes around. I swear, I see more and more people riding their bikes around the city each time I go out. I am beginning to suspect that this is going to be a biking city before I know it. I\'m just holding out for some more dedicated bike lanes before I get a bike.\r\n\r\nThen I went on a hunt for a wedding shower gift for my bother\'s fiancee. We popped into lots of shops around Sofia. The shower theme is kitchen. The thing is that she and my bother bought a house together last year and lived together before that and as such I suspect that they have all of the basics necessary for cooking in the kitchen already. Thus the challenge is finding her something that she will like and find useful but I don\'t want to buy her a gift that she\'ll never use or worse yet something that she already has. The problem for me is that I\'ve been in their house in Walla Walla exactly one time and in their apartment in San Francisco once as well. So I have a general sense of her taste and style and I went out hoping that something would scream: Buy me! I\'m perfect for N. &amp; K!\r\n\r\nWe stumbled upon this lovely shop on Shishman called <a href=\"http://gourmethouse.bg/catalog/shop\" target=\"_blank\">the Gourmet House</a> that were the wedding say in (or around) Sofia and the bride and groom lived in (or around) Sofia I would definitely consider buying something from. They have some seriously beautiful things from wine glasses to photo albums and frames to sterling silver cake knives and decorative art-glass serving dishes. I would have loved to buy my brother and his soon to be wife a gift from this shop but there was no way I could risk buying something glass and carrying it with me back to the States on not one but three different airplanes.\r\n<a title=\"beer at bilkova by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7663105708/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7663105708_dbe8df968b_z.jpg\" alt=\"beer at bilkova\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nFinally I found a little something for the shower (but I can\'t say what because I know that K. regularly reads my blog). It\'s nice to be able to check things off your to-do list. Then A. and I celebrated with a late afternoon beer at Bilkova on their terrace. Terrace sounds a little fancy for what it is but garden does too. So I guess I\'ll say this. We had a beer on the cement pad shaded by trees set back from the sidewalk right outside the basement level bar and it was perfect.\r\n<a title=\"IMG_7960Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661118272/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7661118272_8e475b2f14_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_7960Street Art\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661119882/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7129/7661119882_214e91e96c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Street Art\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nOh and on the way from Memento to Bilkova we took a circuitious route that took us past a number of different pieces of street art. It was a lovely afternoon.\r\n<a title=\"Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661117418/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8004/7661117418_a8fcd21c95_z.jpg\" alt=\"Street Art\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661120638/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8142/7661120638_20b93e33b2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Street Art\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661119404/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8153/7661119404_ac4d747841_z.jpg\" alt=\"Street Art\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','A Seriously Lazy Afternoon ','','inherit','open','open','','6922-revision-4','','','2012-07-28 20:39:15','2012-07-28 18:39:15','',6922,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/28/6922-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0);
INSERT INTO `wp_posts` VALUES (6927,1,'2012-07-28 20:46:20','2012-07-28 18:46:20','Vacation is the best.\n\nBut I probably don\'t need to tell you this. I\'ve been on summer vacation since the first week of July and I don\'t have to go back to work until September. Seriously. I can\'t believe that I am so lucky.\n\nThe thing about having this much holiday is that you begin to sleep in later. You lounge around in your pjs longer. You watch more tv. You read more stupid things on the internet (and some smart things too). You worry about the upcoming presidential elections in the States and you consider buying a new Obama t-shirt. You find yourself rummaging through your fridge more and wondering what\'s for lunch. You catch yourself thinking: how can I be responsible for feeding myself lunch every day?! Yes, this is true. It happened to me. It happens because for the last 9 months I\'ve eaten lunch at school five days a week.\n<a title=\"Coffee at Memento by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661119068/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7136/7661119068_368346384d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Coffee at Memento\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAt some point in all of this you realize that you could drink coffee at a cafe rather than in your kitchen. You realize that you should schedule a haircut for your bother\'s upcoming wedding and buy a wedding shower gift for his soon to be bride. Most important, you remember that there were bars that once-upon-a-time before you were a full time teacher and you were living in Sofia on a Fulbright that you liked to go to in afternoons.\n\nYep. All of this came together recently for a splendid lazy (but very hot) afternoon in Sofia. A. and I took the metro downtown.<!--more-->\n\nWe walked down Vitosha to have a coffee at Memento. I told him: I think they make a great cappuccino and serve some of the best coffee in Sofia. He sipped his espresso with milk and said: not bad. I\'d translate that into Carolyn-speak as good. But maybe that\'s unfair. My cappuccino was delicious. The milk was thick and foamy and the espresso was smooth with no bitter flavor. Oh and it came with a pretty-pretty leaf in the milk-foam.\n\nWe did some people watching. There were plenty of older women out drinking cocktails at 1:30pm and lots of people riding bikes around. I swear, I see more and more people riding their bikes around the city each time I go out. I am beginning to suspect that this is going to be a biking city before I know it. I\'m just holding out for some more dedicated bike lanes before I get a bike.\n\nThen I went on a hunt for a wedding shower gift for my bother\'s fiancee. We popped into lots of shops around Sofia. The shower theme is kitchen. The thing is that she and my bother bought a house together last year and lived together before that and as such I suspect that they have all of the basics necessary for cooking in the kitchen already. Thus the challenge is finding her something that she will like and find useful but I don\'t want to buy her a gift that she\'ll never use or worse yet something that she already has. The problem for me is that I\'ve been in their house in Walla Walla exactly one time and in their apartment in San Francisco once as well. So I have a general sense of her taste and style and I went out hoping that something would scream: Buy me! I\'m perfect for N. &amp; K!\n\nWe stumbled upon this lovely shop on Shishman called <a href=\"http://gourmethouse.bg/catalog/shop\" target=\"_blank\">the Gourmet House</a> that were the wedding say in (or around) Sofia and the bride and groom lived in (or around) Sofia I would definitely consider buying something from. They have some seriously beautiful things from wine glasses to photo albums and frames to sterling silver cake knives and decorative art-glass serving dishes. I would have loved to buy my brother and his soon to be wife a gift from this shop but there was no way I could risk buying something glass and carrying it with me back to the States on not one but three different airplanes.\n<a title=\"beer at bilkova by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7663105708/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7663105708_dbe8df968b_z.jpg\" alt=\"beer at bilkova\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nFinally I found a little something for the shower (but I can\'t say what because I know that K. regularly reads my blog). It\'s nice to be able to check things off your to-do list. Then A. and I celebrated with a late afternoon beer at Bilkova on their terrace. Terrace sounds a little fancy for what it is but garden does too. So I guess I\'ll say this. We had a beer on the cement pad shaded by trees set back from the sidewalk right outside the basement level bar and it was perfect.\n\nBilkova can be crowded at times and it used to be awfully smokey but the thing I like best is that they aren\'t pretentious about things. You want a beer? Here\'s a beer and the check. No one is smiling too much or wearing too short of skirts like many bars outfit their girls in. No one is hovering around. It\'s just a bar that serves beer (well, and other things too) and does this well.\n<a title=\"IMG_7960Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661118272/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7661118272_8e475b2f14_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_7960Street Art\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661119882/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7129/7661119882_214e91e96c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Street Art\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nOh and on the way from Memento to Bilkova we took a circuitious route that took us past a number of different pieces of street art. It was a lovely afternoon.\n<a title=\"Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661117418/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8004/7661117418_a8fcd21c95_z.jpg\" alt=\"Street Art\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661120638/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8142/7661120638_20b93e33b2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Street Art\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Street Art by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7661119404/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8153/7661119404_ac4d747841_z.jpg\" alt=\"Street Art\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','A Seriously Lazy Afternoon ','','inherit','open','open','','6922-autosave','','','2012-07-28 20:46:20','2012-07-28 18:46:20','',6922,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/28/6922-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6960,1,'2012-08-07 17:54:30','2012-08-07 15:54:30','I\'d like to start off with this: today\'s blog post is for my friend R.\'s mom. Thanks for sharing her with me for the week. We\'ve been having a great time.\r\n\r\nMy MoM and I picked up R. in Pasco on Friday afternoon about 1pm. Pasco is about an hour car ride away from Walla Walla so it gave me some time to catch up with my mom on the drive over. On the drive back, we stopped by a couple of different wineries. This of course was great fun.\r\n<a title=\"R. and Me at L\'Ecole Winery by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710163790/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7710163790_41478fb1d7_z.jpg\" alt=\"R. and Me at L\'Ecole Winery\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nWe decided to go by a Walla Walla Valley classic <a href=\"http://www.lecole.com/\" target=\"_blank\">L\'Ecole No 41</a>. It\'s a winery that\'s in an old school house in a tiny little town Lowden. I love this winery and I guess that I have been to taste wine there every time I\'ve been home to visit since I graduated from college--that\'s almost 10 years. The space is beautiful, although I was apparently too busy catching up with my friend R. to take any pictures inside, and the wine is divine. I bought the wine that used to be known as School House Red but is now simply Red Wine.\r\n\r\nBut you can\'t just stop at one winery if your visitor is new to town like R. is. In fact it\'s her first trip to Washington, so we felt obliged to show of the best of Walla Walla over the course of her visit.\r\n\r\n<!--more--> <a title=\"MoM and R. Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710167428/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/7710167428_a43cb48f7f_z.jpg\" alt=\"MoM and R. Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R. and Me Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710170968/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7710170968_cf345c0fdd_z.jpg\" alt=\"R. and Me Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nFrom L\'Ecole No 41 we headed to <a href=\"http://www.canoeridgevineyard.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Canoe Ridge</a>. Canoe Ridge is in Walla Walla proper. My dAd built a couple of pieces for their tasting room which I had never seen so we headed over to taste this wine and to admire his work. The Canoe Ridge is in an old train repair and maintenance building.\r\n<a title=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710219554/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7710219554_ac03147b1e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710230416/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8014/7710230416_55b2261022_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe wine was tasty and J. who was pouring the wines was a delight to talk to. R. ended up buying the Melbec she liked it so much.\r\n<a title=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710233564/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8151/7710233564_dd8e106ec6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nFrom there we went home to swim for a little bit before the First Friday Art Walk. My dAd hosts different local artists there each month as well as our local in house artist L. The event was really lovely. There was wine to drink, Klicker fruit and cheese to eat and lots of interseting people to talk to.\r\n<a title=\"Street Art in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710237044/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7710237044_ef99e3dc46_z.jpg\" alt=\"Street Art in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710240232/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8162/7710240232_21e25ea034_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710255516/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8158/7710255516_8f84a226da_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThen we wandered downtown to check out Walla Faces. There was live jazz music and plenty off wine to drink. C. and R. both had wine. I had a diet coke. Jet lag can sneak up on a girl at funny times. This was great fun even though at times the music was really too loud to talk easily over.\r\n<a title=\"R. and Me in Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710249448/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8165/7710249448_3b00a1ac74_z.jpg\" alt=\"R. and Me in Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Drinks at Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710246324/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8161/7710246324_dbf2e090ed_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks at Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe night ended with us at Laht Neppur. We sampled the flight of beer currently on tap, ordered a vegetarian pizza and then a pint of beer to drink with our pizza. It was a great night. We drank beer. Told stories. Gossiped. Walked home cutting through Whitman College and ran through the sprinkler my parents set on our front lawn.\r\n<a title=\"Beer tasting in Walla Walla at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710258326/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7710258326_3a4445737d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Beer tasting in Walla Walla at Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Back-seat blonde ale in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710263518/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8008/7710263518_19641335b4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Back-seat blonde ale in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nIt was a pretty great welcome to Walla Walla if you ask me.','Not just another Friday Night','','publish','open','open','','not-just-another-friday-night','','','2012-08-07 17:54:30','2012-08-07 15:54:30','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6960',0,'post','',0),(6929,1,'2012-07-29 10:33:59','2012-07-29 08:33:59','I went to the newly renovated National Art Gallery yesterday.\r\n\r\nAnd it\'s official.\r\n\r\nI am in love.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667011168/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7667011168_cd234eb4be_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe space is so clean and bright.\r\n\r\nIt feels modern while still retaining the classic architectural details that in the past made it a palace as well. From outside, the building looks more or less the same. From the foyer inside, there\'s also not much of a noticeable difference. The difference is in the gallery space itself and what a difference it is.\r\n<a title=\"National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666744602/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7666744602_21a8750f48_z.jpg\" alt=\"National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe renovations are exactly what the former royal palace needed. The building is lovely from the outside and the marble staircases inside are grand but until the recent renovations the interior of the building was rather shabby and falling into disrepair. If you\'re a long time reader of my blog you may remember me <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/06/29/museum-kind-of-day/\" target=\"_blank\">detailing this before</a>.\r\n\r\n<!--more--> <a title=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666750828/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7666750828_8b73c45e87_z.jpg\" alt=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667009580/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7667009580_ec1a92e3c9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe floors were by far the worst. In places the parquet was curing up or worse rotting and the floor would give under your feet. All of this lead to the floor squeaking and groaning under your feet which I guess isn\'t bad if you\'re the parent of teenagers and you\'re trying to keep them from sneaking out at night but it\'s not great for an art gallery.\r\n<a title=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667007658/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7667007658_9a11a2fda5_z.jpg\" alt=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667014634/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7667014634_5e89c58d31_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nSo the floors are fixed, the walls are painted, the plaster detail in the ceiling has been cared for, the lighting has been updated and I think there\'s a new roof. Impressively, the ballroom has been opened up. There are no longer hideously ugly displays in there and for the first time you can get a sense of the grandeur that the room must have had in the past. There were also a couple of things I didn\'t notice or couldn\'t have known but that I read about<a href=\"http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Culture/Pages/1307VladimirDimitrov%E2%80%93theMaster.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"> in a Bulgarian Radio piece on the museum</a>, the electrical wiring has been updated as was the plumbing but the biggest change is that now the space has been made handicap accessible.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667028746/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7667028746_5f487af56b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nWhat\'s more, there\'s a great exhibit of Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work to celebrate the re-opening of the gallery and 130 years since his birth. For those of you not in the know, Dimitrov is a big deal in Bulgaria.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667024936/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7667024936_34f6c7702e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Dimitrov\" target=\"_blank\">Vladimir Dimitrov</a> (sorry there\'s not much information about him on wikipedia) is an iconic Bulgarian painter. So much so that his nickname is The Master.\r\n\r\nYes. <em>The Master</em>. I love the way Bulgarians pass out honorifics to their country men.\r\n\r\nHe is known and loved for painting women and children from around the Kyustendil as well as scenes from rural Bulgaria related to agriculture.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667073746/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7667073746_f4d92e9011_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667070388/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7667070388_b00861901c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI was familiar-ish with his work before going to visit the exhibit. It\'s hard not to have a cursory knowledge of the man and his work when you\'ve lived in Bulgaria for four years. I hoped that this would be enough because museums in Bulgaria have a bad habit of not labeling works in English or not translating biographical information into English.<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667036006/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7667036006_10fa897a35_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n\r\nHowever, I found myself pleasantly surprised that all of the paintings were labeled in both Bulgarian and English and that all of the Bulgarian text in the exhibit was also translated into very good English. <em>Bravo, bravo!</em>\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667030748/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7667030748_ec40e85682_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667016820/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7667016820_ab7109d369_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nNow I like art galleries but one of the things I regret is that I never took an art history course in college. I keep meaning to read more about art history, to get a book or to take a course but I\'ve never done it. Instead, I poke around galleries. I admire colors, lines and paintings as a whole and figured that\'s enough. Thus, I have no formal language for describing Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work. That\'s probably okay.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666995412/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7666995412_029682803b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666993178/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7666993178_e52efe0901_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nOne thing that I really liked about this exhibit was the way it was curated. For many of the oil paintings also on display are the sketches and preparatory work that he did before getting to the work of painting the piece. In  this way, it\'s as if you get a new perspective and insight into his work. You can see how his point of view and focus developed through the sketches but you can also see what concerned him and the elements that he practiced in preparation for the actual painting.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666991352/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7666991352_9217fe5a0b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThere is also a wide range of his work in this exhibit from landscapes to self-portraits and a little bit of everything in between.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666989666/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8003/7666989666_cb707504ce_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI spent about two hours in the museum but I took my time. This was easy to do seeing as even on a Saturday afternoon there were only a few other couples strolling through the gallery with me. I suspect that it\'s even more quiet during the week.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667002224/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7667002224_2ef0a4dba2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nDon\'t let the <a href=\"http://www.nationalartgallerybg.org/index.php?l=67\" target=\"_blank\">National Art Gallery\'s website</a> fool you. It\'s open even though in the English version it says it\'s still closed and the pictures are all of the pre-renovation gallery. Now all you have to do is find the time to go and explore the gallery. You won\'t be disappointed.\r\n\r\nThere’s a lot to love about this space. This is Sofia at her best. What’s more an adult ticket is only 6 leva (or 3 euro) making it a great deal in terms of museums across Europe.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667021806/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7667021806_2183b90073_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>','The National Art Gallery and Vladimir Dimitrov, the Master ','','publish','open','open','','the-national-art-gallery-and-vladimir-dimitrov-the-master','','','2012-07-29 10:33:59','2012-07-29 08:33:59','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6929',0,'post','',12),(6930,1,'2012-07-29 09:30:22','2012-07-29 07:30:22','I went to the newly renovated National Art Gallery yesterday.\n\nAnd it\'s official.  I am in the love.\n\nThe renovations are exactly what the former royal palace needed. The building is lovely from the outside and the marble staircases inside are grand but until the recent renovations the interior of the building was rather shabby and falling into disrepair.\n\nThe floors were by far the worst. In places the parquet was curing up or worse rotting and the floor would give under your feet. All of this lead to the floor squeaking and groaning under your feet which I guess isn\'t bad if you\'re the parent of teenagers and you\'re trying to keep them from sneaking out at night but it\'s not great for an art gallery.\n\nSo the floors are fixed, the walls are painted, the plaster detail in the ceiling has been cared for, the lighting has been updated and I think there\'s a new roof. The ballroom has been opened up. There are no longer hideously ugly desplays in there and for the first time you can get a sense of the grandure that the room must have had in the past.There were also a couple of things I didn\'t notice or couldn\'t have known but that I read about<a href=\"http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Culture/Pages/1307VladimirDimitrov%E2%80%93theMaster.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"> in a Bulgarian Radio piece on the museum</a>, the electrical wiring has been updated as was the plumbing but the biggest change is that now the space has been made handicap accessible.\n\nWhat\'s more, there\'s a great exhibit of Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work to celebrate the re-opening of the gallery and 130 years since his birth.\n\nYep. There\'s a lot to love about this space. This is Sofia at her best. What\'s more an adult ticket is only 6 leva (or 3 euro) making it a great deal in terms of museums across Europe. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Dimitrov\" target=\"_blank\">Vladimir Dimitrov</a> (sorry there\'s not much information about him on wikipedia) is an iconic Bulgarian painter. So much so that his nickname is The Master. He is known and loved for painting women and children from around the Kyustendil as well as scenes from rural Bulgaria related to agriculture.\n\nI was familiar-ish with his work before going to visit the exhibit. It\'s hard not to have a cursory knowledge of the man and his work when you\'ve lived in Bulgaria for four years. I hoped that this would be enough because museums in Bulgaria have a bad habit of not labeling works in English or not translating biographical information into English.\n\nHowever, I found myself pleasantly surprised that all of the paintings were labeled in both Bulgarian and English and that all of the Bulgarian text in the exhibit was also translated into very good English. <em>Bravo, bravo!</em>\n\nNow I like art galleries but one of the things I regret is that I never took an art history course in college. I keep meaning to read more about art history, to get a book or to take a course but I\'ve never done it. Instead, I poke around galleries. I admire colors, lines and paintings as a whole and figured that\'s enough. Thus, I have no formal language for describing Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work. That\'s probably okay.\n\nOne thing that I really liked about this exhibit was the way it was curated. For many of the oil paintings also on display are the sketches and preparatory work that he did before getting to the work of painting the piece. In  this way, it\'s as if you get a new perspective and insight into his work. You can see how his point of view and focus developed through the sketches but you can also see what concerned him and the elements that he practiced in preparation for the actual painting.\n\nThere is also a wide range of his work in this exhibit from landscapes to self-portraits and a little bit of everything in between.\n\nI spent about two hours in the museum but I took my time. This was easy to do seeing as even on a Saturday afternoon there were only a few other couples strolling through the gallery with me. I suspect that it\'s even more quiet during the week.','The National Art Gallery and Vladimir Dimitrov, the Master ','','inherit','open','open','','6929-revision','','','2012-07-29 09:30:22','2012-07-29 07:30:22','',6929,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/29/6929-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6931,1,'2012-07-29 10:14:27','2012-07-29 08:14:27','I went to the newly renovated National Art Gallery yesterday.\n\nAnd it\'s official.  I am in the love.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666744602/\" title=\"National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7666744602_21a8750f48_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\nThe renovations are exactly what the former royal palace needed. The building is lovely from the outside and the marble staircases inside are grand but until the recent renovations the interior of the building was rather shabby and falling into disrepair.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666750828/\" title=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7666750828_8b73c45e87_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667009580/\" title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7667009580_ec1a92e3c9_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\nThe floors were by far the worst. In places the parquet was curing up or worse rotting and the floor would give under your feet. All of this lead to the floor squeaking and groaning under your feet which I guess isn\'t bad if you\'re the parent of teenagers and you\'re trying to keep them from sneaking out at night but it\'s not great for an art gallery.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667007658/\" title=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7667007658_9a11a2fda5_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667014634/\" title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7667014634_5e89c58d31_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\nSo the floors are fixed, the walls are painted, the plaster detail in the ceiling has been cared for, the lighting has been updated and I think there\'s a new roof. Impressively, the ballroom has been opened up. There are no longer hideously ugly displays in there and for the first time you can get a sense of the grandeur that the room must have had in the past. There were also a couple of things I didn\'t notice or couldn\'t have known but that I read about<a href=\"http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Culture/Pages/1307VladimirDimitrov%E2%80%93theMaster.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"> in a Bulgarian Radio piece on the museum</a>, the electrical wiring has been updated as was the plumbing but the biggest change is that now the space has been made handicap accessible.\n\nWhat\'s more, there\'s a great exhibit of Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work to celebrate the re-opening of the gallery and 130 years since his birth.\n\nYep. There\'s a lot to love about this space. This is Sofia at her best. What\'s more an adult ticket is only 6 leva (or 3 euro) making it a great deal in terms of museums across Europe. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Dimitrov\" target=\"_blank\">Vladimir Dimitrov</a> (sorry there\'s not much information about him on wikipedia) is an iconic Bulgarian painter. So much so that his nickname is The Master. He is known and loved for painting women and children from around the Kyustendil as well as scenes from rural Bulgaria related to agriculture.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667073746/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7667073746_f4d92e9011_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667070388/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7667070388_b00861901c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\nI was familiar-ish with his work before going to visit the exhibit. It\'s hard not to have a cursory knowledge of the man and his work when you\'ve lived in Bulgaria for four years. I hoped that this would be enough because museums in Bulgaria have a bad habit of not labeling works in English or not translating biographical information into English.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667036006/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7667036006_10fa897a35_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\n\nHowever, I found myself pleasantly surprised that all of the paintings were labeled in both Bulgarian and English and that all of the Bulgarian text in the exhibit was also translated into very good English. <em>Bravo, bravo!</em>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667030748/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7667030748_ec40e85682_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667016820/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7667016820_ab7109d369_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\nNow I like art galleries but one of the things I regret is that I never took an art history course in college. I keep meaning to read more about art history, to get a book or to take a course but I\'ve never done it. Instead, I poke around galleries. I admire colors, lines and paintings as a whole and figured that\'s enough. Thus, I have no formal language for describing Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work. That\'s probably okay.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666995412/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7666995412_029682803b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666993178/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7666993178_e52efe0901_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\nOne thing that I really liked about this exhibit was the way it was curated. For many of the oil paintings also on display are the sketches and preparatory work that he did before getting to the work of painting the piece. In  this way, it\'s as if you get a new perspective and insight into his work. You can see how his point of view and focus developed through the sketches but you can also see what concerned him and the elements that he practiced in preparation for the actual painting.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666991352/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7666991352_9217fe5a0b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\nThere is also a wide range of his work in this exhibit from landscapes to self-portraits and a little bit of everything in between.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666989666/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8003/7666989666_cb707504ce_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\nI spent about two hours in the museum but I took my time. This was easy to do seeing as even on a Saturday afternoon there were only a few other couples strolling through the gallery with me. I suspect that it\'s even more quiet during the week.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667002224/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7667002224_2ef0a4dba2_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\nDon\'t let the <a href=\"http://www.nationalartgallerybg.org/index.php?l=67\" target=\"_blank\">National Art Gallery\'s website</a> fool you. It\'s open even though in the English version it says it\'s still closed and the pictures are all of the pre-renovation gallery. Now all you have to do is find the time to go and explore the gallery. You won\'t be disappointed.','The National Art Gallery and Vladimir Dimitrov, the Master ','','inherit','open','open','','6929-revision-2','','','2012-07-29 10:14:27','2012-07-29 08:14:27','',6929,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/29/6929-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6932,1,'2012-07-29 10:15:27','2012-07-29 08:15:27','I went to the newly renovated National Art Gallery yesterday.\n\nAnd it\'s official.  I am in the love.\n<a title=\"National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666744602/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7666744602_21a8750f48_z.jpg\" alt=\"National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThe renovations are exactly what the former royal palace needed. The building is lovely from the outside and the marble staircases inside are grand but until the recent renovations the interior of the building was rather shabby and falling into disrepair.\n<a title=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666750828/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7666750828_8b73c45e87_z.jpg\" alt=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667009580/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7667009580_ec1a92e3c9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThe floors were by far the worst. In places the parquet was curing up or worse rotting and the floor would give under your feet. All of this lead to the floor squeaking and groaning under your feet which I guess isn\'t bad if you\'re the parent of teenagers and you\'re trying to keep them from sneaking out at night but it\'s not great for an art gallery.\n<a title=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667007658/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7667007658_9a11a2fda5_z.jpg\" alt=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667014634/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7667014634_5e89c58d31_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nSo the floors are fixed, the walls are painted, the plaster detail in the ceiling has been cared for, the lighting has been updated and I think there\'s a new roof. Impressively, the ballroom has been opened up. There are no longer hideously ugly displays in there and for the first time you can get a sense of the grandeur that the room must have had in the past. There were also a couple of things I didn\'t notice or couldn\'t have known but that I read about<a href=\"http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Culture/Pages/1307VladimirDimitrov%E2%80%93theMaster.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"> in a Bulgarian Radio piece on the museum</a>, the electrical wiring has been updated as was the plumbing but the biggest change is that now the space has been made handicap accessible.\n\nWhat\'s more, there\'s a great exhibit of Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work to celebrate the re-opening of the gallery and 130 years since his birth.\n\nYep. There\'s a lot to love about this space. This is Sofia at her best. What\'s more an adult ticket is only 6 leva (or 3 euro) making it a great deal in terms of museums across Europe. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Dimitrov\" target=\"_blank\">Vladimir Dimitrov</a> (sorry there\'s not much information about him on wikipedia) is an iconic Bulgarian painter. So much so that his nickname is The Master. He is known and loved for painting women and children from around the Kyustendil as well as scenes from rural Bulgaria related to agriculture.\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667073746/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7667073746_f4d92e9011_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667070388/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7667070388_b00861901c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nI was familiar-ish with his work before going to visit the exhibit. It\'s hard not to have a cursory knowledge of the man and his work when you\'ve lived in Bulgaria for four years. I hoped that this would be enough because museums in Bulgaria have a bad habit of not labeling works in English or not translating biographical information into English.<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667036006/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7667036006_10fa897a35_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n\nHowever, I found myself pleasantly surprised that all of the paintings were labeled in both Bulgarian and English and that all of the Bulgarian text in the exhibit was also translated into very good English. <em>Bravo, bravo!</em>\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667030748/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7667030748_ec40e85682_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667016820/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7667016820_ab7109d369_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nNow I like art galleries but one of the things I regret is that I never took an art history course in college. I keep meaning to read more about art history, to get a book or to take a course but I\'ve never done it. Instead, I poke around galleries. I admire colors, lines and paintings as a whole and figured that\'s enough. Thus, I have no formal language for describing Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work. That\'s probably okay.\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666995412/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7666995412_029682803b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666993178/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7666993178_e52efe0901_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nOne thing that I really liked about this exhibit was the way it was curated. For many of the oil paintings also on display are the sketches and preparatory work that he did before getting to the work of painting the piece. In  this way, it\'s as if you get a new perspective and insight into his work. You can see how his point of view and focus developed through the sketches but you can also see what concerned him and the elements that he practiced in preparation for the actual painting.\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666991352/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7666991352_9217fe5a0b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThere is also a wide range of his work in this exhibit from landscapes to self-portraits and a little bit of everything in between.\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666989666/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8003/7666989666_cb707504ce_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nI spent about two hours in the museum but I took my time. This was easy to do seeing as even on a Saturday afternoon there were only a few other couples strolling through the gallery with me. I suspect that it\'s even more quiet during the week.\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667002224/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7667002224_2ef0a4dba2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nDon\'t let the <a href=\"http://www.nationalartgallerybg.org/index.php?l=67\" target=\"_blank\">National Art Gallery\'s website</a> fool you. It\'s open even though in the English version it says it\'s still closed and the pictures are all of the pre-renovation gallery. Now all you have to do is find the time to go and explore the gallery. You won\'t be disappointed.','The National Art Gallery and Vladimir Dimitrov, the Master ','','inherit','open','open','','6929-revision-3','','','2012-07-29 10:15:27','2012-07-29 08:15:27','',6929,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/29/6929-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6933,1,'2012-07-29 10:16:46','2012-07-29 08:16:46','I went to the newly renovated National Art Gallery yesterday.\r\n\r\nAnd it\'s official.  I am in the love.\r\n<a title=\"National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666744602/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7666744602_21a8750f48_z.jpg\" alt=\"National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe renovations are exactly what the former royal palace needed. The building is lovely from the outside and the marble staircases inside are grand but until the recent renovations the interior of the building was rather shabby and falling into disrepair.\r\n<a title=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666750828/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7666750828_8b73c45e87_z.jpg\" alt=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667009580/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7667009580_ec1a92e3c9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe floors were by far the worst. In places the parquet was curing up or worse rotting and the floor would give under your feet. All of this lead to the floor squeaking and groaning under your feet which I guess isn\'t bad if you\'re the parent of teenagers and you\'re trying to keep them from sneaking out at night but it\'s not great for an art gallery.\r\n<a title=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667007658/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7667007658_9a11a2fda5_z.jpg\" alt=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667014634/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7667014634_5e89c58d31_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nSo the floors are fixed, the walls are painted, the plaster detail in the ceiling has been cared for, the lighting has been updated and I think there\'s a new roof. Impressively, the ballroom has been opened up. There are no longer hideously ugly displays in there and for the first time you can get a sense of the grandeur that the room must have had in the past. There were also a couple of things I didn\'t notice or couldn\'t have known but that I read about<a href=\"http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Culture/Pages/1307VladimirDimitrov%E2%80%93theMaster.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"> in a Bulgarian Radio piece on the museum</a>, the electrical wiring has been updated as was the plumbing but the biggest change is that now the space has been made handicap accessible.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667028746/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7667028746_5f487af56b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nWhat\'s more, there\'s a great exhibit of Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work to celebrate the re-opening of the gallery and 130 years since his birth.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667024936/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7667024936_34f6c7702e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nYep. There\'s a lot to love about this space. This is Sofia at her best. What\'s more an adult ticket is only 6 leva (or 3 euro) making it a great deal in terms of museums across Europe. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Dimitrov\" target=\"_blank\">Vladimir Dimitrov</a> (sorry there\'s not much information about him on wikipedia) is an iconic Bulgarian painter. So much so that his nickname is The Master. He is known and loved for painting women and children from around the Kyustendil as well as scenes from rural Bulgaria related to agriculture.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667073746/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7667073746_f4d92e9011_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667070388/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7667070388_b00861901c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI was familiar-ish with his work before going to visit the exhibit. It\'s hard not to have a cursory knowledge of the man and his work when you\'ve lived in Bulgaria for four years. I hoped that this would be enough because museums in Bulgaria have a bad habit of not labeling works in English or not translating biographical information into English.<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667036006/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7667036006_10fa897a35_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n\r\nHowever, I found myself pleasantly surprised that all of the paintings were labeled in both Bulgarian and English and that all of the Bulgarian text in the exhibit was also translated into very good English. <em>Bravo, bravo!</em>\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667030748/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7667030748_ec40e85682_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667016820/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7667016820_ab7109d369_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nNow I like art galleries but one of the things I regret is that I never took an art history course in college. I keep meaning to read more about art history, to get a book or to take a course but I\'ve never done it. Instead, I poke around galleries. I admire colors, lines and paintings as a whole and figured that\'s enough. Thus, I have no formal language for describing Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work. That\'s probably okay.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666995412/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7666995412_029682803b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666993178/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7666993178_e52efe0901_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nOne thing that I really liked about this exhibit was the way it was curated. For many of the oil paintings also on display are the sketches and preparatory work that he did before getting to the work of painting the piece. In  this way, it\'s as if you get a new perspective and insight into his work. You can see how his point of view and focus developed through the sketches but you can also see what concerned him and the elements that he practiced in preparation for the actual painting.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666991352/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7666991352_9217fe5a0b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThere is also a wide range of his work in this exhibit from landscapes to self-portraits and a little bit of everything in between.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666989666/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8003/7666989666_cb707504ce_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI spent about two hours in the museum but I took my time. This was easy to do seeing as even on a Saturday afternoon there were only a few other couples strolling through the gallery with me. I suspect that it\'s even more quiet during the week.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667002224/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7667002224_2ef0a4dba2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nDon\'t let the <a href=\"http://www.nationalartgallerybg.org/index.php?l=67\" target=\"_blank\">National Art Gallery\'s website</a> fool you. It\'s open even though in the English version it says it\'s still closed and the pictures are all of the pre-renovation gallery. Now all you have to do is find the time to go and explore the gallery. You won\'t be disappointed.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667021806/\" title=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7667021806_2183b90073_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>','The National Art Gallery and Vladimir Dimitrov, the Master ','','inherit','open','open','','6929-revision-4','','','2012-07-29 10:16:46','2012-07-29 08:16:46','',6929,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/29/6929-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6934,1,'2012-07-29 10:16:47','2012-07-29 08:16:47','I went to the newly renovated National Art Gallery yesterday.\r\n\r\nAnd it\'s official.  I am in the love.\r\n<a title=\"National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666744602/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7666744602_21a8750f48_z.jpg\" alt=\"National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe renovations are exactly what the former royal palace needed. The building is lovely from the outside and the marble staircases inside are grand but until the recent renovations the interior of the building was rather shabby and falling into disrepair.\r\n<a title=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666750828/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7666750828_8b73c45e87_z.jpg\" alt=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667009580/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7667009580_ec1a92e3c9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe floors were by far the worst. In places the parquet was curing up or worse rotting and the floor would give under your feet. All of this lead to the floor squeaking and groaning under your feet which I guess isn\'t bad if you\'re the parent of teenagers and you\'re trying to keep them from sneaking out at night but it\'s not great for an art gallery.\r\n<a title=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667007658/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7667007658_9a11a2fda5_z.jpg\" alt=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667014634/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7667014634_5e89c58d31_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nSo the floors are fixed, the walls are painted, the plaster detail in the ceiling has been cared for, the lighting has been updated and I think there\'s a new roof. Impressively, the ballroom has been opened up. There are no longer hideously ugly displays in there and for the first time you can get a sense of the grandeur that the room must have had in the past. There were also a couple of things I didn\'t notice or couldn\'t have known but that I read about<a href=\"http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Culture/Pages/1307VladimirDimitrov%E2%80%93theMaster.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"> in a Bulgarian Radio piece on the museum</a>, the electrical wiring has been updated as was the plumbing but the biggest change is that now the space has been made handicap accessible.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667028746/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7667028746_5f487af56b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nWhat\'s more, there\'s a great exhibit of Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work to celebrate the re-opening of the gallery and 130 years since his birth.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667024936/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7667024936_34f6c7702e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nYep. There\'s a lot to love about this space. This is Sofia at her best. What\'s more an adult ticket is only 6 leva (or 3 euro) making it a great deal in terms of museums across Europe. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Dimitrov\" target=\"_blank\">Vladimir Dimitrov</a> (sorry there\'s not much information about him on wikipedia) is an iconic Bulgarian painter. So much so that his nickname is The Master. He is known and loved for painting women and children from around the Kyustendil as well as scenes from rural Bulgaria related to agriculture.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667073746/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7667073746_f4d92e9011_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667070388/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7667070388_b00861901c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI was familiar-ish with his work before going to visit the exhibit. It\'s hard not to have a cursory knowledge of the man and his work when you\'ve lived in Bulgaria for four years. I hoped that this would be enough because museums in Bulgaria have a bad habit of not labeling works in English or not translating biographical information into English.<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667036006/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7667036006_10fa897a35_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n\r\nHowever, I found myself pleasantly surprised that all of the paintings were labeled in both Bulgarian and English and that all of the Bulgarian text in the exhibit was also translated into very good English. <em>Bravo, bravo!</em>\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667030748/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7667030748_ec40e85682_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667016820/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7667016820_ab7109d369_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nNow I like art galleries but one of the things I regret is that I never took an art history course in college. I keep meaning to read more about art history, to get a book or to take a course but I\'ve never done it. Instead, I poke around galleries. I admire colors, lines and paintings as a whole and figured that\'s enough. Thus, I have no formal language for describing Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work. That\'s probably okay.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666995412/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7666995412_029682803b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666993178/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7666993178_e52efe0901_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nOne thing that I really liked about this exhibit was the way it was curated. For many of the oil paintings also on display are the sketches and preparatory work that he did before getting to the work of painting the piece. In  this way, it\'s as if you get a new perspective and insight into his work. You can see how his point of view and focus developed through the sketches but you can also see what concerned him and the elements that he practiced in preparation for the actual painting.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666991352/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7666991352_9217fe5a0b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThere is also a wide range of his work in this exhibit from landscapes to self-portraits and a little bit of everything in between.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666989666/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8003/7666989666_cb707504ce_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI spent about two hours in the museum but I took my time. This was easy to do seeing as even on a Saturday afternoon there were only a few other couples strolling through the gallery with me. I suspect that it\'s even more quiet during the week.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667002224/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7667002224_2ef0a4dba2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nDon\'t let the <a href=\"http://www.nationalartgallerybg.org/index.php?l=67\" target=\"_blank\">National Art Gallery\'s website</a> fool you. It\'s open even though in the English version it says it\'s still closed and the pictures are all of the pre-renovation gallery. Now all you have to do is find the time to go and explore the gallery. You won\'t be disappointed.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667021806/\" title=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7667021806_2183b90073_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>','The National Art Gallery and Vladimir Dimitrov, the Master ','','inherit','open','open','','6929-revision-5','','','2012-07-29 10:16:47','2012-07-29 08:16:47','',6929,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/29/6929-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6935,1,'2009-06-29 10:01:21','2009-06-29 07:01:21','[caption id=\"attachment_1042\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"National Art Gallery in Sofia \"]<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1042\" title=\"Art Gallery \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/dsc00024.jpg?w=300\" alt=\"National Art Gallery in Sofia \" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />[/caption]\n\nWe went to the National Art Gallery and the National Museum of Natural History yesterday.  It was kind of a rainy day so that was perfect.  I have to say once again I was pleasantly surprised by what was to be found in both collections. I am beginning not to trust the Lonely Planet guide for Bulgaria.\n\nThe Lonely Planet guide says that the National Art Gallery has a small collection of short term rotating exhibits.  While this is true on the first two floors, now (or maybe once again) the gallery is displaying a wonderful collection of Bulgarian art on the third floor. <em> And</em>, the gallery has an amazing collection in sheer size but also variety and craft of sculptors.    <!--more-->\n\nThe other great thing is that the the building itself is incredible.  Build in the old king\'s palace, the rooms are large with high ceilings and much of the original detail seems to be in tact still. However, this includes the floors as well.  The hardwood design and inlay is handsome but unfortunately the floors are in bad repair.  They are horribly sweeky but worse than this are the places that the hardwood floors are soft or seem to give under pressure.\n\nThis is kind of disrepair is clearly going to be a problem in the future and I can only imagine that right now the gallery doesn\'t have the kind of money it needs to keep up with repairs.  And in my book, that\'s really a shame because it means that the history (and design) of the building is fading with the rotting floors and it suggests that if and when the repairs will be made the gallery will have to be closed for a significant amount of time and there\'s some really great stuff to see here.\n\nAfter the National Art Gallery, we went out back to Toba &amp; Co and had a coffee.  A girl needs a little rush of caffeine to make it through a day of museums (Oh and I was out dancing until nearly 3 am the night before.  Now I know that you are all wondering did I take my MoM and Aunt with me? Sorry to say the answer\'s: no.  They went to bed while I went out to celebrate at a friend\'s going away party).\n\nA coffee later, we headed to the National Museum of Natural History.  I can\'t even say what a kick I got out of this museum.  The Lonely Planet guide describes this museum as dusty and ancient (that\'s not a direct quote) and it\'s not really wrong in this respect.  It\'s just that a description like this doesn\'t really get it right either.  There\'s so much stuff to see from rocks to birds to mammals to insects and a little bit of everything in between.\n\nI wasn\'t sure what I was getting us into but we had a great time browsing through the collection and it seems like everyone else at the museum was too.  There were families with little kids checking out the large animals and the rocks.  There were a couple of teenagers that we followed through the museum who seemed to be having a lot of fun reading descriptions and checking out the weird things preserved in jars.  And there was a group of twenty somethings who breezed through the museum until we caught up with them on the last floor with all of the butterflies and moths (which I should add smelled horribly of moth-balls).\n\nWhat really got me hooked in this museum is how big and varied the collection is.  Sofia doesn\'t have a vast collection of European art (for a lot of good reasons I would add) but the collection of animals and rocks really seems to rival that of even museums like the Smithsonian in the States.  They\'ve got an enormous collection that spans the globe.  (It\'s also important to note, I am an English major and as such, I am not fully qualified to make a claim like the one I just did but I am doing it anyway.)  The size and scope of the collection makes you realize how big the world is and it displays enough specimen samples to give you something to compare the different birds, moths or minerals to.\n\nSure the displays are kind of old and some of the animals look like they\'ve seen better days (and in fact, they have) but the museum <em>is</em> a lot of fun even if it is a dusty and many of the displays are only labeled in Bulgarian.','Museum Kind of Day','','inherit','open','open','','1041-revision','','','2009-06-29 10:01:21','2009-06-29 07:01:21','',1041,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/06/29/1041-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6936,1,'2012-07-29 10:17:40','2012-07-29 08:17:40','I went to the newly renovated National Art Gallery yesterday.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667011168/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7667011168_cd234eb4be_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nAnd it\'s official.  I am in the love.\r\n<a title=\"National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666744602/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7666744602_21a8750f48_z.jpg\" alt=\"National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe renovations are exactly what the former royal palace needed. The building is lovely from the outside and the marble staircases inside are grand but until the recent renovations the interior of the building was rather shabby and falling into disrepair.\r\n<a title=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666750828/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7666750828_8b73c45e87_z.jpg\" alt=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667009580/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7667009580_ec1a92e3c9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe floors were by far the worst. In places the parquet was curing up or worse rotting and the floor would give under your feet. All of this lead to the floor squeaking and groaning under your feet which I guess isn\'t bad if you\'re the parent of teenagers and you\'re trying to keep them from sneaking out at night but it\'s not great for an art gallery.\r\n<a title=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667007658/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7667007658_9a11a2fda5_z.jpg\" alt=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667014634/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7667014634_5e89c58d31_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nSo the floors are fixed, the walls are painted, the plaster detail in the ceiling has been cared for, the lighting has been updated and I think there\'s a new roof. Impressively, the ballroom has been opened up. There are no longer hideously ugly displays in there and for the first time you can get a sense of the grandeur that the room must have had in the past. There were also a couple of things I didn\'t notice or couldn\'t have known but that I read about<a href=\"http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Culture/Pages/1307VladimirDimitrov%E2%80%93theMaster.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"> in a Bulgarian Radio piece on the museum</a>, the electrical wiring has been updated as was the plumbing but the biggest change is that now the space has been made handicap accessible.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667028746/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7667028746_5f487af56b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nWhat\'s more, there\'s a great exhibit of Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work to celebrate the re-opening of the gallery and 130 years since his birth.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667024936/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7667024936_34f6c7702e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nYep. There\'s a lot to love about this space. This is Sofia at her best. What\'s more an adult ticket is only 6 leva (or 3 euro) making it a great deal in terms of museums across Europe. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Dimitrov\" target=\"_blank\">Vladimir Dimitrov</a> (sorry there\'s not much information about him on wikipedia) is an iconic Bulgarian painter. So much so that his nickname is The Master. He is known and loved for painting women and children from around the Kyustendil as well as scenes from rural Bulgaria related to agriculture.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667073746/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7667073746_f4d92e9011_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667070388/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7667070388_b00861901c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI was familiar-ish with his work before going to visit the exhibit. It\'s hard not to have a cursory knowledge of the man and his work when you\'ve lived in Bulgaria for four years. I hoped that this would be enough because museums in Bulgaria have a bad habit of not labeling works in English or not translating biographical information into English.<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667036006/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7667036006_10fa897a35_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n\r\nHowever, I found myself pleasantly surprised that all of the paintings were labeled in both Bulgarian and English and that all of the Bulgarian text in the exhibit was also translated into very good English. <em>Bravo, bravo!</em>\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667030748/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7667030748_ec40e85682_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667016820/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7667016820_ab7109d369_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nNow I like art galleries but one of the things I regret is that I never took an art history course in college. I keep meaning to read more about art history, to get a book or to take a course but I\'ve never done it. Instead, I poke around galleries. I admire colors, lines and paintings as a whole and figured that\'s enough. Thus, I have no formal language for describing Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work. That\'s probably okay.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666995412/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7666995412_029682803b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666993178/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7666993178_e52efe0901_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nOne thing that I really liked about this exhibit was the way it was curated. For many of the oil paintings also on display are the sketches and preparatory work that he did before getting to the work of painting the piece. In  this way, it\'s as if you get a new perspective and insight into his work. You can see how his point of view and focus developed through the sketches but you can also see what concerned him and the elements that he practiced in preparation for the actual painting.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666991352/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7666991352_9217fe5a0b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThere is also a wide range of his work in this exhibit from landscapes to self-portraits and a little bit of everything in between.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666989666/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8003/7666989666_cb707504ce_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI spent about two hours in the museum but I took my time. This was easy to do seeing as even on a Saturday afternoon there were only a few other couples strolling through the gallery with me. I suspect that it\'s even more quiet during the week.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667002224/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7667002224_2ef0a4dba2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nDon\'t let the <a href=\"http://www.nationalartgallerybg.org/index.php?l=67\" target=\"_blank\">National Art Gallery\'s website</a> fool you. It\'s open even though in the English version it says it\'s still closed and the pictures are all of the pre-renovation gallery. Now all you have to do is find the time to go and explore the gallery. You won\'t be disappointed.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667021806/\" title=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7667021806_2183b90073_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>','The National Art Gallery and Vladimir Dimitrov, the Master ','','inherit','open','open','','6929-revision-6','','','2012-07-29 10:17:40','2012-07-29 08:17:40','',6929,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/29/6929-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6937,1,'2012-07-29 10:24:58','2012-07-29 08:24:58','[caption id=\"attachment_1042\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"National Art Gallery in Sofia \"]<img class=\"size-medium wp-image-1042\" title=\"Art Gallery \" src=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/dsc00024.jpg?w=300\" alt=\"National Art Gallery in Sofia \" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" />[/caption]\r\n\r\nWe went to the National Art Gallery and the National Museum of Natural History yesterday.  It was kind of a rainy day so that was perfect.  I have to say once again I was pleasantly surprised by what was to be found in both collections. I am beginning not to trust the Lonely Planet guide for Bulgaria.\r\n\r\nThe Lonely Planet guide says that the National Art Gallery has a small collection of short term rotating exhibits.  While this is true on the first two floors, now (or maybe once again) the gallery is displaying a wonderful collection of Bulgarian art on the third floor. <em> And</em>, the gallery has an amazing collection in sheer size but also variety and craft of sculptors.    <!--more-->\r\n\r\nThe other great thing is that the the building itself is incredible.  Built in the old king\'s palace, the rooms are large with high ceilings and much of the original detail seems to be in tact still. However, this includes the floors as well.  The hardwood design and inlay is handsome but unfortunately the floors are in bad repair.  They are horribly sweeky but worse than this are the places that the hardwood floors are soft or seem to give under pressure.\r\n\r\nThis is kind of disrepair is clearly going to be a problem in the future and I can only imagine that right now the gallery doesn\'t have the kind of money it needs to keep up with repairs.  And in my book, that\'s really a shame because it means that the history (and design) of the building is fading with the rotting floors and it suggests that if and when the repairs will be made the gallery will have to be closed for a significant amount of time and there\'s some really great stuff to see here.\r\n\r\nAfter the National Art Gallery, we went out back to Toba &amp; Co and had a coffee.  A girl needs a little rush of caffeine to make it through a day of museums (Oh and I was out dancing until nearly 3 am the night before.  Now I know that you are all wondering did I take my MoM and Aunt with me? Sorry to say the answer\'s: no.  They went to bed while I went out to celebrate at a friend\'s going away party).\r\n\r\nA coffee later, we headed to the National Museum of Natural History.  I can\'t even say what a kick I got out of this museum.  The Lonely Planet guide describes this museum as dusty and ancient (that\'s not a direct quote) and it\'s not really wrong in this respect.  It\'s just that a description like this doesn\'t really get it right either.  There\'s so much stuff to see from rocks to birds to mammals to insects and a little bit of everything in between.\r\n\r\nI wasn\'t sure what I was getting us into but we had a great time browsing through the collection and it seems like everyone else at the museum was too.  There were families with little kids checking out the large animals and the rocks.  There were a couple of teenagers that we followed through the museum who seemed to be having a lot of fun reading descriptions and checking out the weird things preserved in jars.  And there was a group of twenty somethings who breezed through the museum until we caught up with them on the last floor with all of the butterflies and moths (which I should add smelled horribly of moth-balls).\r\n\r\nWhat really got me hooked in this museum is how big and varied the collection is.  Sofia doesn\'t have a vast collection of European art (for a lot of good reasons I would add) but the collection of animals and rocks really seems to rival that of even museums like the Smithsonian in the States.  They\'ve got an enormous collection that spans the globe.  (It\'s also important to note, I am an English major and as such, I am not fully qualified to make a claim like the one I just did but I am doing it anyway.)  The size and scope of the collection makes you realize how big the world is and it displays enough specimen samples to give you something to compare the different birds, moths or minerals to.\r\n\r\nSure the displays are kind of old and some of the animals look like they\'ve seen better days (and in fact, they have) but the museum <em>is</em> a lot of fun even if it is a dusty and many of the displays are only labeled in Bulgarian.','Museum Kind of Day','','inherit','open','open','','1041-revision-2','','','2012-07-29 10:24:58','2012-07-29 08:24:58','',1041,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/29/1041-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6938,1,'2012-07-29 10:25:09','2012-07-29 08:25:09','I went to the newly renovated National Art Gallery yesterday. \r\nAnd it\'s official.  I am in the love.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667011168/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7667011168_cd234eb4be_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nThe space is so clean and bright. It feels modern while still retaining the classic architectural details that in the past made it a palace as well. From outside, the building looks more or less the same. From the foyer inside, there\'s also not much of a noticeable difference. The difference is in the gallery space itself and what a difference it is.\r\n<a title=\"National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666744602/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7666744602_21a8750f48_z.jpg\" alt=\"National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe renovations are exactly what the former royal palace needed. The building is lovely from the outside and the marble staircases inside are grand but until the recent renovations the interior of the building was rather shabby and falling into disrepair. If you\'re a long time reader of my blog you may remember me <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/06/29/museum-kind-of-day/\" target=\"_blank\">detailing this before</a>. \r\n<a title=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666750828/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7666750828_8b73c45e87_z.jpg\" alt=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667009580/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7667009580_ec1a92e3c9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe floors were by far the worst. In places the parquet was curing up or worse rotting and the floor would give under your feet. All of this lead to the floor squeaking and groaning under your feet which I guess isn\'t bad if you\'re the parent of teenagers and you\'re trying to keep them from sneaking out at night but it\'s not great for an art gallery.\r\n<a title=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667007658/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7667007658_9a11a2fda5_z.jpg\" alt=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667014634/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7667014634_5e89c58d31_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nSo the floors are fixed, the walls are painted, the plaster detail in the ceiling has been cared for, the lighting has been updated and I think there\'s a new roof. Impressively, the ballroom has been opened up. There are no longer hideously ugly displays in there and for the first time you can get a sense of the grandeur that the room must have had in the past. There were also a couple of things I didn\'t notice or couldn\'t have known but that I read about<a href=\"http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Culture/Pages/1307VladimirDimitrov%E2%80%93theMaster.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"> in a Bulgarian Radio piece on the museum</a>, the electrical wiring has been updated as was the plumbing but the biggest change is that now the space has been made handicap accessible.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667028746/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7667028746_5f487af56b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nWhat\'s more, there\'s a great exhibit of Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work to celebrate the re-opening of the gallery and 130 years since his birth.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667024936/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7667024936_34f6c7702e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nYep. There\'s a lot to love about this space. This is Sofia at her best. What\'s more an adult ticket is only 6 leva (or 3 euro) making it a great deal in terms of museums across Europe. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Dimitrov\" target=\"_blank\">Vladimir Dimitrov</a> (sorry there\'s not much information about him on wikipedia) is an iconic Bulgarian painter. So much so that his nickname is The Master. He is known and loved for painting women and children from around the Kyustendil as well as scenes from rural Bulgaria related to agriculture.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667073746/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7667073746_f4d92e9011_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667070388/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7667070388_b00861901c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI was familiar-ish with his work before going to visit the exhibit. It\'s hard not to have a cursory knowledge of the man and his work when you\'ve lived in Bulgaria for four years. I hoped that this would be enough because museums in Bulgaria have a bad habit of not labeling works in English or not translating biographical information into English.<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667036006/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7667036006_10fa897a35_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n\r\nHowever, I found myself pleasantly surprised that all of the paintings were labeled in both Bulgarian and English and that all of the Bulgarian text in the exhibit was also translated into very good English. <em>Bravo, bravo!</em>\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667030748/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7667030748_ec40e85682_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667016820/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7667016820_ab7109d369_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nNow I like art galleries but one of the things I regret is that I never took an art history course in college. I keep meaning to read more about art history, to get a book or to take a course but I\'ve never done it. Instead, I poke around galleries. I admire colors, lines and paintings as a whole and figured that\'s enough. Thus, I have no formal language for describing Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work. That\'s probably okay.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666995412/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7666995412_029682803b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666993178/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7666993178_e52efe0901_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nOne thing that I really liked about this exhibit was the way it was curated. For many of the oil paintings also on display are the sketches and preparatory work that he did before getting to the work of painting the piece. In  this way, it\'s as if you get a new perspective and insight into his work. You can see how his point of view and focus developed through the sketches but you can also see what concerned him and the elements that he practiced in preparation for the actual painting.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666991352/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7666991352_9217fe5a0b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThere is also a wide range of his work in this exhibit from landscapes to self-portraits and a little bit of everything in between.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666989666/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8003/7666989666_cb707504ce_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI spent about two hours in the museum but I took my time. This was easy to do seeing as even on a Saturday afternoon there were only a few other couples strolling through the gallery with me. I suspect that it\'s even more quiet during the week.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667002224/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7667002224_2ef0a4dba2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nDon\'t let the <a href=\"http://www.nationalartgallerybg.org/index.php?l=67\" target=\"_blank\">National Art Gallery\'s website</a> fool you. It\'s open even though in the English version it says it\'s still closed and the pictures are all of the pre-renovation gallery. Now all you have to do is find the time to go and explore the gallery. You won\'t be disappointed.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667021806/\" title=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7667021806_2183b90073_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>','The National Art Gallery and Vladimir Dimitrov, the Master ','','inherit','open','open','','6929-revision-7','','','2012-07-29 10:25:09','2012-07-29 08:25:09','',6929,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/29/6929-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),(6939,1,'2012-07-29 10:25:21','2012-07-29 08:25:21','I went to the newly renovated National Art Gallery yesterday. \r\nAnd it\'s official.  I am in the love.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667011168/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7667011168_cd234eb4be_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nThe space is so clean and bright. It feels modern while still retaining the classic architectural details that in the past made it a palace as well. From outside, the building looks more or less the same. From the foyer inside, there\'s also not much of a noticeable difference. The difference is in the gallery space itself and what a difference it is.\r\n<a title=\"National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666744602/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7666744602_21a8750f48_z.jpg\" alt=\"National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe renovations are exactly what the former royal palace needed. The building is lovely from the outside and the marble staircases inside are grand but until the recent renovations the interior of the building was rather shabby and falling into disrepair. If you\'re a long time reader of my blog you may remember me <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/06/29/museum-kind-of-day/\" target=\"_blank\">detailing this before</a>. \r\n<a title=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666750828/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7666750828_8b73c45e87_z.jpg\" alt=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667009580/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7667009580_ec1a92e3c9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe floors were by far the worst. In places the parquet was curing up or worse rotting and the floor would give under your feet. All of this lead to the floor squeaking and groaning under your feet which I guess isn\'t bad if you\'re the parent of teenagers and you\'re trying to keep them from sneaking out at night but it\'s not great for an art gallery.\r\n<a title=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667007658/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7667007658_9a11a2fda5_z.jpg\" alt=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667014634/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7667014634_5e89c58d31_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nSo the floors are fixed, the walls are painted, the plaster detail in the ceiling has been cared for, the lighting has been updated and I think there\'s a new roof. Impressively, the ballroom has been opened up. There are no longer hideously ugly displays in there and for the first time you can get a sense of the grandeur that the room must have had in the past. There were also a couple of things I didn\'t notice or couldn\'t have known but that I read about<a href=\"http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Culture/Pages/1307VladimirDimitrov%E2%80%93theMaster.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"> in a Bulgarian Radio piece on the museum</a>, the electrical wiring has been updated as was the plumbing but the biggest change is that now the space has been made handicap accessible.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667028746/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7667028746_5f487af56b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nWhat\'s more, there\'s a great exhibit of Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work to celebrate the re-opening of the gallery and 130 years since his birth.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667024936/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7667024936_34f6c7702e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nYep. There\'s a lot to love about this space. This is Sofia at her best. What\'s more an adult ticket is only 6 leva (or 3 euro) making it a great deal in terms of museums across Europe. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Dimitrov\" target=\"_blank\">Vladimir Dimitrov</a> (sorry there\'s not much information about him on wikipedia) is an iconic Bulgarian painter. So much so that his nickname is The Master. He is known and loved for painting women and children from around the Kyustendil as well as scenes from rural Bulgaria related to agriculture.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667073746/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7667073746_f4d92e9011_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667070388/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7667070388_b00861901c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI was familiar-ish with his work before going to visit the exhibit. It\'s hard not to have a cursory knowledge of the man and his work when you\'ve lived in Bulgaria for four years. I hoped that this would be enough because museums in Bulgaria have a bad habit of not labeling works in English or not translating biographical information into English.<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667036006/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7667036006_10fa897a35_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n\r\nHowever, I found myself pleasantly surprised that all of the paintings were labeled in both Bulgarian and English and that all of the Bulgarian text in the exhibit was also translated into very good English. <em>Bravo, bravo!</em>\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667030748/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7667030748_ec40e85682_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667016820/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7667016820_ab7109d369_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nNow I like art galleries but one of the things I regret is that I never took an art history course in college. I keep meaning to read more about art history, to get a book or to take a course but I\'ve never done it. Instead, I poke around galleries. I admire colors, lines and paintings as a whole and figured that\'s enough. Thus, I have no formal language for describing Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work. That\'s probably okay.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666995412/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7666995412_029682803b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666993178/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7666993178_e52efe0901_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nOne thing that I really liked about this exhibit was the way it was curated. For many of the oil paintings also on display are the sketches and preparatory work that he did before getting to the work of painting the piece. In  this way, it\'s as if you get a new perspective and insight into his work. You can see how his point of view and focus developed through the sketches but you can also see what concerned him and the elements that he practiced in preparation for the actual painting.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666991352/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7666991352_9217fe5a0b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThere is also a wide range of his work in this exhibit from landscapes to self-portraits and a little bit of everything in between.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666989666/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8003/7666989666_cb707504ce_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI spent about two hours in the museum but I took my time. This was easy to do seeing as even on a Saturday afternoon there were only a few other couples strolling through the gallery with me. I suspect that it\'s even more quiet during the week.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667002224/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7667002224_2ef0a4dba2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nDon\'t let the <a href=\"http://www.nationalartgallerybg.org/index.php?l=67\" target=\"_blank\">National Art Gallery\'s website</a> fool you. It\'s open even though in the English version it says it\'s still closed and the pictures are all of the pre-renovation gallery. Now all you have to do is find the time to go and explore the gallery. You won\'t be disappointed.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667021806/\" title=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7667021806_2183b90073_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>','The National Art Gallery and Vladimir Dimitrov, the Master ','','inherit','open','open','','6929-revision-8','','','2012-07-29 10:25:21','2012-07-29 08:25:21','',6929,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/29/6929-revision-8/',0,'revision','',0),(6940,1,'2012-07-29 10:27:29','2012-07-29 08:27:29','I went to the newly renovated National Art Gallery yesterday. \r\n\r\nAnd it\'s official.  \r\n\r\nI am in the love.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667011168/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7667011168_cd234eb4be_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nThe space is so clean and bright. \r\n\r\nIt feels modern while still retaining the classic architectural details that in the past made it a palace as well. From outside, the building looks more or less the same. From the foyer inside, there\'s also not much of a noticeable difference. The difference is in the gallery space itself and what a difference it is.\r\n<a title=\"National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666744602/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7666744602_21a8750f48_z.jpg\" alt=\"National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe renovations are exactly what the former royal palace needed. The building is lovely from the outside and the marble staircases inside are grand but until the recent renovations the interior of the building was rather shabby and falling into disrepair. If you\'re a long time reader of my blog you may remember me <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/06/29/museum-kind-of-day/\" target=\"_blank\">detailing this before</a>. \r\n<a title=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666750828/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7666750828_8b73c45e87_z.jpg\" alt=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667009580/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7667009580_ec1a92e3c9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe floors were by far the worst. In places the parquet was curing up or worse rotting and the floor would give under your feet. All of this lead to the floor squeaking and groaning under your feet which I guess isn\'t bad if you\'re the parent of teenagers and you\'re trying to keep them from sneaking out at night but it\'s not great for an art gallery.\r\n<a title=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667007658/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7667007658_9a11a2fda5_z.jpg\" alt=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667014634/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7667014634_5e89c58d31_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nSo the floors are fixed, the walls are painted, the plaster detail in the ceiling has been cared for, the lighting has been updated and I think there\'s a new roof. Impressively, the ballroom has been opened up. There are no longer hideously ugly displays in there and for the first time you can get a sense of the grandeur that the room must have had in the past. There were also a couple of things I didn\'t notice or couldn\'t have known but that I read about<a href=\"http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Culture/Pages/1307VladimirDimitrov%E2%80%93theMaster.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"> in a Bulgarian Radio piece on the museum</a>, the electrical wiring has been updated as was the plumbing but the biggest change is that now the space has been made handicap accessible.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667028746/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7667028746_5f487af56b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nWhat\'s more, there\'s a great exhibit of Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work to celebrate the re-opening of the gallery and 130 years since his birth.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667024936/\" title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7667024936_34f6c7702e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>\r\nYep. There\'s a lot to love about this space. This is Sofia at her best. What\'s more an adult ticket is only 6 leva (or 3 euro) making it a great deal in terms of museums across Europe. <a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Dimitrov\" target=\"_blank\">Vladimir Dimitrov</a> (sorry there\'s not much information about him on wikipedia) is an iconic Bulgarian painter. So much so that his nickname is The Master. He is known and loved for painting women and children from around the Kyustendil as well as scenes from rural Bulgaria related to agriculture.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667073746/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7667073746_f4d92e9011_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667070388/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7667070388_b00861901c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI was familiar-ish with his work before going to visit the exhibit. It\'s hard not to have a cursory knowledge of the man and his work when you\'ve lived in Bulgaria for four years. I hoped that this would be enough because museums in Bulgaria have a bad habit of not labeling works in English or not translating biographical information into English.<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667036006/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7667036006_10fa897a35_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n\r\nHowever, I found myself pleasantly surprised that all of the paintings were labeled in both Bulgarian and English and that all of the Bulgarian text in the exhibit was also translated into very good English. <em>Bravo, bravo!</em>\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667030748/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7667030748_ec40e85682_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667016820/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7667016820_ab7109d369_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nNow I like art galleries but one of the things I regret is that I never took an art history course in college. I keep meaning to read more about art history, to get a book or to take a course but I\'ve never done it. Instead, I poke around galleries. I admire colors, lines and paintings as a whole and figured that\'s enough. Thus, I have no formal language for describing Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work. That\'s probably okay.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666995412/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7666995412_029682803b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666993178/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7666993178_e52efe0901_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nOne thing that I really liked about this exhibit was the way it was curated. For many of the oil paintings also on display are the sketches and preparatory work that he did before getting to the work of painting the piece. In  this way, it\'s as if you get a new perspective and insight into his work. You can see how his point of view and focus developed through the sketches but you can also see what concerned him and the elements that he practiced in preparation for the actual painting.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666991352/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7666991352_9217fe5a0b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThere is also a wide range of his work in this exhibit from landscapes to self-portraits and a little bit of everything in between.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666989666/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8003/7666989666_cb707504ce_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI spent about two hours in the museum but I took my time. This was easy to do seeing as even on a Saturday afternoon there were only a few other couples strolling through the gallery with me. I suspect that it\'s even more quiet during the week.\r\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667002224/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7667002224_2ef0a4dba2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nDon\'t let the <a href=\"http://www.nationalartgallerybg.org/index.php?l=67\" target=\"_blank\">National Art Gallery\'s website</a> fool you. It\'s open even though in the English version it says it\'s still closed and the pictures are all of the pre-renovation gallery. Now all you have to do is find the time to go and explore the gallery. You won\'t be disappointed.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667021806/\" title=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7667021806_2183b90073_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia\"></a>','The National Art Gallery and Vladimir Dimitrov, the Master ','','inherit','open','open','','6929-revision-9','','','2012-07-29 10:27:29','2012-07-29 08:27:29','',6929,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/29/6929-revision-9/',0,'revision','',0),(6941,1,'2012-07-29 10:35:10','2012-07-29 08:35:10','I went to the newly renovated National Art Gallery yesterday.\n\nAnd it\'s official.\n\nI am in love.\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667011168/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7667011168_cd234eb4be_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThe space is so clean and bright.\n\nIt feels modern while still retaining the classic architectural details that in the past made it a palace as well. From outside, the building looks more or less the same. From the foyer inside, there\'s also not much of a noticeable difference. The difference is in the gallery space itself and what a difference it is.\n<a title=\"National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666744602/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7666744602_21a8750f48_z.jpg\" alt=\"National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThe renovations are exactly what the former royal palace needed. The building is lovely from the outside and the marble staircases inside are grand but until the recent renovations the interior of the building was rather shabby and falling into disrepair. If you\'re a long time reader of my blog you may remember me <a href=\"http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2009/06/29/museum-kind-of-day/\" target=\"_blank\">detailing this before</a>.\n\n<!--more--> <a title=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666750828/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7666750828_8b73c45e87_z.jpg\" alt=\"In the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667009580/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7667009580_ec1a92e3c9_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThe floors were by far the worst. In places the parquet was curing up or worse rotting and the floor would give under your feet. All of this lead to the floor squeaking and groaning under your feet which I guess isn\'t bad if you\'re the parent of teenagers and you\'re trying to keep them from sneaking out at night but it\'s not great for an art gallery.\n<a title=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667007658/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7667007658_9a11a2fda5_z.jpg\" alt=\"The ballroom of the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667014634/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7667014634_5e89c58d31_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nSo the floors are fixed, the walls are painted, the plaster detail in the ceiling has been cared for, the lighting has been updated and I think there\'s a new roof. Impressively, the ballroom has been opened up. There are no longer hideously ugly displays in there and for the first time you can get a sense of the grandeur that the room must have had in the past. There were also a couple of things I didn\'t notice or couldn\'t have known but that I read about<a href=\"http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Culture/Pages/1307VladimirDimitrov%E2%80%93theMaster.aspx\" target=\"_blank\"> in a Bulgarian Radio piece on the museum</a>, the electrical wiring has been updated as was the plumbing but the biggest change is that now the space has been made handicap accessible.\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667028746/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7667028746_5f487af56b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nWhat\'s more, there\'s a great exhibit of Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work to celebrate the re-opening of the gallery and 130 years since his birth. For those of you not in the know, Dimitrov is a big deal in Bulgaria.\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667024936/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7667024936_34f6c7702e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a href=\"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Dimitrov\" target=\"_blank\">Vladimir Dimitrov</a> (sorry there\'s not much information about him on wikipedia) is an iconic Bulgarian painter. So much so that his nickname is The Master.\n\nYes. <em>The Master</em>. I love the way Bulgarians pass out honorifics to their country men.\n\nHe is known and loved for painting women and children from around the Kyustendil as well as scenes from rural Bulgaria related to agriculture.\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667073746/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7667073746_f4d92e9011_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667070388/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8016/7667070388_b00861901c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nI was familiar-ish with his work before going to visit the exhibit. It\'s hard not to have a cursory knowledge of the man and his work when you\'ve lived in Bulgaria for four years. I hoped that this would be enough because museums in Bulgaria have a bad habit of not labeling works in English or not translating biographical information into English.<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667036006/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7133/7667036006_10fa897a35_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n\nHowever, I found myself pleasantly surprised that all of the paintings were labeled in both Bulgarian and English and that all of the Bulgarian text in the exhibit was also translated into very good English. <em>Bravo, bravo!</em>\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667030748/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7251/7667030748_ec40e85682_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667016820/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7667016820_ab7109d369_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nNow I like art galleries but one of the things I regret is that I never took an art history course in college. I keep meaning to read more about art history, to get a book or to take a course but I\'ve never done it. Instead, I poke around galleries. I admire colors, lines and paintings as a whole and figured that\'s enough. Thus, I have no formal language for describing Vladimir Dimitrov\'s work. That\'s probably okay.\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666995412/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8286/7666995412_029682803b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666993178/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7666993178_e52efe0901_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nOne thing that I really liked about this exhibit was the way it was curated. For many of the oil paintings also on display are the sketches and preparatory work that he did before getting to the work of painting the piece. In  this way, it\'s as if you get a new perspective and insight into his work. You can see how his point of view and focus developed through the sketches but you can also see what concerned him and the elements that he practiced in preparation for the actual painting.\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666991352/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7666991352_9217fe5a0b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThere is also a wide range of his work in this exhibit from landscapes to self-portraits and a little bit of everything in between.\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7666989666/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8003/7666989666_cb707504ce_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nI spent about two hours in the museum but I took my time. This was easy to do seeing as even on a Saturday afternoon there were only a few other couples strolling through the gallery with me. I suspect that it\'s even more quiet during the week.\n<a title=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667002224/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7667002224_2ef0a4dba2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Vladimir Dimitrov &amp; the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nDon\'t let the <a href=\"http://www.nationalartgallerybg.org/index.php?l=67\" target=\"_blank\">National Art Gallery\'s website</a> fool you. It\'s open even though in the English version it says it\'s still closed and the pictures are all of the pre-renovation gallery. Now all you have to do is find the time to go and explore the gallery. You won\'t be disappointed.\n\nThere’s a lot to love about this space. This is Sofia at her best. What’s more an adult ticket is only 6 leva (or 3 euro) making it a great deal in terms of museums across Europe.\n\n<a title=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7667021806/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/7667021806_2183b90073_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me at the National Art Gallery Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>','The National Art Gallery and Vladimir Dimitrov, the Master ','','inherit','open','open','','6929-autosave','','','2012-07-29 10:35:10','2012-07-29 08:35:10','',6929,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/29/6929-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6942,1,'2012-07-29 11:29:05','0000-00-00 00:00:00','This isn\'t a story that starts with me daydreaming about St George slaying dragons or girls dancing the horo. This story doesn\'t start with a rising lump in my throat the first time I drove in from the Sofia airport in a Lada with all four windows down my new 70-something landlords jabbering at me in a language I didn\'t understand. Although this is a part of it. This story doesn\'t start with the fall of the Berlin Wall although this particular moment in history is fundamental to it.\n\nNo, this story starts with disappointment.\n\nI turned 21 in the middle of May. I\'d just finished taking junior year final exams. I was happy but exhausted. Many of my friends were going to Germany for the summer to study but I was going home to work. Realistically, I had no money for travel let alone for college. They went to practice their German, to eat nutella and ritter sport chocolate, to discover curry wurst, and to make friends with the Turkish donner kabob stand guy in German. Although they didn\'t know this at the time.\n\nI went home to work, tired but happy, with a little bit of a sore throat. I figured it was the stress of finals and the copious amounts of alcohol I\'d consumed over the course of a number of days celebrating my birthday. Only instead of getting better, it got worse. Then one afternoon instead of being given another round of antibiotics, I was being carted to the hospital for an emergency tonsillectomy.\n\nTears came. My mom told me: Don\'t worry. There\'s nothing to worry about the surgery. You\'ll be fine. It\'s routine. I managed to sputter out a response: It\'s not that. I have the two best summer jobs I\'ve ever had and it\'s going to take me three weeks to recover. That\'s why I\'m crying.\n\nI went back to university in the fall tonsil-less and with a new determination to spend a year in German after graduation. Before class, I listened jealously to my friends rehash and relive stories about their hijinks in Germany and then I returned to my dorm room to work tirelessly on my Fulbright application.\n\nThe Fulbright application is a two step process. The first stage is that the university sends your application forward to a committee to which reads all of the applications and this committee selects a certain number to be forwarded to the host country. Most applications get cut at this stage of the process. The second step is that the host country reads applications and selects scholars, alternates and then they reject the other applicants.\n\nIn the winter, amid the hustle and bustle of senior year, I learned my application had been forwarded to country. My German professor told me then that no applicant from our university had ever been forwarded to country and not ultimately won a Fulbright. At this point, in my mind, it was settled. Germany after graduation.\n\nOf course, many times things have a way of failing to work out the way we planned. This was one of them. Late in April right before graduation, I received a second letter from the Fulbright. I\'d been named an alternate. An alternate. I was crushed.','','','draft','open','open','','','','','2012-07-29 11:29:05','2012-07-29 09:29:05','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6942',0,'post','',0),(6943,1,'2012-07-29 11:10:03','2012-07-29 09:10:03','This isn\'t a story that starts with me daydreaming about St George slaying dragons or girls dancing the horo. This story doesn\'t start with a rising lump in my throat the first time I drove in from the Sofia airport in a Lada with all four windows down my new 70-something landlords jabbering at me in a language I didn\'t understand. Although this is a part of it. This story doesn\'t start with the fall of the Berlin Wall although this particular moment in history is fundamental to it.\n\nNo this story starts with disappointment.\n\nI turned 21 in the middle of May. I\'d just finished taking junior year final exams. I was happy but exhausted. Many of my friends were going to Germany for the summer to study but I was going home to work. Realistically, I had no money for travel let alone for college. They went to practice their German, to eat nutella and ritter sport chocolate, to discover curry wurst, and to make friends with the Turkish donner kabob stand guy in German. Although they didn\'t know this at the time.\n\nI went home to work, tired but happy, with a little bit of a sore throat. I figured it was the stress of finals and the copious amounts of alcohol I\'d consumed over the course of a number of days celebrating my birthday. Only instead of getting better, it got worse. Then one afternoon instead of being given another round of antibiotics, I was being carted to the hospital for an emergency tonsillectomy.\n\nTear came. My mom told me: Don\'t worry. There\'s nothing to worry about the surgery. You\'ll be fine. It\'s routine. I managed to sputter out a response: It\'s not that. I have the two best summer jobs ever','','','inherit','open','open','','6942-revision','','','2012-07-29 11:10:03','2012-07-29 09:10:03','',6942,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/29/6942-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6944,1,'2012-07-29 11:27:44','2012-07-29 09:27:44','This isn\'t a story that starts with me daydreaming about St George slaying dragons or girls dancing the horo. This story doesn\'t start with a rising lump in my throat the first time I drove in from the Sofia airport in a Lada with all four windows down my new 70-something landlords jabbering at me in a language I didn\'t understand. Although this is a part of it. This story doesn\'t start with the fall of the Berlin Wall although this particular moment in history is fundamental to it.\n\nNo, this story starts with disappointment.\n\nI turned 21 in the middle of May. I\'d just finished taking junior year final exams. I was happy but exhausted. Many of my friends were going to Germany for the summer to study but I was going home to work. Realistically, I had no money for travel let alone for college. They went to practice their German, to eat nutella and ritter sport chocolate, to discover curry wurst, and to make friends with the Turkish donner kabob stand guy in German. Although they didn\'t know this at the time.\n\nI went home to work, tired but happy, with a little bit of a sore throat. I figured it was the stress of finals and the copious amounts of alcohol I\'d consumed over the course of a number of days celebrating my birthday. Only instead of getting better, it got worse. Then one afternoon instead of being given another round of antibiotics, I was being carted to the hospital for an emergency tonsillectomy.\n\nTears came. My mom told me: Don\'t worry. There\'s nothing to worry about the surgery. You\'ll be fine. It\'s routine. I managed to sputter out a response: It\'s not that. I have the two best summer jobs I\'ve ever had and it\'s going to take me three weeks to recover. That\'s why I\'m crying.\n\nI went back to university in the fall tonsil-less and with a new determination to spend a year in German after graduation. Before class, I listened jealously to my friends rehash and relive stories about their hijinks in Germany and then I returned to my dorm room to work tirelessly on my Fulbright application.\n\nThe Fulbright application is a two step process. The first stage is that the university sends your application forward to a committee to which reads all of the applications and this committee selects a certain number to be forwarded to the host country. Most applications get cut at this stage of the process. The second step is that the host country reads applications and selects scholars, alternates and then they reject the other applicants.\n\nIn the winter, amid the hustle and bustle of senior year, I learned my application had been forwarded to country. My German professor told me then that no applicant from our university had ever been forwarded to country and not ultimately won a Fulbright. At this point, in my mind, it was settled. Germany after graduation.\n\nOf course, many times things have a way of failing to work out the way we planned. This was one of them. Late in April right before graduation, I received a second letter from the Fulbright. I\'d been named an alternate. An alternate. I was crushed.','','','inherit','open','open','','6942-revision-2','','','2012-07-29 11:27:44','2012-07-29 09:27:44','',6942,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/29/6942-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6945,1,'2012-07-30 12:42:48','0000-00-00 00:00:00','While in Denmark on part of the Scandinavian adventure we made a day trip to see two castles--Kronborg Slot and Frederiksborg Slot. These two castles were great fun.\n\nKronborg Slot is famous for being Hamlet\'s castle.','Denmark: Helsingor and Hillerod ','','draft','open','open','','','','','2012-07-30 12:42:48','2012-07-30 10:42:48','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6945',0,'post','',0),(6946,1,'2012-07-30 07:32:27','2012-07-30 05:32:27','While in Denmark on part of the Scandinavian adventure we made a day trip to see two castles--Kronborg Slot and Frederiksborg Slot. These two castles were great fun.\n\nKronborg Slot is famous for being Hamlet\'s castle.','Denmark: Helsingor and Hillerod ','','inherit','open','open','','6945-revision','','','2012-07-30 07:32:27','2012-07-30 05:32:27','',6945,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/30/6945-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6947,1,'2012-07-30 12:57:02','2012-07-30 10:57:02','I am getting ready to fly back to the States. My suitcase is out and half packed. Same goes for my carry on. My apartment looks like a mini-tornado went through it. So I am trying not to think about that.\r\n\r\nI don\'t know how this happens every time I fly. It\'s as if I\'ve never flown. I make lists. I pack. I double check said lists. I cross things off and still I don\'t feel any where near ready to fly back to the states in two days.\r\n<a title=\"Coffee in Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7675748394/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8023/7675748394_0b6cda4503_z.jpg\" alt=\"Coffee in Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nWhy\'s that?\r\n\r\nWell this time I was mostly packed and I realized that I should probably take the dress and shoes that I\'d like to wear to my bother\'s wedding back to the States with me. Yeah, that would be a pretty good thing to have with me. This made me rethink and double check everything I\'ve packed.\r\n\r\nNow I have that nagging question: what else have you forgotten, Carolyn? floating around in the back of my mind. And I don\'t know what it is.\r\n\r\nSomehow I remembered to make an appointment for a haircut and I\'ve got gifts for everyone so I\'m not scrambling on that front which is nice but I\'d rather be out drinking coffee with friends than worrying about packing. Instead, I am not doing either and I am futzing around on my blog.\r\n\r\n<em>Oh, summertime</em>.','Packing and Planning ','','publish','open','open','','packing-and-planning','','','2012-07-30 12:57:02','2012-07-30 10:57:02','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6947',0,'post','',2),(6948,1,'2012-07-30 12:56:10','2012-07-30 10:56:10','I am getting ready to fly back to the States. My suitcase is out and half packed. Same goes for my carry on. My apartment looks like a mini-tornado went through it. So I am trying not to think about that.\n\nI don\'t know how this happens every time I fly. It\'s as if I\'ve never flown. I make lists. I pack. I double check said lists. I cross things off and still I don\'t feel any where near ready to fly back to the states in two days.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7675748394/\" title=\"Coffee in Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8023/7675748394_0b6cda4503_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Coffee in Sofia\"></a>\nWhy\'s that?\n\nWell this time I was mostly packed and I realized that I should probably take the dress and shoes that I\'d like to wear to my bother\'s wedding back to the States with me. Yeah, that would be a pretty good thing to have with me. This made me rethink and double check everything I\'ve packed.\n\nNow I have that nagging question: what else have you forgotten, Carolyn? floating around in the back of my mind. And I don\'t know what it is.\n\nSomehow I remembered to make an appointment for a haircut and I\'ve got gifts for everyone so I\'m not scrambling on that front which is nice but I\'d rather be out drinking coffee with friends than worrying about packing. Instead, I am not doing either and I am futzing around on my blog. \n\nOh, summer time. ','Packing and Planning ','','inherit','open','open','','6947-revision','','','2012-07-30 12:56:10','2012-07-30 10:56:10','',6947,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/30/6947-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6949,1,'2012-07-30 12:56:26','2012-07-30 10:56:26','I am getting ready to fly back to the States. My suitcase is out and half packed. Same goes for my carry on. My apartment looks like a mini-tornado went through it. So I am trying not to think about that.\r\n\r\nI don\'t know how this happens every time I fly. It\'s as if I\'ve never flown. I make lists. I pack. I double check said lists. I cross things off and still I don\'t feel any where near ready to fly back to the states in two days.\r\n<a title=\"Coffee in Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7675748394/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8023/7675748394_0b6cda4503_z.jpg\" alt=\"Coffee in Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nWhy\'s that?\r\n\r\nWell this time I was mostly packed and I realized that I should probably take the dress and shoes that I\'d like to wear to my bother\'s wedding back to the States with me. Yeah, that would be a pretty good thing to have with me. This made me rethink and double check everything I\'ve packed.\r\n\r\nNow I have that nagging question: what else have you forgotten, Carolyn? floating around in the back of my mind. And I don\'t know what it is.\r\n\r\nSomehow I remembered to make an appointment for a haircut and I\'ve got gifts for everyone so I\'m not scrambling on that front which is nice but I\'d rather be out drinking coffee with friends than worrying about packing. Instead, I am not doing either and I am futzing around on my blog.\r\n\r\n<em>Oh, summertime</em>.','Packing and Planning ','','inherit','open','open','','6947-revision-2','','','2012-07-30 12:56:26','2012-07-30 10:56:26','',6947,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/30/6947-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6950,1,'2012-07-30 12:58:07','2012-07-30 10:58:07','I am getting ready to fly back to the States. My suitcase is out and half packed. Same goes for my carry on. My apartment looks like a mini-tornado went through it. So I am trying not to think about that.\n\nI don\'t know how this happens every time I fly. It\'s as if I\'ve never flown. I make lists. I pack. I double check said lists. I cross things off and still I don\'t feel any where near ready to fly back to the states in two days.\n<a title=\"Coffee in Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7675748394/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8023/7675748394_0b6cda4503_z.jpg\" alt=\"Coffee in Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nWhy\'s that?\n\nWell this time I was mostly packed and I realized that I should probably take the dress and shoes that I\'d like to wear to my bother\'s wedding back to the States with me. Yeah, that would be a pretty good thing to have with me. This made me rethink and double check everything I\'ve packed.\n\nNow I have that nagging question: what else have you forgotten, Carolyn? floating around in the back of my mind. And I don\'t know what it is.\n\nSomehow I remembered to make an appointment for a haircut and I\'ve got gifts for everyone so I\'m not scrambling on that front which is nice but I\'d rather be out drinking coffee with friends than worrying about packing. Instead, I am not doing either and I am futzing around on my blog.\n\n<em>Oh, summertime</em>.','Packing and Planning ','','inherit','open','open','','6947-autosave','','','2012-07-30 12:58:07','2012-07-30 10:58:07','',6947,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/30/6947-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6951,1,'2012-07-31 21:40:18','2012-07-31 19:40:18','I met up with some friends this afternoon for coffee at Lime Cafe.\r\n\r\nIt\'s funny the way making friends abroad works. You go to meet ups and networking events.  You befriend your colleagues. You make with your friend\'s friends.\r\n\r\nOr maybe if you\'re anything like me you start writing a blog and all of a sudden people who are interested in the same things you are--in my case all things Bulgaria--find you and comment on your blog. Or they email you. Or they follow you on twitter. Then one day you meet them in person.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Lime Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685874822/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7685874822_af21a6f9d8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lime Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nMaybe you meet them in person through a friend and across a dinner table whey they say: um, hey, do you write a blog by any chance? Or maybe they see you in a bar and come over to say hello. If not a bar, maybe the mall. Maybe they stop you on your way into the metro: are you Karolinka? Or maybe they send you an email and say that they are going to be visiting family in Sofia and they wondered if you\'d be up for coffee...\r\n\r\n<em>Um, okay</em>.\r\n<a title=\"Lime with friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685885212/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7685885212_5d8ab1718e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lime with friends\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nAnyhow, after a while, it\'s hard to remember how you met all of your friends. It\'s no longer as easy as oh: in college, through my roommate or we grew up on the same street. Nope. Making adult friends abroad is a different story all together. Not bad. Just different.\r\n\r\n<!--more-->\r\n\r\nI met E. last year at a meet-up event in Sofia. I can\'t for the life of me remember which one. Tuk/Tam? Couchsurfing? I\'m no longer sure. She is as nice as nice can be and we really hit it off. It\'s wonderful when thing like this happen.\r\n\r\nI also met E. &amp; her American boyfriend B. last year. E. is Bulgarian and lives in the States. She wrote to me because she hoped that we could meet when she and her boyfriend came to visit Bulgaria because according to her, her family doesn\'t speak English and she thought B. could use a break from Bulgarian all the time and that she was dying to stop working as a translator for a little bit. I was intrigued so I said yes.\r\n<a title=\"Lime with friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685888730/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7685888730_2249dbb677_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lime with friends\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nIt was a wonderfully complex meeting when I learned about all of the Bulgarian friends we have in common or are connected to in the States. Then one of her high school friends showed up for coffee and low and behold it was my Bulgarian friend E. Yep, E. and E were friends in high school. Bulgaria is an amazing place in this respect. Everyone it seems knows everyone else.\r\n\r\nToday for example this gem slipped out of my mouth: Wait, what?! You and <a href=\"http://www.themigrantbookclub.com\" target=\"_blank\">Petya, of the Migrant Book Club</a>, when to graduate school together?! You know her in real life? Um, that was a kind of embarrassing outburst but I had no idea of this connection. <em>Oh well</em>, all things Bulgaria get me excited.\r\n\r\nSo today, I met E. &amp; her boyfriend B. as well as E. for coffee at Lime Cafe on Graf Ignetiv. It was great fun catching up with everyone. In the course of the last year, E. &amp; B. have gotten engaged and are scouting out wedding locations in Bulgaria for next summer. They have great stories to tell about speaking or not speaking the language, about cultural differences and how you cope, about jet-lag, about family and about the ways Sofia is (or is not) changing.\r\n<a title=\"Lime Cafe by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685882624/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/7685882624_14a4f90e74_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lime Cafe\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nIt was exactly what I needed today. It was the perfect excuse to get out of the house and not obsess about packing for my month long trip to the States. It was perfect because I find myself worrying about these same things as I look forward to returning home and seeing my family. It was also a great reminder that during the school year I need to make more time for outings like this one. During the school year it\'s too easy to let myself be too busy for meeting friends for coffee and today confirmed just how silly this is.\r\n<a title=\"Inside Lime by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685879168/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7685879168_1974e2d5b2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside Lime\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nLime Cafe was the perfect place to meet. They have indoor seating as well as patio seating but given the fact that rain was threatening this afternoon, we ended up inside. Lime makes a really good cappuccino. They also have a delicious cake named after the shop: lime. It\'s not too sweet with two layers of cake and frosting. I didn\'t order it this time and when others at my table did, I kind of wanted to kick myself for not ordering a slice too. Oh well, next time.','Lime Cafe and Friends ','','publish','open','open','','lime-cafe-and-friends','','','2012-07-31 21:40:18','2012-07-31 19:40:18','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6951',0,'post','',0),(6952,1,'2012-07-31 21:22:58','2012-07-31 19:22:58','I met up with some friends this afternoon for coffee at Lime Cafe.\n\nIt\'s funny the way making friends abroad works. You go to meet ups and networking events.  You befriend your colleagues. You make with your friend\'s friends.\n\nOr maybe if you\'re anything like me you start writing a blog and all of a sudden people who are interested in the same things you are--in my case all things Bulgaria--find you and comment on your blog. Then one day you meet them in person.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685874822/\" title=\"Lime Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7685874822_af21a6f9d8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Lime Sofia\"></a>\nMaybe you meet them in person through a friend and across a dinner table whey they say: um, hey, do you write a blog by any chance? Or maybe they see you in a bar and come over to say hello. Maybe they stop you on your way into the metro: are you Karolinka? Or maybe they send you an email and say that they are going to be visiting family in Sofia and they wondered if you\'d be up for coffee...\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685885212/\" title=\"Lime with friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7685885212_5d8ab1718e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Lime with friends\"></a>\nAnyhow I met E. last year at a meet-up even in Sofia. I can\'t for the life of me remember which one. Tuk/Tam? Couchsurfing? I\'m no longer sure. She is as nice as nice can be.\n\nI also met E. &amp; her American boyfriend B. last year. E. is Bulgarian and lives in the States. She wrote to me because she hoped that we could meet when she and her boyfriend came to visit Bulgaria because according to her, her family doesn\'t speak English and she thought B. could use a break from Bulgarian all the time and that she was dying to stop working as a translator for a little bit. I was intrigued so I said yes.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685888730/\" title=\"Lime with friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7685888730_2249dbb677_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Lime with friends\"></a>\nIt was a wonderfully complex meeting when I learned about all of the Bulgarian friends we have in common or are connected to in the States. Then one of her high school friends showed up for coffee after work and low and behold it was my Bulgarian friend E. Bulgaria is an amazing place in this respect. Everyone it seems knows everyone else.\n\nSo today, I met E. &amp; her boyfriend B. as well as E. for coffee at Lime Cafe on Graf Ignetiv. It was great fun catching up with everyone. In the course of the last year, E. &amp; B. have gotten engaged and are scouting out wedding locations in Bulgaria for next summer. They have great stories to tell about speaking or not speaking the language, about cultural differences and how you cope, about jet-lag, about family and about the ways Sofia is (or is not) changing.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685882624/\" title=\"Lime Cafe by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/7685882624_14a4f90e74_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Lime Cafe\"></a>\nIt was exactly what I needed today. It was the perfect excuse to get out of the house and not obsess about packing for my month long trip to the States. It was perfect because I find myself worrying about these same things as I look forward to returning home and seeing my family. It was also a great reminder that during the school year I need to make more time for outings like this one. During the school year it\'s too easy to let myself be too busy for meeting friends for coffee and today confirmed just how silly this is.\n\nLime Cafe was the perfect place to meet. They have indoor seating as well as patio seating but given the fact that rain was threatening this afternoon, we ended up inside. Lime makes a really good cappuccino. They also have a delicious cake named after the shop: lime. It\'s not too sweet with two layers of cake and frosting. I didn\'t order it this time and when others at my table did, I kind of wanted to kick myself for not ordering a slice too. Oh well, next time.','Lime Cafe and Friends ','','inherit','open','open','','6951-revision','','','2012-07-31 21:22:58','2012-07-31 19:22:58','',6951,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/31/6951-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6953,1,'2012-07-31 21:23:44','2012-07-31 19:23:44','I met up with some friends this afternoon for coffee at Lime Cafe.\r\n\r\nIt\'s funny the way making friends abroad works. You go to meet ups and networking events.  You befriend your colleagues. You make with your friend\'s friends.\r\n\r\nOr maybe if you\'re anything like me you start writing a blog and all of a sudden people who are interested in the same things you are--in my case all things Bulgaria--find you and comment on your blog. Then one day you meet them in person.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685874822/\" title=\"Lime Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7685874822_af21a6f9d8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Lime Sofia\"></a>\r\nMaybe you meet them in person through a friend and across a dinner table whey they say: um, hey, do you write a blog by any chance? Or maybe they see you in a bar and come over to say hello. Maybe they stop you on your way into the metro: are you Karolinka? Or maybe they send you an email and say that they are going to be visiting family in Sofia and they wondered if you\'d be up for coffee...\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685885212/\" title=\"Lime with friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7685885212_5d8ab1718e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Lime with friends\"></a>\r\nAnyhow I met E. last year at a meet-up even in Sofia. I can\'t for the life of me remember which one. Tuk/Tam? Couchsurfing? I\'m no longer sure. She is as nice as nice can be.\r\n\r\nI also met E. &amp; her American boyfriend B. last year. E. is Bulgarian and lives in the States. She wrote to me because she hoped that we could meet when she and her boyfriend came to visit Bulgaria because according to her, her family doesn\'t speak English and she thought B. could use a break from Bulgarian all the time and that she was dying to stop working as a translator for a little bit. I was intrigued so I said yes.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685888730/\" title=\"Lime with friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7685888730_2249dbb677_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Lime with friends\"></a>\r\nIt was a wonderfully complex meeting when I learned about all of the Bulgarian friends we have in common or are connected to in the States. Then one of her high school friends showed up for coffee after work and low and behold it was my Bulgarian friend E. Bulgaria is an amazing place in this respect. Everyone it seems knows everyone else.\r\n\r\nSo today, I met E. &amp; her boyfriend B. as well as E. for coffee at Lime Cafe on Graf Ignetiv. It was great fun catching up with everyone. In the course of the last year, E. &amp; B. have gotten engaged and are scouting out wedding locations in Bulgaria for next summer. They have great stories to tell about speaking or not speaking the language, about cultural differences and how you cope, about jet-lag, about family and about the ways Sofia is (or is not) changing.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685882624/\" title=\"Lime Cafe by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/7685882624_14a4f90e74_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Lime Cafe\"></a>\r\nIt was exactly what I needed today. It was the perfect excuse to get out of the house and not obsess about packing for my month long trip to the States. It was perfect because I find myself worrying about these same things as I look forward to returning home and seeing my family. It was also a great reminder that during the school year I need to make more time for outings like this one. During the school year it\'s too easy to let myself be too busy for meeting friends for coffee and today confirmed just how silly this is.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685879168/\" title=\"Inside Lime by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7685879168_1974e2d5b2_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Inside Lime\"></a>\r\nLime Cafe was the perfect place to meet. They have indoor seating as well as patio seating but given the fact that rain was threatening this afternoon, we ended up inside. Lime makes a really good cappuccino. They also have a delicious cake named after the shop: lime. It\'s not too sweet with two layers of cake and frosting. I didn\'t order it this time and when others at my table did, I kind of wanted to kick myself for not ordering a slice too. Oh well, next time.','Lime Cafe and Friends ','','inherit','open','open','','6951-revision-2','','','2012-07-31 21:23:44','2012-07-31 19:23:44','',6951,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/31/6951-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6954,1,'2012-07-31 21:24:26','2012-07-31 19:24:26','I met up with some friends this afternoon for coffee at Lime Cafe.\r\n\r\nIt\'s funny the way making friends abroad works. You go to meet ups and networking events.  You befriend your colleagues. You make with your friend\'s friends.\r\n\r\nOr maybe if you\'re anything like me you start writing a blog and all of a sudden people who are interested in the same things you are--in my case all things Bulgaria--find you and comment on your blog. Then one day you meet them in person.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685874822/\" title=\"Lime Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7685874822_af21a6f9d8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Lime Sofia\"></a>\r\nMaybe you meet them in person through a friend and across a dinner table whey they say: um, hey, do you write a blog by any chance? Or maybe they see you in a bar and come over to say hello. Maybe they stop you on your way into the metro: are you Karolinka? Or maybe they send you an email and say that they are going to be visiting family in Sofia and they wondered if you\'d be up for coffee...\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685885212/\" title=\"Lime with friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7685885212_5d8ab1718e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Lime with friends\"></a>\r\nAnyhow I met E. last year at a meet-up even in Sofia. I can\'t for the life of me remember which one. Tuk/Tam? Couchsurfing? I\'m no longer sure. She is as nice as nice can be.\r\n\r\nI also met E. &amp; her American boyfriend B. last year. E. is Bulgarian and lives in the States. She wrote to me because she hoped that we could meet when she and her boyfriend came to visit Bulgaria because according to her, her family doesn\'t speak English and she thought B. could use a break from Bulgarian all the time and that she was dying to stop working as a translator for a little bit. I was intrigued so I said yes.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685888730/\" title=\"Lime with friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7685888730_2249dbb677_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Lime with friends\"></a>\r\nIt was a wonderfully complex meeting when I learned about all of the Bulgarian friends we have in common or are connected to in the States. Then one of her high school friends showed up for coffee after work and low and behold it was my Bulgarian friend E. Bulgaria is an amazing place in this respect. Everyone it seems knows everyone else.\r\n\r\nSo today, I met E. &amp; her boyfriend B. as well as E. for coffee at Lime Cafe on Graf Ignetiv. It was great fun catching up with everyone. In the course of the last year, E. &amp; B. have gotten engaged and are scouting out wedding locations in Bulgaria for next summer. They have great stories to tell about speaking or not speaking the language, about cultural differences and how you cope, about jet-lag, about family and about the ways Sofia is (or is not) changing.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685882624/\" title=\"Lime Cafe by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/7685882624_14a4f90e74_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Lime Cafe\"></a>\r\nIt was exactly what I needed today. It was the perfect excuse to get out of the house and not obsess about packing for my month long trip to the States. It was perfect because I find myself worrying about these same things as I look forward to returning home and seeing my family. It was also a great reminder that during the school year I need to make more time for outings like this one. During the school year it\'s too easy to let myself be too busy for meeting friends for coffee and today confirmed just how silly this is.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685879168/\" title=\"Inside Lime by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7685879168_1974e2d5b2_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Inside Lime\"></a>\r\nLime Cafe was the perfect place to meet. They have indoor seating as well as patio seating but given the fact that rain was threatening this afternoon, we ended up inside. Lime makes a really good cappuccino. They also have a delicious cake named after the shop: lime. It\'s not too sweet with two layers of cake and frosting. I didn\'t order it this time and when others at my table did, I kind of wanted to kick myself for not ordering a slice too. Oh well, next time.','Lime Cafe and Friends ','','inherit','open','open','','6951-revision-3','','','2012-07-31 21:24:26','2012-07-31 19:24:26','',6951,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/31/6951-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6955,1,'2012-07-31 21:41:24','2012-07-31 19:41:24','I met up with some friends this afternoon for coffee at Lime Cafe.\n\nIt\'s funny the way making friends abroad works. You go to meet ups and networking events.  You befriend your colleagues. You make with your friend\'s friends.\n\nOr maybe if you\'re anything like me you start writing a blog and all of a sudden people who are interested in the same things you are--in my case all things Bulgaria--find you and comment on your blog. Or they email you. Or they follow you on twitter. Then one day you meet them in person.\n\n<a title=\"Lime Sofia by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685874822/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8017/7685874822_af21a6f9d8_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lime Sofia\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nMaybe you meet them in person through a friend and across a dinner table whey they say: um, hey, do you write a blog by any chance? Or maybe they see you in a bar and come over to say hello. If not a bar, maybe the mall. Maybe they stop you on your way into the metro: are you Karolinka? Or maybe they send you an email and say that they are going to be visiting family in Sofia and they wondered if you\'d be up for coffee...\n\n<em>Um, okay</em>.\n<a title=\"Lime with friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685885212/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7685885212_5d8ab1718e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lime with friends\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAnyhow, after a while, it\'s hard to remember how you met all of your friends. It\'s no longer as easy as oh: in college, through my roommate or we grew up on the same street. Nope. Making adult friends abroad is a different story all together. Not bad. Just different.\n\n<!--more-->\n\nI met E. last year at a meet-up event in Sofia. I can\'t for the life of me remember which one. Tuk/Tam? Couchsurfing? I\'m no longer sure. She is as nice as nice can be and we really hit it off. It\'s wonderful when thing like this happen.\n\nI also met E. &amp; her American boyfriend B. last year. E. is Bulgarian and lives in the States. She wrote to me because she hoped that we could meet when she and her boyfriend came to visit Bulgaria because according to her, her family doesn\'t speak English and she thought B. could use a break from Bulgarian all the time and that she was dying to stop working as a translator for a little bit. I was intrigued so I said yes.\n<a title=\"Lime with friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685888730/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7685888730_2249dbb677_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lime with friends\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nIt was a wonderfully complex meeting when I learned about all of the Bulgarian friends we have in common or are connected to in the States. Then one of her high school friends showed up for coffee and low and behold it was my Bulgarian friend E. Yep, E. and E were friends in high school. Bulgaria is an amazing place in this respect. Everyone it seems knows everyone else.\n\nToday for example this gem slipped out of my mouth: Wait, what?! You and <a href=\"http://www.themigrantbookclub.com\" target=\"_blank\">Petya, of the Migrant Book Club</a>, when to graduate school together?! You know her in real life? Um, that was a kind of embarrassing outburst but I had no idea of this connection. <em>Oh well</em>, all things Bulgaria get me excited.\n\nSo today, I met E. &amp; her boyfriend B. as well as E. for coffee at Lime Cafe on Graf Ignetiv. It was great fun catching up with everyone. In the course of the last year, E. &amp; B. have gotten engaged and are scouting out wedding locations in Bulgaria for next summer. They have great stories to tell about speaking or not speaking the language, about cultural differences and how you cope, about jet-lag, about family and about the ways Sofia is (or is not) changing.\n<a title=\"Lime Cafe by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685882624/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/7685882624_14a4f90e74_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lime Cafe\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nIt was exactly what I needed today. It was the perfect excuse to get out of the house and not obsess about packing for my month long trip to the States. It was perfect because I find myself worrying about these same things as I look forward to returning home and seeing my family. It was also a great reminder that during the school year I need to make more time for outings like this one. During the school year it\'s too easy to let myself be too busy for meeting friends for coffee and today confirmed just how silly this is.\n<a title=\"Inside Lime by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7685879168/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7685879168_1974e2d5b2_z.jpg\" alt=\"Inside Lime\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nLime Cafe was the perfect place to meet. They have indoor seating as well as patio seating but given the fact that rain was threatening this afternoon, we ended up inside. Lime makes a really good cappuccino. They also have a delicious cake named after the shop: lime. It\'s not too sweet with two layers of cake and frosting. I didn\'t order it this time and when others at my table did, I kind of wanted to kick myself for not ordering a slice too. Oh well, next time.','Lime Cafe and Friends ','','inherit','open','open','','6951-autosave','','','2012-07-31 21:41:24','2012-07-31 19:41:24','',6951,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/07/31/6951-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6957,1,'2012-08-03 16:27:58','2012-08-03 14:27:58','I woke up this morning in my childhood bedroom. It\'s nice to be home. Sure I\'ve only been here for one day but that\'s okay.\n\nYesterday, I woke up early--like 3:30am early. Then I drank coffee and read magazines until my parents woke up. My mom didn\'t get up until sometime after 6am. So I had a lot of time to myself.\n\nMy dad made me oatmeal. I ate it out of a Bulgarian bowl topped with strawberries. Yum, yum.\n\nAfter this, I ran some errands with my mom. We went to Staples. We went to Ace Hardware. We went to Albertson\'s. We went to the bank. I drank an iced Americano. I stopped by my dAd\'s antique store.\n\nThen I took a nap. When I woke up my suitcase had arrived and my new computer. Naps are magic.\n\nMy brother and his fiancee came over after work to say hello. After this, all I could think about was going to bed','I\'ve been in Walla Walla for a Day!! ','','inherit','open','open','','6956-revision','','','2012-08-03 16:27:58','2012-08-03 14:27:58','',6956,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/03/6956-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6958,1,'2012-08-03 16:28:58','2012-08-03 14:28:58','I woke up this morning in my childhood bedroom. It\'s nice to be home. Sure I\'ve only been here for one day but that\'s okay.\n\nYesterday, I woke up early--like 3:30am early. Then I drank coffee and read magazines until my parents woke up. My mom didn\'t get up until sometime after 6am. So I had a lot of time to myself.\n\nMy dad made me oatmeal. I ate it out of a Bulgarian bowl topped with strawberries. Yum, yum.\n\nAfter this, I ran some errands with my mom. We went to Staples. We went to Ace Hardware. We went to Albertson\'s. We went to the bank. I drank an iced Americano. I stopped by my dAd\'s antique store.\n\nThen I took a nap. When I woke up my suitcase had arrived and my new computer. Naps are magic.\n\nMy brother and his fiancee came over after work to say hello. After this, all I could think about was my pillow and by 9pm I was in bed asleep.\n\nIt\'s nice to be home.','I\'ve been in Walla Walla for a Day!! ','','inherit','open','open','','6956-revision-2','','','2012-08-03 16:28:58','2012-08-03 14:28:58','',6956,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/03/6956-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6959,1,'2012-08-03 16:34:08','2012-08-03 14:34:08','I woke up this morning in my childhood bedroom. It\'s nice to be home. Sure I\'ve only been here for one day but that\'s okay.\n\nYesterday, I woke up early--like 3:30am early. Then I drank coffee and read magazines until my parents woke up. My mom didn\'t get up until sometime after 6am. So I had a lot of time to myself.\n\nMy dad made me oatmeal. I ate it out of a Bulgarian bowl topped with strawberries. Yum, yum.\n\nAfter this, I ran some errands with my mom. We went to Staples. We went to Ace Hardware. We went to Albertson\'s. We went to the bank. I drank an iced Americano. I stopped by my dAd\'s antique store.\n\nThen I took a nap. When I woke up my suitcase had arrived and my new computer. Naps are magic.\n\nMy brother and his fiancee came over after work to say hello. After this, all I could think about was my pillow and by 9pm I was in bed asleep.\n\nIt\'s nice to be home.\n\nOh and today my friend R. arrives. You may remember her from such hijinks as my Balkan adventure two summers ago or my first year in Bulgaria when I was on a Fulbright and she was on a Fulbright in Budapest. Watch out Walla Walla, watch out.','I\'ve been in Walla Walla for a Day!! ','','inherit','open','open','','6956-autosave','','','2012-08-03 16:34:08','2012-08-03 14:34:08','',6956,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/03/6956-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6961,1,'2012-08-07 16:16:49','2012-08-07 14:16:49','','Sharing my city with my Friend R. ','','inherit','open','open','','6960-revision','','','2012-08-07 16:16:49','2012-08-07 14:16:49','',6960,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/07/6960-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6962,1,'2012-08-07 17:47:11','2012-08-07 15:47:11','I\'d like to start off with this: today\'s blog post is for my friend R.\'s mom. Thanks for sharing her with me for the week. We\'ve been having a great time.\n\nMy MoM and I picked up R. in Pasco on Friday afternoon about 1pm. Pasco is about an hour car ride away from Walla Walla so it gave me some time to catch up with my mom on the drive over. On the drive back, we stopped by a couple of different wineries. This of course was great fun.\n<a title=\"R. and Me at L\'Ecole Winery by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710163790/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7710163790_41478fb1d7_z.jpg\" alt=\"R. and Me at L\'Ecole Winery\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nWe decided to go by a Walla Walla Valley classic <a href=\"http://www.lecole.com/\" target=\"_blank\">L\'Ecole No 41</a>. It\'s a winery that\'s in an old school house in a tiny little town Lowden. I love this winery and I guess that I have been to taste wine there every time I\'ve been home to visit since I graduated from college--that\'s almost 10 years. The space is beautiful, although I was apparently too busy catching up with my friend R. to take any pictures inside, and the wine is divine.\n<a title=\"MoM and R. Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710167428/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/7710167428_a43cb48f7f_z.jpg\" alt=\"MoM and R. Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"R. and Me Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710170968/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7710170968_cf345c0fdd_z.jpg\" alt=\"R. and Me Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nFrom L\'Ecole No 41 we headed to <a href=\"http://www.canoeridgevineyard.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Canoe Ridge</a>. Canoe Ridge is in Walla Walla proper. My dAd built a couple of pieces for their tasting room which I had never seen so we headed over to taste this wine and to admire his work. The Canoe Ridge is in an old train repair and maintenance building.\n<a title=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710219554/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7710219554_ac03147b1e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710230416/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8014/7710230416_55b2261022_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThe wine was tasty and J. who was pouring the wines was a delight to talk to. R. ended up buying the Melbec she liked it so much.\n<a title=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710233564/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8151/7710233564_dd8e106ec6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nFrom there we went home to swim for a little bit before the First Friday Art Walk. My dAd hosts different local artists there each month as well as our local in house artist L. The event was really lovely. There was wine to drink, Klicker fruit and cheese to eat and lots of interseting people to talk to.\n<a title=\"Street Art in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710237044/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7710237044_ef99e3dc46_z.jpg\" alt=\"Street Art in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710240232/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8162/7710240232_21e25ea034_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710255516/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8158/7710255516_8f84a226da_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThen we wandered downtown to check out Walla Faces. There was live jazz music and plenty off wine to drink. C. and R. both had wine. I had a diet coke. Jet lag can sneak up on a girl at funny times. This was great fun even though at times the music was really too loud to talk easily over.\n<a title=\"R. and Me in Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710249448/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8165/7710249448_3b00a1ac74_z.jpg\" alt=\"R. and Me in Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Drinks at Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710246324/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8161/7710246324_dbf2e090ed_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks at Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThe night ended with us at Laht Neppur. We sampled the flight of beer currently on tap, ordered a vegetarian pizza and then a pint of beer to drink with our pizza. It was a great night. We drank beer. Told stories. Gossiped. Walked home cutting through Whitman College and ran through the sprinkler my parents set on our front lawn.\n<a title=\"Beer tasting in Walla Walla at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710258326/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7710258326_3a4445737d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Beer tasting in Walla Walla at Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Back-seat blonde ale in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710263518/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8008/7710263518_19641335b4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Back-seat blonde ale in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nIt was a pretty great welcome to Walla Walla if you ask me.','Not just another Friday Night','','inherit','open','open','','6960-revision-2','','','2012-08-07 17:47:11','2012-08-07 15:47:11','',6960,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/07/6960-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6963,1,'2012-08-07 17:47:36','2012-08-07 15:47:36','I\'d like to start off with this: today\'s blog post is for my friend R.\'s mom. Thanks for sharing her with me for the week. We\'ve been having a great time.\r\n\r\nMy MoM and I picked up R. in Pasco on Friday afternoon about 1pm. Pasco is about an hour car ride away from Walla Walla so it gave me some time to catch up with my mom on the drive over. On the drive back, we stopped by a couple of different wineries. This of course was great fun.\r\n<a title=\"R. and Me at L\'Ecole Winery by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710163790/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7710163790_41478fb1d7_z.jpg\" alt=\"R. and Me at L\'Ecole Winery\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nWe decided to go by a Walla Walla Valley classic <a href=\"http://www.lecole.com/\" target=\"_blank\">L\'Ecole No 41</a>. It\'s a winery that\'s in an old school house in a tiny little town Lowden. I love this winery and I guess that I have been to taste wine there every time I\'ve been home to visit since I graduated from college--that\'s almost 10 years. The space is beautiful, although I was apparently too busy catching up with my friend R. to take any pictures inside, and the wine is divine.\r\n<a title=\"MoM and R. Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710167428/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/7710167428_a43cb48f7f_z.jpg\" alt=\"MoM and R. Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R. and Me Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710170968/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7710170968_cf345c0fdd_z.jpg\" alt=\"R. and Me Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nFrom L\'Ecole No 41 we headed to <a href=\"http://www.canoeridgevineyard.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Canoe Ridge</a>. Canoe Ridge is in Walla Walla proper. My dAd built a couple of pieces for their tasting room which I had never seen so we headed over to taste this wine and to admire his work. The Canoe Ridge is in an old train repair and maintenance building.\r\n<a title=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710219554/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7710219554_ac03147b1e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710230416/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8014/7710230416_55b2261022_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe wine was tasty and J. who was pouring the wines was a delight to talk to. R. ended up buying the Melbec she liked it so much.\r\n<a title=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710233564/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8151/7710233564_dd8e106ec6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nFrom there we went home to swim for a little bit before the First Friday Art Walk. My dAd hosts different local artists there each month as well as our local in house artist L. The event was really lovely. There was wine to drink, Klicker fruit and cheese to eat and lots of interseting people to talk to.\r\n<a title=\"Street Art in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710237044/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7710237044_ef99e3dc46_z.jpg\" alt=\"Street Art in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710240232/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8162/7710240232_21e25ea034_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710255516/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8158/7710255516_8f84a226da_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThen we wandered downtown to check out Walla Faces. There was live jazz music and plenty off wine to drink. C. and R. both had wine. I had a diet coke. Jet lag can sneak up on a girl at funny times. This was great fun even though at times the music was really too loud to talk easily over.\r\n<a title=\"R. and Me in Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710249448/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8165/7710249448_3b00a1ac74_z.jpg\" alt=\"R. and Me in Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Drinks at Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710246324/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8161/7710246324_dbf2e090ed_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks at Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nThe night ended with us at Laht Neppur. We sampled the flight of beer currently on tap, ordered a vegetarian pizza and then a pint of beer to drink with our pizza. It was a great night. We drank beer. Told stories. Gossiped. Walked home cutting through Whitman College and ran through the sprinkler my parents set on our front lawn.\r\n<a title=\"Beer tasting in Walla Walla at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710258326/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7710258326_3a4445737d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Beer tasting in Walla Walla at Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Back-seat blonde ale in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710263518/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8008/7710263518_19641335b4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Back-seat blonde ale in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nIt was a pretty great welcome to Walla Walla if you ask me.','Not just another Friday Night','','inherit','open','open','','6960-revision-3','','','2012-08-07 17:47:36','2012-08-07 15:47:36','',6960,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/07/6960-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6964,1,'2012-08-07 17:55:33','2012-08-07 15:55:33','I\'d like to start off with this: today\'s blog post is for my friend R.\'s mom. Thanks for sharing her with me for the week. We\'ve been having a great time.\n\nMy MoM and I picked up R. in Pasco on Friday afternoon about 1pm. Pasco is about an hour car ride away from Walla Walla so it gave me some time to catch up with my mom on the drive over. On the drive back, we stopped by a couple of different wineries. This of course was great fun.\n<a title=\"R. and Me at L\'Ecole Winery by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710163790/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8424/7710163790_41478fb1d7_z.jpg\" alt=\"R. and Me at L\'Ecole Winery\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nWe decided to go by a Walla Walla Valley classic <a href=\"http://www.lecole.com/\" target=\"_blank\">L\'Ecole No 41</a>. It\'s a winery that\'s in an old school house in a tiny little town Lowden. I love this winery and I guess that I have been to taste wine there every time I\'ve been home to visit since I graduated from college--that\'s almost 10 years. The space is beautiful, although I was apparently too busy catching up with my friend R. to take any pictures inside, and the wine is divine. I bought the wine that used to be known as School House Red but is now simply Red Wine.\n\nBut you can\'t just stop at one winery if your visitor is new to town like R. is. In fact it\'s her first trip to Washington, so we felt obliged to show of the best of Walla Walla over the course of her visit.\n\n<!--more--> <a title=\"MoM and R. Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710167428/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/7710167428_a43cb48f7f_z.jpg\" alt=\"MoM and R. Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"R. and Me Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710170968/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7710170968_cf345c0fdd_z.jpg\" alt=\"R. and Me Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nFrom L\'Ecole No 41 we headed to <a href=\"http://www.canoeridgevineyard.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Canoe Ridge</a>. Canoe Ridge is in Walla Walla proper. My dAd built a couple of pieces for their tasting room which I had never seen so we headed over to taste this wine and to admire his work. The Canoe Ridge is in an old train repair and maintenance building.\n<a title=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710219554/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7710219554_ac03147b1e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710230416/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8014/7710230416_55b2261022_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThe wine was tasty and J. who was pouring the wines was a delight to talk to. R. ended up buying the Melbec she liked it so much.\n<a title=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710233564/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8151/7710233564_dd8e106ec6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting in Walla Walla at Canoe Ridge\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nFrom there we went home to swim for a little bit before the First Friday Art Walk. My dAd hosts different local artists there each month as well as our local in house artist L. The event was really lovely. There was wine to drink, Klicker fruit and cheese to eat and lots of interseting people to talk to.\n<a title=\"Street Art in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710237044/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7710237044_ef99e3dc46_z.jpg\" alt=\"Street Art in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710240232/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8162/7710240232_21e25ea034_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710255516/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8158/7710255516_8f84a226da_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThen we wandered downtown to check out Walla Faces. There was live jazz music and plenty off wine to drink. C. and R. both had wine. I had a diet coke. Jet lag can sneak up on a girl at funny times. This was great fun even though at times the music was really too loud to talk easily over.\n<a title=\"R. and Me in Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710249448/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8165/7710249448_3b00a1ac74_z.jpg\" alt=\"R. and Me in Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Drinks at Walla Faces in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710246324/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8161/7710246324_dbf2e090ed_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks at Walla Faces in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nThe night ended with us at Laht Neppur. We sampled the flight of beer currently on tap, ordered a vegetarian pizza and then a pint of beer to drink with our pizza. It was a great night. We drank beer. Told stories. Gossiped. Walked home cutting through Whitman College and ran through the sprinkler my parents set on our front lawn.\n<a title=\"Beer tasting in Walla Walla at Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710258326/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7710258326_3a4445737d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Beer tasting in Walla Walla at Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Back-seat blonde ale in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7710263518/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8008/7710263518_19641335b4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Back-seat blonde ale in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nIt was a pretty great welcome to Walla Walla if you ask me.','Not just another Friday Night','','inherit','open','open','','6960-autosave','','','2012-08-07 17:55:33','2012-08-07 15:55:33','',6960,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/07/6960-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(7002,1,'2012-08-17 07:48:36','2012-08-17 05:48:36','Living in Bulgaria, I dream of Mexican food. I miss Mexican food living in Sofia. Nothing is as good as the Mexican food I grew up eating in Walla Walla.\r\n\r\nA huge part of this is due to the fact that where I grew up, Mexicans make Mexican food.\r\n<a title=\"Tacos at La Monarca by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799932454/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7799932454_08dcd7b2d7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Tacos at La Monarca\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThere\'s a lot to choose from when it comes to Mexican food. One day last week I ended up eating Mexican for both lunch and dinner. Yes, that\'s two meals in one day. And I loved it.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Tacos at La Monarca by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799926222/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7799926222_ab52814223_z.jpg\" alt=\"Tacos at La Monarca\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI started out at a local taco truck. I had the Walla Walla sweet onion beef burrito. It was huge. It was also delicious. I ate the whole thing although I probably would have been better served eating the Walla sweet onion tacos. Two would have been the perfect amount of food.\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8192 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799922962/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8301/7799922962_e3198e1dbb_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8192\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWe went to my dAd\'s favorite taco truck La Monarca--the butterfly. Yum. Yum.\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8193 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799920282/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7799920282_3bf4fc3838_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8193\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8194 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799917780/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7123/7799917780_2790df5f71_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8194\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThen for dinner I ended up at a local restaurant and a family favorite--El Sombrero. The second time around, I ordered vegetable enchiladas and chowed down on chips and salsa. Oh and I also managed to order a large margarita. I just didn\'t realize how big the large was when I ordered it and then convinced my family (and extended family) to jump on board as well. <em>Oh well</em>.\r\n<a title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799976396/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7249/7799976396_e1f70f27a1_z.jpg\" alt=\"El Sombrero\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799972790/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7799972790_37213a864b_z.jpg\" alt=\"El Sombrero\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThese things happen sometimes and it was wonderful. Oh and if you are wondering, I took a lot more photos of the drinks and by the time the food arrived I\'d given up on photo taking and had committed myself to eating my second meal of Mexican food of the day.\r\n<a title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799949520/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8427/7799949520_b07604da3a_z.jpg\" alt=\"El Sombrero\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"El Sombrero by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7799962040/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7130/7799962040_0b39663a4c_z.jpg\" alt=\"El Sombrero\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','I dream of Mexican Food','','publish','open','open','','i-dream-of-mexican-food','','','2012-08-17 07:48:36','2012-08-17 05:48:36','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=7002',0,'post','',3),(6966,1,'2012-08-08 16:37:37','0000-00-00 00:00:00','My friend Robyn is such a great sport but my MoM, my dAd and my sister Charlotte are superheros. She comes to Walla Walla to visit and 1.5 days later I\'m down and out with a 102.1 F fever. So on Sunday, Charlotte 1.) takes her to Klickers for two scoops of ice cream, then 2.) picks my mom up for wine tasting at a couple of different wineries, they 3.) come home and go swimming and 4.) Charlotte, Robyn and my dad go to a Sweets baseball game and drink 5 16oz beers each. Once at home after the game they 5). eat a bag of chips and my dad makes everyone sandwiches. Needless to say the next morning everyone is moving a little slower, there\'s lots of coffee being consumed, plenty of laughter about wildly inconsistent beer prices and pictures with the Sweets mascot a Walla Walla Sweet Onion. I have to say if left to my own devices I\'m not sure I could have done a better job entertaining Robyn. Thanks everyone!!','','','draft','open','open','','','','','2012-08-08 16:37:37','2012-08-08 14:37:37','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6966',0,'post','',0),(6967,1,'2012-08-08 16:36:28','2012-08-08 14:36:28','','Auto Draft','','inherit','open','open','','6966-revision','','','2012-08-08 16:36:28','2012-08-08 14:36:28','',6966,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/08/6966-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6968,1,'2012-08-09 19:57:18','2012-08-09 17:57:18','R. and I went to visit Izzy the Camel recently. Izzy lives in Waitsburg, WA. She\'s got her own <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Izzy-The-Camel/175301045832391\" target=\"_blank\">facebook page</a>.\r\n<a title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747412268/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7747412268_efe2c978a5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nMy MoM told us about Izzy and we figured that we had to meet a camel living in Waitsburg. I mean, really, a camel in the middle of Eastern Washington who pastures with horses?\r\n<a title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747447536/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7747447536_1c9979c3db_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nJust to set the scene. Waitsburg is a tiny little town about a 20 minute drive from Walla Walla. It\'s a farming town and the population is something slightly more than 1,000. For a long time, you just drove through Waitsburg on your way to Dayton but over the past few years exciting things have started happening.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"R. on main street in Waitsburg by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747624356/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7747624356_e0b9c5d0e8_z.jpg\" alt=\"R. on main street in Waitsburg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nI think it started with the brewery Laht Neppur which on the road out of town. Then along main street <a href=\"http://www.whoopemuphollowcafe.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Whooemup Cafe </a>opened. It\'s not cheap and everyone grumbled: it wont last. But it did because it turns out people willing to pay for good food. Then across the street the <a href=\"http://www.jimgermanbar.com/\" target=\"_blank\">jimgermanbar</a> opened. Jim German is serious about his cocktails but they aren\'t cheap. They are made with top shelf liquor and locally sourced ingredients like mint and blackberries.\r\n<a title=\"Izzy and her field by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747583322/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7747583322_463827cbdc_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy and her field\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAnyhow, back to Izzy. I read on her facebook page that she likes carrots so before our trip I asked my mom for some carrots. She gave them to me from her<a href=\"http://welcometablefarm.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> CSA box from Welcome Table Farm</a>. You know because my MoM is cool enough to participate in a CSA and who doesn\'t love locally grown, organic carrots?! There were some finger length carrots and green carrot tops in the bottom of the food crisper from a week or two ago that my MoM happily handed over.\r\n<a title=\"R and a carrot by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747575456/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7747575456_0dc55aea88_z.jpg\" alt=\"R and a carrot\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWe drove to Waitsburg and spotted the camel. There\'s a little camel pull-off in the road so we took advantage of that. The only problem was that Izzy was in the middle of the field and not very close to us. Now the highway boarders the field where Izzy lives so we walked really carefully along there. We jumped the irrigation ditch and ended up pretty close to the fence.\r\n<a title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747571366/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7747571366_9a8b474bc7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747568102/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8023/7747568102_79896aeafc_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747564044/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7270/7747564044_45e7be940e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n\r\nStill, we weren\'t very close to her so we hollered her name a few times. Izzy. I-Z-Z-Y. Izzy. This seems to have gotten her attention and then R. had the great idea to wave a carrot at her.\r\n<a title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747418622/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/7747418622_f65554d7ab_z.jpg\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747423728/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7747423728_1db985034d_z.jpg\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747427938/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8292/7747427938_aff196e7da_z.jpg\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747443812/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7119/7747443812_5fb39e5a57_z.jpg\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThis of course was mostly just silly because the carrots weren\'t any bigger than our fingers but Izzy came right over. It turns out that Izzy is actually really big. She came up to R. first and R. gave her the carrot but Izzy\'s mouth is really big and R. got nervous and let go of the carrot too quickly and it dropped on the ground. So I gave her some carrot greens which she like a lot.\r\n<a title=\"Close up of Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747560512/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7747560512_0d37abf67b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Close up of Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nOnce we go the hang of things we alternated between feeding her and taking pictures. It was great fun. What\'s more, lots of people driving along the highway also stopped to take pictures of us feeding Izzy. One car stopped and a teenage boy jumped out wearing a stocking cap and jeans (he must be from Seattle--because locals don\'t wear stocking caps in the middle of August) and started taking pictures with his iphone. He said this to us: imagine, a camel. here. We said: it\'s Izzy, the camel. (You know, because at this point we\'re experts.) And then we pointed to the sign on the barn: Izzy the camel of Waitsburg.\r\n<a title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747435230/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8438/7747435230_f54a13ed0a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747452306/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7747452306_160695c41f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747530544/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7747530544_56a1290a31_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747471696/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7747471696_3e2fb66ee5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747467192/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7747467192_16f0ff5992_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747539946/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7747539946_e57ea72b16_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe thing is, you can only keep a camel occupied for so long. When we ran out of carrots and carrot tops, Izzy ran out of interest. She hung around for a little bit hoping for more but there was none. So we said our good-byes and headed into Waitsburg for breakfast.\r\n<a title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747439242/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8301/7747439242_a0947e59fb_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Highway 12 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747385712/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7747385712_dc48973eab_z.jpg\" alt=\"Highway 12\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Across the road from Izzy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747395224/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8282/7747395224_08f66af092_z.jpg\" alt=\"Across the road from Izzy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nWe walked down main street--which is all of a block, took some pictures (the black and white American flag painted on the American Legion building<a href=\"http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009161176_waitsburgflag02m.html\" target=\"_blank\"> created a fuss when it was first done </a> in 2009 but now it seems to be a town staple) and ate breakfast at a<a href=\"http://www.waitsburgtimes.com/news/2011-04-14/Front_Page/Waitsburg_To_Get_50s_Diner.html\" target=\"_blank\"> really cute \'50s style diner called Betty\'s</a>.\r\n<a title=\"Betty\'s Diner by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747587816/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7747587816_76615f5e79_z.jpg\" alt=\"Betty\'s Diner\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Loaded Hash browns by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747598142/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7747598142_c4f300f22e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Loaded Hash browns\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Eggs on biscuits and gravy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747594482/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7747594482_b4d65a2b22_z.jpg\" alt=\"Eggs on biscuits and gravy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nBetty\'s was great. The coffee is $.93. I assume that works out to $1 with tax. R. had biscuits and gravy with a side of ham and I had a crazy hash brown dish with veggies, bacon, sausage and gravy. The food was great but the portion sizes were huge. The incredible part was that the bill came out to something like $20.21 for two people. If you\'re ever in Waitsburg, I\'d recommend it.<a title=\"Me drinking coffee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747602270/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7747602270_ea1d233626_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me drinking coffee\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','Izzy the Camel of Waitsburg','','publish','open','open','','izzy-the-camel-of-waitsburg','','','2012-08-09 19:57:18','2012-08-09 17:57:18','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6968',0,'post','',3),(6969,1,'2012-08-09 18:27:24','2012-08-09 16:27:24','R. and I went to visit Izzy the Camel recently. Izzy lives in Waitsburg, WA. She\'s got her own <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Izzy-The-Camel/175301045832391\" target=\"_blank\">facebook page</a>.\n\nMy MoM told us about Izzy and we figured that we had to meet a camel living in Waitsburg. I mean, really, a camel in the middle of Eastern Washington who pastures with horses?\n\nJust to set the scene. Waitsburg is a tiny little town about a 20 minute drive from Walla Walla. It\'s a farming town and the population is something slightly more than 1,000. For a long time, you just drove through Waitsburg on your way to Dayton but over the past few years exciting things have started happening.\n\nI think it started with the brewery Laht Neppur which on the road out of town. Then along main street <a href=\"http://www.whoopemuphollowcafe.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Whooemup Cafe </a>opened. It\'s not cheap and everyone grumbled: it wont last. But it did because it turns out people willing to pay for good food. Then across the street the <a href=\"http://www.jimgermanbar.com/\" target=\"_blank\">jimgermanbar</a> opened. Jim German is serious about his cocktails but they aren\'t cheap. They are made with top shelf liquor and locally sourced ingredients like mint and blackberries.\n\nAnyhow, back to Izzy. I read on her facebook page that she likes carrots so before our trip I asked my mom for some carrots. She gave them to me from her<a href=\"http://welcometablefarm.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> CSA box from Welcome Table Farm</a>. You know because my MoM is cool enough to participate in a CSA and who doesn\'t love locally grown, organic carrots?! There were some finger length carrots and green carrot tops in the bottom of the food crisper from a week or two ago that my MoM happily handed over.\n\nWe drove to Waitsburg and spotted the camel. There\'s a little camel pull-off in the road so we took advantage of that. The only problem was that Izzy was in the middle of the field and not very close to us. Now the highway boarders the field where Izzy lives so we walked really carefully along there. We jumped the irrigation ditch and ended up pretty close to the fence.\n\nStill, we weren\'t very close to her so we hollered her name a few times. Izzy. I-Z-Z-Y. Izzy. This seems to have gotten her attention and then R. had the great idea to wave a carrot at her.\n\nThis of course was mostly just silly because the carrots weren\'t any bigger than our fingers but Izzy came right over. It turns out that Izzy is actually really big. She came up to R. first and R. gave her the carrot but Izzy\'s mouth is really big and R. got nervous and let go of the carrot too quickly and it dropped on the ground. So I gave her some carrot greens which she like a lot.\n\nOnce we go the hang of things we alternated between feeding her and taking pictures. It was great fun. What\'s more, lots of people driving along the highway also stopped to take pictures of us feeding Izzy. One car stopped and a teenage boy jumped out wearing a stocking cap and jeans (he must be from Seattle--because locals don\'t wear stocking caps in the middle of August) and started taking pictures with his iphone. He said this to us: imagine, a camel. here. We said: it\'s Izzy, the camel. (You know, because at this point we\'re experts.) And then we pointed to the sign on the barn: Izzy the camel of Waitsburg.\n\nThe thing is, you can only keep a camel occupied for so long. When we ran out of carrots and carrot tops, Izzy ran out of interest. She hung around for a little bit hoping for more but there was none. So we said our good-byes and headed into Waitsburg for breakfast.\n\nWe walked down main street--which is all of a block, took some pictures (the black and white American flag painted on the American Legion building<a href=\"http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009161176_waitsburgflag02m.html\" target=\"_blank\"> created a fuss when it was first done </a> in 2009 but now it seems to be a town staple) and ate breakfast at a<a href=\"http://www.waitsburgtimes.com/news/2011-04-14/Front_Page/Waitsburg_To_Get_50s_Diner.html\" target=\"_blank\"> really cute \'50s style diner called Betty\'s</a>.\n\nBetty\'s was great. The coffee is $.93. I assume that works out to $1 with tax. R. had biscuits and gravy with a side of ham and I had a crazy hash brown dish with veggies, bacon, sausage and gravy. The food was great but the portion sizes were huge. The incredible part was that the bill came out to something like $20.21 for two people. If you\'re ever in wait','Izzy the Camel of Waitsburg','','inherit','open','open','','6968-revision','','','2012-08-09 18:27:24','2012-08-09 16:27:24','',6968,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/09/6968-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6970,1,'2012-08-09 19:45:50','2012-08-09 17:45:50','R. and I went to visit Izzy the Camel recently. Izzy lives in Waitsburg, WA. She\'s got her own <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Izzy-The-Camel/175301045832391\" target=\"_blank\">facebook page</a>.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747412268/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7747412268_efe2c978a5_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a>\nMy MoM told us about Izzy and we figured that we had to meet a camel living in Waitsburg. I mean, really, a camel in the middle of Eastern Washington who pastures with horses?\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747447536/\" title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7747447536_1c9979c3db_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\nJust to set the scene. Waitsburg is a tiny little town about a 20 minute drive from Walla Walla. It\'s a farming town and the population is something slightly more than 1,000. For a long time, you just drove through Waitsburg on your way to Dayton but over the past few years exciting things have started happening.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747624356/\" title=\"R. on main street in Waitsburg by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7747624356_e0b9c5d0e8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R. on main street in Waitsburg\"></a>\nI think it started with the brewery Laht Neppur which on the road out of town. Then along main street <a href=\"http://www.whoopemuphollowcafe.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Whooemup Cafe </a>opened. It\'s not cheap and everyone grumbled: it wont last. But it did because it turns out people willing to pay for good food. Then across the street the <a href=\"http://www.jimgermanbar.com/\" target=\"_blank\">jimgermanbar</a> opened. Jim German is serious about his cocktails but they aren\'t cheap. They are made with top shelf liquor and locally sourced ingredients like mint and blackberries.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747583322/\" title=\"Izzy and her field by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7747583322_463827cbdc_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy and her field\"></a>\nAnyhow, back to Izzy. I read on her facebook page that she likes carrots so before our trip I asked my mom for some carrots. She gave them to me from her<a href=\"http://welcometablefarm.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> CSA box from Welcome Table Farm</a>. You know because my MoM is cool enough to participate in a CSA and who doesn\'t love locally grown, organic carrots?! There were some finger length carrots and green carrot tops in the bottom of the food crisper from a week or two ago that my MoM happily handed over.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747575456/\" title=\"R and a carrot by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7747575456_0dc55aea88_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and a carrot\"></a>\nWe drove to Waitsburg and spotted the camel. There\'s a little camel pull-off in the road so we took advantage of that. The only problem was that Izzy was in the middle of the field and not very close to us. Now the highway boarders the field where Izzy lives so we walked really carefully along there. We jumped the irrigation ditch and ended up pretty close to the fence.\n\nStill, we weren\'t very close to her so we hollered her name a few times. Izzy. I-Z-Z-Y. Izzy. This seems to have gotten her attention and then R. had the great idea to wave a carrot at her.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747418622/\" title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/7747418622_f65554d7ab_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747423728/\" title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7747423728_1db985034d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\nThis of course was mostly just silly because the carrots weren\'t any bigger than our fingers but Izzy came right over. It turns out that Izzy is actually really big. She came up to R. first and R. gave her the carrot but Izzy\'s mouth is really big and R. got nervous and let go of the carrot too quickly and it dropped on the ground. So I gave her some carrot greens which she like a lot.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747560512/\" title=\"Close up of Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7747560512_0d37abf67b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Close up of Izzy the Camel\"></a>\nOnce we go the hang of things we alternated between feeding her and taking pictures. It was great fun. What\'s more, lots of people driving along the highway also stopped to take pictures of us feeding Izzy. One car stopped and a teenage boy jumped out wearing a stocking cap and jeans (he must be from Seattle--because locals don\'t wear stocking caps in the middle of August) and started taking pictures with his iphone. He said this to us: imagine, a camel. here. We said: it\'s Izzy, the camel. (You know, because at this point we\'re experts.) And then we pointed to the sign on the barn: Izzy the camel of Waitsburg.\n\nThe thing is, you can only keep a camel occupied for so long. When we ran out of carrots and carrot tops, Izzy ran out of interest. She hung around for a little bit hoping for more but there was none. So we said our good-byes and headed into Waitsburg for breakfast.\n\nWe walked down main street--which is all of a block, took some pictures (the black and white American flag painted on the American Legion building<a href=\"http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009161176_waitsburgflag02m.html\" target=\"_blank\"> created a fuss when it was first done </a> in 2009 but now it seems to be a town staple) and ate breakfast at a<a href=\"http://www.waitsburgtimes.com/news/2011-04-14/Front_Page/Waitsburg_To_Get_50s_Diner.html\" target=\"_blank\"> really cute \'50s style diner called Betty\'s</a>.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747587816/\" title=\"Betty\'s Diner by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7747587816_76615f5e79_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Betty\'s Diner\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747598142/\" title=\"Loaded Hash browns by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7747598142_c4f300f22e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Loaded Hash browns\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747594482/\" title=\"Eggs on biscuits and gravy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7747594482_b4d65a2b22_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Eggs on biscuits and gravy\"></a>\nBetty\'s was great. The coffee is $.93. I assume that works out to $1 with tax. R. had biscuits and gravy with a side of ham and I had a crazy hash brown dish with veggies, bacon, sausage and gravy. The food was great but the portion sizes were huge. The incredible part was that the bill came out to something like $20.21 for two people. If you\'re ever in Waitsburg, I\'d recommend it.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747602270/\" title=\"Me drinking coffee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7747602270_ea1d233626_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me drinking coffee\"></a>','Izzy the Camel of Waitsburg','','inherit','open','open','','6968-revision-2','','','2012-08-09 19:45:50','2012-08-09 17:45:50','',6968,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/09/6968-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6971,1,'2012-08-09 19:46:43','2012-08-09 17:46:43','R. and I went to visit Izzy the Camel recently. Izzy lives in Waitsburg, WA. She\'s got her own <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Izzy-The-Camel/175301045832391\" target=\"_blank\">facebook page</a>.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747412268/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7747412268_efe2c978a5_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\nMy MoM told us about Izzy and we figured that we had to meet a camel living in Waitsburg. I mean, really, a camel in the middle of Eastern Washington who pastures with horses?\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747447536/\" title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7747447536_1c9979c3db_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\nJust to set the scene. Waitsburg is a tiny little town about a 20 minute drive from Walla Walla. It\'s a farming town and the population is something slightly more than 1,000. For a long time, you just drove through Waitsburg on your way to Dayton but over the past few years exciting things have started happening.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747624356/\" title=\"R. on main street in Waitsburg by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7747624356_e0b9c5d0e8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R. on main street in Waitsburg\"></a>\r\nI think it started with the brewery Laht Neppur which on the road out of town. Then along main street <a href=\"http://www.whoopemuphollowcafe.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Whooemup Cafe </a>opened. It\'s not cheap and everyone grumbled: it wont last. But it did because it turns out people willing to pay for good food. Then across the street the <a href=\"http://www.jimgermanbar.com/\" target=\"_blank\">jimgermanbar</a> opened. Jim German is serious about his cocktails but they aren\'t cheap. They are made with top shelf liquor and locally sourced ingredients like mint and blackberries.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747583322/\" title=\"Izzy and her field by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7747583322_463827cbdc_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy and her field\"></a>\r\nAnyhow, back to Izzy. I read on her facebook page that she likes carrots so before our trip I asked my mom for some carrots. She gave them to me from her<a href=\"http://welcometablefarm.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> CSA box from Welcome Table Farm</a>. You know because my MoM is cool enough to participate in a CSA and who doesn\'t love locally grown, organic carrots?! There were some finger length carrots and green carrot tops in the bottom of the food crisper from a week or two ago that my MoM happily handed over.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747575456/\" title=\"R and a carrot by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7747575456_0dc55aea88_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and a carrot\"></a>\r\nWe drove to Waitsburg and spotted the camel. There\'s a little camel pull-off in the road so we took advantage of that. The only problem was that Izzy was in the middle of the field and not very close to us. Now the highway boarders the field where Izzy lives so we walked really carefully along there. We jumped the irrigation ditch and ended up pretty close to the fence.\r\n\r\nStill, we weren\'t very close to her so we hollered her name a few times. Izzy. I-Z-Z-Y. Izzy. This seems to have gotten her attention and then R. had the great idea to wave a carrot at her.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747418622/\" title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/7747418622_f65554d7ab_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747423728/\" title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7747423728_1db985034d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747427938/\" title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8292/7747427938_aff196e7da_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747443812/\" title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7119/7747443812_5fb39e5a57_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\nThis of course was mostly just silly because the carrots weren\'t any bigger than our fingers but Izzy came right over. It turns out that Izzy is actually really big. She came up to R. first and R. gave her the carrot but Izzy\'s mouth is really big and R. got nervous and let go of the carrot too quickly and it dropped on the ground. So I gave her some carrot greens which she like a lot.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747560512/\" title=\"Close up of Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7747560512_0d37abf67b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Close up of Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\nOnce we go the hang of things we alternated between feeding her and taking pictures. It was great fun. What\'s more, lots of people driving along the highway also stopped to take pictures of us feeding Izzy. One car stopped and a teenage boy jumped out wearing a stocking cap and jeans (he must be from Seattle--because locals don\'t wear stocking caps in the middle of August) and started taking pictures with his iphone. He said this to us: imagine, a camel. here. We said: it\'s Izzy, the camel. (You know, because at this point we\'re experts.) And then we pointed to the sign on the barn: Izzy the camel of Waitsburg.\r\n\r\nThe thing is, you can only keep a camel occupied for so long. When we ran out of carrots and carrot tops, Izzy ran out of interest. She hung around for a little bit hoping for more but there was none. So we said our good-byes and headed into Waitsburg for breakfast.\r\n\r\nWe walked down main street--which is all of a block, took some pictures (the black and white American flag painted on the American Legion building<a href=\"http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009161176_waitsburgflag02m.html\" target=\"_blank\"> created a fuss when it was first done </a> in 2009 but now it seems to be a town staple) and ate breakfast at a<a href=\"http://www.waitsburgtimes.com/news/2011-04-14/Front_Page/Waitsburg_To_Get_50s_Diner.html\" target=\"_blank\"> really cute \'50s style diner called Betty\'s</a>.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747587816/\" title=\"Betty\'s Diner by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7747587816_76615f5e79_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Betty\'s Diner\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747598142/\" title=\"Loaded Hash browns by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7747598142_c4f300f22e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Loaded Hash browns\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747594482/\" title=\"Eggs on biscuits and gravy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7747594482_b4d65a2b22_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Eggs on biscuits and gravy\"></a>\r\nBetty\'s was great. The coffee is $.93. I assume that works out to $1 with tax. R. had biscuits and gravy with a side of ham and I had a crazy hash brown dish with veggies, bacon, sausage and gravy. The food was great but the portion sizes were huge. The incredible part was that the bill came out to something like $20.21 for two people. If you\'re ever in Waitsburg, I\'d recommend it.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747602270/\" title=\"Me drinking coffee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7747602270_ea1d233626_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me drinking coffee\"></a>','Izzy the Camel of Waitsburg','','inherit','open','open','','6968-revision-3','','','2012-08-09 19:46:43','2012-08-09 17:46:43','',6968,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/09/6968-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6972,1,'2012-08-09 19:54:48','2012-08-09 17:54:48','R. and I went to visit Izzy the Camel recently. Izzy lives in Waitsburg, WA. She\'s got her own <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Izzy-The-Camel/175301045832391\" target=\"_blank\">facebook page</a>.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747412268/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7747412268_efe2c978a5_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a>\nMy MoM told us about Izzy and we figured that we had to meet a camel living in Waitsburg. I mean, really, a camel in the middle of Eastern Washington who pastures with horses?\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747447536/\" title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7747447536_1c9979c3db_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\nJust to set the scene. Waitsburg is a tiny little town about a 20 minute drive from Walla Walla. It\'s a farming town and the population is something slightly more than 1,000. For a long time, you just drove through Waitsburg on your way to Dayton but over the past few years exciting things have started happening.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747624356/\" title=\"R. on main street in Waitsburg by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7747624356_e0b9c5d0e8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R. on main street in Waitsburg\"></a>\nI think it started with the brewery Laht Neppur which on the road out of town. Then along main street <a href=\"http://www.whoopemuphollowcafe.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Whooemup Cafe </a>opened. It\'s not cheap and everyone grumbled: it wont last. But it did because it turns out people willing to pay for good food. Then across the street the <a href=\"http://www.jimgermanbar.com/\" target=\"_blank\">jimgermanbar</a> opened. Jim German is serious about his cocktails but they aren\'t cheap. They are made with top shelf liquor and locally sourced ingredients like mint and blackberries.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747583322/\" title=\"Izzy and her field by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7747583322_463827cbdc_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy and her field\"></a>\nAnyhow, back to Izzy. I read on her facebook page that she likes carrots so before our trip I asked my mom for some carrots. She gave them to me from her<a href=\"http://welcometablefarm.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> CSA box from Welcome Table Farm</a>. You know because my MoM is cool enough to participate in a CSA and who doesn\'t love locally grown, organic carrots?! There were some finger length carrots and green carrot tops in the bottom of the food crisper from a week or two ago that my MoM happily handed over.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747575456/\" title=\"R and a carrot by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7747575456_0dc55aea88_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and a carrot\"></a>\nWe drove to Waitsburg and spotted the camel. There\'s a little camel pull-off in the road so we took advantage of that. The only problem was that Izzy was in the middle of the field and not very close to us. Now the highway boarders the field where Izzy lives so we walked really carefully along there. We jumped the irrigation ditch and ended up pretty close to the fence.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747571366/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7747571366_9a8b474bc7_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747568102/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8023/7747568102_79896aeafc_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747564044/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7270/7747564044_45e7be940e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a>\n\nStill, we weren\'t very close to her so we hollered her name a few times. Izzy. I-Z-Z-Y. Izzy. This seems to have gotten her attention and then R. had the great idea to wave a carrot at her.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747418622/\" title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/7747418622_f65554d7ab_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747423728/\" title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7747423728_1db985034d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747427938/\" title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8292/7747427938_aff196e7da_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747443812/\" title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7119/7747443812_5fb39e5a57_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\nThis of course was mostly just silly because the carrots weren\'t any bigger than our fingers but Izzy came right over. It turns out that Izzy is actually really big. She came up to R. first and R. gave her the carrot but Izzy\'s mouth is really big and R. got nervous and let go of the carrot too quickly and it dropped on the ground. So I gave her some carrot greens which she like a lot.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747560512/\" title=\"Close up of Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7747560512_0d37abf67b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Close up of Izzy the Camel\"></a>\nOnce we go the hang of things we alternated between feeding her and taking pictures. It was great fun. What\'s more, lots of people driving along the highway also stopped to take pictures of us feeding Izzy. One car stopped and a teenage boy jumped out wearing a stocking cap and jeans (he must be from Seattle--because locals don\'t wear stocking caps in the middle of August) and started taking pictures with his iphone. He said this to us: imagine, a camel. here. We said: it\'s Izzy, the camel. (You know, because at this point we\'re experts.) And then we pointed to the sign on the barn: Izzy the camel of Waitsburg.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747435230/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8438/7747435230_f54a13ed0a_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747452306/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7747452306_160695c41f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747530544/\" title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7747530544_56a1290a31_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747471696/\" title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7747471696_3e2fb66ee5_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747467192/\" title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7747467192_16f0ff5992_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747539946/\" title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7747539946_e57ea72b16_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\nThe thing is, you can only keep a camel occupied for so long. When we ran out of carrots and carrot tops, Izzy ran out of interest. She hung around for a little bit hoping for more but there was none. So we said our good-byes and headed into Waitsburg for breakfast.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747439242/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8301/7747439242_a0947e59fb_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747385712/\" title=\"Highway 12 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7747385712_dc48973eab_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Highway 12\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747395224/\" title=\"Across the road from Izzy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8282/7747395224_08f66af092_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Across the road from Izzy\"></a>\nWe walked down main street--which is all of a block, took some pictures (the black and white American flag painted on the American Legion building<a href=\"http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009161176_waitsburgflag02m.html\" target=\"_blank\"> created a fuss when it was first done </a> in 2009 but now it seems to be a town staple) and ate breakfast at a<a href=\"http://www.waitsburgtimes.com/news/2011-04-14/Front_Page/Waitsburg_To_Get_50s_Diner.html\" target=\"_blank\"> really cute \'50s style diner called Betty\'s</a>.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747587816/\" title=\"Betty\'s Diner by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7747587816_76615f5e79_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Betty\'s Diner\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747598142/\" title=\"Loaded Hash browns by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7747598142_c4f300f22e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Loaded Hash browns\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747594482/\" title=\"Eggs on biscuits and gravy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7747594482_b4d65a2b22_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Eggs on biscuits and gravy\"></a>\nBetty\'s was great. The coffee is $.93. I assume that works out to $1 with tax. R. had biscuits and gravy with a side of ham and I had a crazy hash brown dish with veggies, bacon, sausage and gravy. The food was great but the portion sizes were huge. The incredible part was that the bill came out to something like $20.21 for two people. If you\'re ever in Waitsburg, I\'d recommend it.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747602270/\" title=\"Me drinking coffee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7747602270_ea1d233626_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me drinking coffee\"></a>','Izzy the Camel of Waitsburg','','inherit','open','open','','6968-revision-4','','','2012-08-09 19:54:48','2012-08-09 17:54:48','',6968,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/09/6968-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6973,1,'2012-08-09 19:55:54','2012-08-09 17:55:54','R. and I went to visit Izzy the Camel recently. Izzy lives in Waitsburg, WA. She\'s got her own <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Izzy-The-Camel/175301045832391\" target=\"_blank\">facebook page</a>.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747412268/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7747412268_efe2c978a5_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\nMy MoM told us about Izzy and we figured that we had to meet a camel living in Waitsburg. I mean, really, a camel in the middle of Eastern Washington who pastures with horses?\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747447536/\" title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7747447536_1c9979c3db_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\nJust to set the scene. Waitsburg is a tiny little town about a 20 minute drive from Walla Walla. It\'s a farming town and the population is something slightly more than 1,000. For a long time, you just drove through Waitsburg on your way to Dayton but over the past few years exciting things have started happening.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747624356/\" title=\"R. on main street in Waitsburg by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7747624356_e0b9c5d0e8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R. on main street in Waitsburg\"></a>\r\nI think it started with the brewery Laht Neppur which on the road out of town. Then along main street <a href=\"http://www.whoopemuphollowcafe.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Whooemup Cafe </a>opened. It\'s not cheap and everyone grumbled: it wont last. But it did because it turns out people willing to pay for good food. Then across the street the <a href=\"http://www.jimgermanbar.com/\" target=\"_blank\">jimgermanbar</a> opened. Jim German is serious about his cocktails but they aren\'t cheap. They are made with top shelf liquor and locally sourced ingredients like mint and blackberries.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747583322/\" title=\"Izzy and her field by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7747583322_463827cbdc_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy and her field\"></a>\r\nAnyhow, back to Izzy. I read on her facebook page that she likes carrots so before our trip I asked my mom for some carrots. She gave them to me from her<a href=\"http://welcometablefarm.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> CSA box from Welcome Table Farm</a>. You know because my MoM is cool enough to participate in a CSA and who doesn\'t love locally grown, organic carrots?! There were some finger length carrots and green carrot tops in the bottom of the food crisper from a week or two ago that my MoM happily handed over.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747575456/\" title=\"R and a carrot by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7747575456_0dc55aea88_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and a carrot\"></a>\r\nWe drove to Waitsburg and spotted the camel. There\'s a little camel pull-off in the road so we took advantage of that. The only problem was that Izzy was in the middle of the field and not very close to us. Now the highway boarders the field where Izzy lives so we walked really carefully along there. We jumped the irrigation ditch and ended up pretty close to the fence.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747571366/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7747571366_9a8b474bc7_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747568102/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8023/7747568102_79896aeafc_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747564044/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7270/7747564044_45e7be940e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\n\r\nStill, we weren\'t very close to her so we hollered her name a few times. Izzy. I-Z-Z-Y. Izzy. This seems to have gotten her attention and then R. had the great idea to wave a carrot at her.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747418622/\" title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/7747418622_f65554d7ab_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747423728/\" title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7747423728_1db985034d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747427938/\" title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8292/7747427938_aff196e7da_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747443812/\" title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7119/7747443812_5fb39e5a57_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\nThis of course was mostly just silly because the carrots weren\'t any bigger than our fingers but Izzy came right over. It turns out that Izzy is actually really big. She came up to R. first and R. gave her the carrot but Izzy\'s mouth is really big and R. got nervous and let go of the carrot too quickly and it dropped on the ground. So I gave her some carrot greens which she like a lot.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747560512/\" title=\"Close up of Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7747560512_0d37abf67b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Close up of Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\nOnce we go the hang of things we alternated between feeding her and taking pictures. It was great fun. What\'s more, lots of people driving along the highway also stopped to take pictures of us feeding Izzy. One car stopped and a teenage boy jumped out wearing a stocking cap and jeans (he must be from Seattle--because locals don\'t wear stocking caps in the middle of August) and started taking pictures with his iphone. He said this to us: imagine, a camel. here. We said: it\'s Izzy, the camel. (You know, because at this point we\'re experts.) And then we pointed to the sign on the barn: Izzy the camel of Waitsburg.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747435230/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8438/7747435230_f54a13ed0a_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747452306/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7747452306_160695c41f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747530544/\" title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7747530544_56a1290a31_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747471696/\" title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7747471696_3e2fb66ee5_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747467192/\" title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7747467192_16f0ff5992_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747539946/\" title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7747539946_e57ea72b16_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\"></a>\r\nThe thing is, you can only keep a camel occupied for so long. When we ran out of carrots and carrot tops, Izzy ran out of interest. She hung around for a little bit hoping for more but there was none. So we said our good-byes and headed into Waitsburg for breakfast.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747439242/\" title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8301/7747439242_a0947e59fb_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747385712/\" title=\"Highway 12 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7747385712_dc48973eab_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Highway 12\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747395224/\" title=\"Across the road from Izzy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8282/7747395224_08f66af092_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Across the road from Izzy\"></a>\r\nWe walked down main street--which is all of a block, took some pictures (the black and white American flag painted on the American Legion building<a href=\"http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009161176_waitsburgflag02m.html\" target=\"_blank\"> created a fuss when it was first done </a> in 2009 but now it seems to be a town staple) and ate breakfast at a<a href=\"http://www.waitsburgtimes.com/news/2011-04-14/Front_Page/Waitsburg_To_Get_50s_Diner.html\" target=\"_blank\"> really cute \'50s style diner called Betty\'s</a>.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747587816/\" title=\"Betty\'s Diner by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7747587816_76615f5e79_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Betty\'s Diner\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747598142/\" title=\"Loaded Hash browns by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7747598142_c4f300f22e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Loaded Hash browns\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747594482/\" title=\"Eggs on biscuits and gravy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7747594482_b4d65a2b22_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Eggs on biscuits and gravy\"></a>\r\nBetty\'s was great. The coffee is $.93. I assume that works out to $1 with tax. R. had biscuits and gravy with a side of ham and I had a crazy hash brown dish with veggies, bacon, sausage and gravy. The food was great but the portion sizes were huge. The incredible part was that the bill came out to something like $20.21 for two people. If you\'re ever in Waitsburg, I\'d recommend it.<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747602270/\" title=\"Me drinking coffee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7747602270_ea1d233626_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me drinking coffee\"></a>','Izzy the Camel of Waitsburg','','inherit','open','open','','6968-revision-5','','','2012-08-09 19:55:54','2012-08-09 17:55:54','',6968,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/09/6968-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6974,1,'2012-08-09 19:58:22','2012-08-09 17:58:22','R. and I went to visit Izzy the Camel recently. Izzy lives in Waitsburg, WA. She\'s got her own <a href=\"https://www.facebook.com/pages/Izzy-The-Camel/175301045832391\" target=\"_blank\">facebook page</a>.\n<a title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747412268/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7747412268_efe2c978a5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nMy MoM told us about Izzy and we figured that we had to meet a camel living in Waitsburg. I mean, really, a camel in the middle of Eastern Washington who pastures with horses?\n<a title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747447536/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7747447536_1c9979c3db_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nJust to set the scene. Waitsburg is a tiny little town about a 20 minute drive from Walla Walla. It\'s a farming town and the population is something slightly more than 1,000. For a long time, you just drove through Waitsburg on your way to Dayton but over the past few years exciting things have started happening.<!--more-->\n<a title=\"R. on main street in Waitsburg by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747624356/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7747624356_e0b9c5d0e8_z.jpg\" alt=\"R. on main street in Waitsburg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nI think it started with the brewery Laht Neppur which on the road out of town. Then along main street <a href=\"http://www.whoopemuphollowcafe.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Whooemup Cafe </a>opened. It\'s not cheap and everyone grumbled: it wont last. But it did because it turns out people willing to pay for good food. Then across the street the <a href=\"http://www.jimgermanbar.com/\" target=\"_blank\">jimgermanbar</a> opened. Jim German is serious about his cocktails but they aren\'t cheap. They are made with top shelf liquor and locally sourced ingredients like mint and blackberries.\n<a title=\"Izzy and her field by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747583322/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8442/7747583322_463827cbdc_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy and her field\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAnyhow, back to Izzy. I read on her facebook page that she likes carrots so before our trip I asked my mom for some carrots. She gave them to me from her<a href=\"http://welcometablefarm.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> CSA box from Welcome Table Farm</a>. You know because my MoM is cool enough to participate in a CSA and who doesn\'t love locally grown, organic carrots?! There were some finger length carrots and green carrot tops in the bottom of the food crisper from a week or two ago that my MoM happily handed over.\n<a title=\"R and a carrot by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747575456/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7747575456_0dc55aea88_z.jpg\" alt=\"R and a carrot\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWe drove to Waitsburg and spotted the camel. There\'s a little camel pull-off in the road so we took advantage of that. The only problem was that Izzy was in the middle of the field and not very close to us. Now the highway boarders the field where Izzy lives so we walked really carefully along there. We jumped the irrigation ditch and ended up pretty close to the fence.\n<a title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747571366/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7747571366_9a8b474bc7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747568102/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8023/7747568102_79896aeafc_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747564044/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7270/7747564044_45e7be940e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n\nStill, we weren\'t very close to her so we hollered her name a few times. Izzy. I-Z-Z-Y. Izzy. This seems to have gotten her attention and then R. had the great idea to wave a carrot at her.\n<a title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747418622/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7250/7747418622_f65554d7ab_z.jpg\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747423728/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7747423728_1db985034d_z.jpg\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747427938/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8292/7747427938_aff196e7da_z.jpg\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"R and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747443812/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7119/7747443812_5fb39e5a57_z.jpg\" alt=\"R and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThis of course was mostly just silly because the carrots weren\'t any bigger than our fingers but Izzy came right over. It turns out that Izzy is actually really big. She came up to R. first and R. gave her the carrot but Izzy\'s mouth is really big and R. got nervous and let go of the carrot too quickly and it dropped on the ground. So I gave her some carrot greens which she like a lot.\n<a title=\"Close up of Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747560512/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7747560512_0d37abf67b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Close up of Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nOnce we go the hang of things we alternated between feeding her and taking pictures. It was great fun. What\'s more, lots of people driving along the highway also stopped to take pictures of us feeding Izzy. One car stopped and a teenage boy jumped out wearing a stocking cap and jeans (he must be from Seattle--because locals don\'t wear stocking caps in the middle of August) and started taking pictures with his iphone. He said this to us: imagine, a camel. here. We said: it\'s Izzy, the camel. (You know, because at this point we\'re experts.) And then we pointed to the sign on the barn: Izzy the camel of Waitsburg.\n<a title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747435230/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8438/7747435230_f54a13ed0a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747452306/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7747452306_160695c41f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747530544/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7747530544_56a1290a31_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747471696/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7747471696_3e2fb66ee5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747467192/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7747467192_16f0ff5992_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Me and Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747539946/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7747539946_e57ea72b16_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me and Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe thing is, you can only keep a camel occupied for so long. When we ran out of carrots and carrot tops, Izzy ran out of interest. She hung around for a little bit hoping for more but there was none. So we said our good-byes and headed into Waitsburg for breakfast.\n<a title=\"Izzy the Camel by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747439242/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8301/7747439242_a0947e59fb_z.jpg\" alt=\"Izzy the Camel\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Highway 12 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747385712/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7747385712_dc48973eab_z.jpg\" alt=\"Highway 12\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Across the road from Izzy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747395224/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8282/7747395224_08f66af092_z.jpg\" alt=\"Across the road from Izzy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nWe walked down main street--which is all of a block, took some pictures (the black and white American flag painted on the American Legion building<a href=\"http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009161176_waitsburgflag02m.html\" target=\"_blank\"> created a fuss when it was first done </a> in 2009 but now it seems to be a town staple) and ate breakfast at a<a href=\"http://www.waitsburgtimes.com/news/2011-04-14/Front_Page/Waitsburg_To_Get_50s_Diner.html\" target=\"_blank\"> really cute \'50s style diner called Betty\'s</a>.\n<a title=\"Betty\'s Diner by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747587816/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7747587816_76615f5e79_z.jpg\" alt=\"Betty\'s Diner\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Loaded Hash browns by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747598142/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7747598142_c4f300f22e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Loaded Hash browns\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Eggs on biscuits and gravy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747594482/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7747594482_b4d65a2b22_z.jpg\" alt=\"Eggs on biscuits and gravy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nBetty\'s was great. The coffee is $.93. I assume that works out to $1 with tax. R. had biscuits and gravy with a side of ham and I had a crazy hash brown dish with veggies, bacon, sausage and gravy. The food was great but the portion sizes were huge. The incredible part was that the bill came out to something like $20.21 for two people. If you\'re ever in Waitsburg, I\'d recommend it.<a title=\"Me drinking coffee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7747602270/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8287/7747602270_ea1d233626_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me drinking coffee\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','Izzy the Camel of Waitsburg','','inherit','open','open','','6968-autosave','','','2012-08-09 19:58:22','2012-08-09 17:58:22','',6968,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/09/6968-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6975,1,'2012-08-10 18:27:51','2012-08-10 16:27:51','My little brother is getting married on Saturday. Exciting, exciting.\r\n\r\nThis means that we\'ve got lots of family in town. I haven\'t seen some people in years. It\'s been great catching up with people.\r\n<a title=\"N at Sweet Basil Pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753081652/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7753081652_9a40c96360_z.jpg\" alt=\"N at Sweet Basil Pizza\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nI started with my brother. We had a lunch date at this really cute, really popular lunch spot called <a href=\"http://www.sweetbasilpizzeria.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Sweet Basil Pizza</a>. They make pizza and sell it by the slice. They also have a punch card. Buy 10 slices of pizza get one free.<!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"Dudes Lunch at Sweet Basil Pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753078254/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7753078254_bbb569aeba_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dudes Lunch at Sweet Basil Pizza\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nWe had a Dude\'s Day. We had pizza and beer. I gave him some Bulgarian pottery. We talked. Just the two of us. It was really nice to catch up with him.\r\n<a title=\"Sweet Basil Pizza--Thai by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753085490/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7753085490_794ce01d74_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sweet Basil Pizza--Thai\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nAfter lunch, by brother N. had to do wedding things. So he dropped me off at home and I went wine tasting with my sister C. and my cousin J.\r\n<a title=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753089570/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7753089570_565f98f854_z.jpg\" alt=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753093560/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7753093560_48703deee4_z.jpg\" alt=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nMy cousin J. is newly 22 and said that he wanted to go wine tasting because he doesn\'t know much about wine. So C. and I took him to a couple of our favorite wineries. We started at<a href=\"http://www.triovintners.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> Trio</a>. Karen knows her wine and was happy to teach J. a few things about wine and wine tasting without overwhelming him with details. Her Riot was a crowd pleaser and we bought a bottle for dinner.\r\n<a title=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753098098/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7270/7753098098_b8e162577c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753102414/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7753102414_5f5053a75b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nFrom Trio we headed down the street to <a href=\"http://www.teroestates.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Tero Estates</a>/<a href=\"http://flyingtroutwines.teroestates.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=15&amp;Itemid=15\" target=\"_blank\">Flying Trout</a>. Ashley Trout was pouring. We had a great conversation with her and drank some wonderful wines. C. bought a bottle Deep River Red which is one of the Flying Trout labels and one of C.\'s long-time favorites.\r\n<a title=\"Trio winery in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753106940/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8425/7753106940_77c550dfec_z.jpg\" alt=\"Trio winery in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Trio tasting room by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753111468/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7112/7753111468_2ffc1b2bd1_z.jpg\" alt=\"Trio tasting room\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\r\nAfter this tasting room, we walked down Main Street to <a href=\"http://www.fortwallawallacellars.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Fort Walla Walla Cellars</a> neither C. nor I had been there to taste wine before. It\'s a relaxed, friendly tasting room. The wine was excellent--big, bold reds.\r\n\r\nThe only problem with wine tasting when you live in Bulgaria is that it isn\'t easy to get wine home in your suitcase. As such, I more or less try to buy what I\'ll drink while I\'m visiting and not more.','An upcoming family wedding ','','publish','open','open','','an-upcoming-family-wedding','','','2012-08-10 18:27:51','2012-08-10 16:27:51','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6975',0,'post','',0),(6976,1,'2012-08-10 17:47:02','2012-08-10 15:47:02','My little brother is getting married on Saturday. Exciting, exciting.\n\nThis means that we\'ve got lots of family in town. I haven\'t seen some people in years. It\'s been great catching up with people.\n\nI started with my brother. We had a lunch date at this really cute, really popular lunch spot called Sweet Basil Pizza. They make pizza and sell it by the slice. They also have a punch card. Buy 10 slices of pizza get one free.\n\nWe had a Dude\'s Day. We had pizza and beer. I gave him some Bulgarian pottery. We talked. Just the two of us. It was really nice to catch up with him.\n\nAfter lunch, by brother N. had to do wedding things. So he dropped me off at home and I went wine tasting with my sister C. and my cousin J.\n\nMy cousin J. is newly 22 and said that he wanted to go wine tasting because he doesn\'t know much about','An upcoming family wedding ','','inherit','open','open','','6975-revision','','','2012-08-10 17:47:02','2012-08-10 15:47:02','',6975,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/10/6975-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6977,1,'2012-08-10 18:23:04','2012-08-10 16:23:04','My little brother is getting married on Saturday. Exciting, exciting.\n\nThis means that we\'ve got lots of family in town. I haven\'t seen some people in years. It\'s been great catching up with people.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753081652/\" title=\"N at Sweet Basil Pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7753081652_9a40c96360_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"N at Sweet Basil Pizza\"></a>\nI started with my brother. We had a lunch date at this really cute, really popular lunch spot called Sweet Basil Pizza. They make pizza and sell it by the slice. They also have a punch card. Buy 10 slices of pizza get one free.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753078254/\" title=\"Dudes Lunch at Sweet Basil Pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7753078254_bbb569aeba_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Dudes Lunch at Sweet Basil Pizza\"></a>\nWe had a Dude\'s Day. We had pizza and beer. I gave him some Bulgarian pottery. We talked. Just the two of us. It was really nice to catch up with him.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753085490/\" title=\"Sweet Basil Pizza--Thai by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7753085490_794ce01d74_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Sweet Basil Pizza--Thai\"></a>\nAfter lunch, by brother N. had to do wedding things. So he dropped me off at home and I went wine tasting with my sister C. and my cousin J.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753089570/\" title=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7753089570_565f98f854_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753093560/\" title=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7753093560_48703deee4_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\"></a>\nMy cousin J. is newly 22 and said that he wanted to go wine tasting because he doesn\'t know much about wine. So C. and I took him to a couple of our favorite wineries. We started at<a href=\"http://www.triovintners.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> Trio</a>. Karen knows her wine and was happy to teach J. a few things about wine and wine tasting without overwhelming him with details. Her Riot was a crowd pleaser and we bought a bottle for dinner.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753098098/\" title=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7270/7753098098_b8e162577c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753102414/\" title=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7753102414_5f5053a75b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\"></a>\nFrom Trio we headed down the street to <a href=\"http://www.teroestates.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Tero Estates</a>/<a href=\"http://flyingtroutwines.teroestates.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=15&amp;Itemid=15\" target=\"_blank\">Flying Trout</a>. Ashley Trout was pouring. We had a great conversation with her and drank some wonderful wines. C. bought a bottle Deep River Red which is one of the Flying Trout labels and one of C.\'s long-time favorites.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753106940/\" title=\"Trio winery in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8425/7753106940_77c550dfec_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Trio winery in Walla Walla\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753111468/\" title=\"Trio tasting room by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7112/7753111468_2ffc1b2bd1_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" alt=\"Trio tasting room\"></a>\nAfter this tasting room, we walked down Main Street to <a href=\"http://www.fortwallawallacellars.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Fort Walla Walla Cellars</a> neither C. nor I had been there to taste wine before. It\'s a relaxed, friendly tasting room. The wine was excellent--big, bold reds.\n\nThe only problem with wine tasting when you live in Bulgaria is that it isn\'t easy to get wine home in your suitcase. As such, I more or less try to buy what I\'ll drink while I\'m visiting and not more.','An upcoming family wedding ','','inherit','open','open','','6975-revision-2','','','2012-08-10 18:23:04','2012-08-10 16:23:04','',6975,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/10/6975-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6978,1,'2012-08-10 18:25:04','2012-08-10 16:25:04','My little brother is getting married on Saturday. Exciting, exciting.\n\nThis means that we\'ve got lots of family in town. I haven\'t seen some people in years. It\'s been great catching up with people.\n<a title=\"N at Sweet Basil Pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753081652/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7753081652_9a40c96360_z.jpg\" alt=\"N at Sweet Basil Pizza\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nI started with my brother. We had a lunch date at this really cute, really popular lunch spot called Sweet Basil Pizza. They make pizza and sell it by the slice. They also have a punch card. Buy 10 slices of pizza get one free.\n<a title=\"Dudes Lunch at Sweet Basil Pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753078254/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7753078254_bbb569aeba_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dudes Lunch at Sweet Basil Pizza\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nWe had a Dude\'s Day. We had pizza and beer. I gave him some Bulgarian pottery. We talked. Just the two of us. It was really nice to catch up with him.\n<a title=\"Sweet Basil Pizza--Thai by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753085490/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7753085490_794ce01d74_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sweet Basil Pizza--Thai\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAfter lunch, by brother N. had to do wedding things. So he dropped me off at home and I went wine tasting with my sister C. and my cousin J.\n<a title=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753089570/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7753089570_565f98f854_z.jpg\" alt=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753093560/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7753093560_48703deee4_z.jpg\" alt=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nMy cousin J. is newly 22 and said that he wanted to go wine tasting because he doesn\'t know much about wine. So C. and I took him to a couple of our favorite wineries. We started at<a href=\"http://www.triovintners.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> Trio</a>. Karen knows her wine and was happy to teach J. a few things about wine and wine tasting without overwhelming him with details. Her Riot was a crowd pleaser and we bought a bottle for dinner.\n<a title=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753098098/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7270/7753098098_b8e162577c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753102414/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7753102414_5f5053a75b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nFrom Trio we headed down the street to <a href=\"http://www.teroestates.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Tero Estates</a>/<a href=\"http://flyingtroutwines.teroestates.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=15&amp;Itemid=15\" target=\"_blank\">Flying Trout</a>. Ashley Trout was pouring. We had a great conversation with her and drank some wonderful wines. C. bought a bottle Deep River Red which is one of the Flying Trout labels and one of C.\'s long-time favorites.\n<a title=\"Trio winery in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753106940/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8425/7753106940_77c550dfec_z.jpg\" alt=\"Trio winery in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Trio tasting room by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753111468/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7112/7753111468_2ffc1b2bd1_z.jpg\" alt=\"Trio tasting room\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAfter this tasting room, we walked down Main Street to <a href=\"http://www.fortwallawallacellars.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Fort Walla Walla Cellars</a> neither C. nor I had been there to taste wine before. It\'s a relaxed, friendly tasting room. The wine was excellent--big, bold reds.\n\nThe only problem with wine tasting when you live in Bulgaria is that it isn\'t easy to get wine home in your suitcase. As such, I more or less try to buy what I\'ll drink while I\'m visiting and not more.','An upcoming family wedding ','','inherit','open','open','','6975-revision-3','','','2012-08-10 18:25:04','2012-08-10 16:25:04','',6975,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/10/6975-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6979,1,'2012-08-10 18:28:54','2012-08-10 16:28:54','My little brother is getting married on Saturday. Exciting, exciting.\n\nThis means that we\'ve got lots of family in town. I haven\'t seen some people in years. It\'s been great catching up with people.\n<a title=\"N at Sweet Basil Pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753081652/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7753081652_9a40c96360_z.jpg\" alt=\"N at Sweet Basil Pizza\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nI started with my brother. We had a lunch date at this really cute, really popular lunch spot called <a href=\"http://www.sweetbasilpizzeria.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Sweet Basil Pizza</a>. They make pizza and sell it by the slice. They also have a punch card. Buy 10 slices of pizza get one free.<!--more-->\n<a title=\"Dudes Lunch at Sweet Basil Pizza by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753078254/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7753078254_bbb569aeba_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dudes Lunch at Sweet Basil Pizza\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nWe had a Dude\'s Day. We had pizza and beer. I gave him some Bulgarian pottery. We talked. Just the two of us. It was really nice to catch up with him.\n<a title=\"Sweet Basil Pizza--Thai by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753085490/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7753085490_794ce01d74_z.jpg\" alt=\"Sweet Basil Pizza--Thai\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAfter lunch, by brother N. had to do wedding things. So he dropped me off at home and I went wine tasting with my sister C. and my cousin J.\n<a title=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753089570/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7753089570_565f98f854_z.jpg\" alt=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753093560/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7753093560_48703deee4_z.jpg\" alt=\"J and me wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nMy cousin J. is newly 22 and said that he wanted to go wine tasting because he doesn\'t know much about wine. So C. and I took him to a couple of our favorite wineries. We started at<a href=\"http://www.triovintners.com/\" target=\"_blank\"> Trio</a>. Karen knows her wine and was happy to teach J. a few things about wine and wine tasting without overwhelming him with details. Her Riot was a crowd pleaser and we bought a bottle for dinner.\n<a title=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753098098/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7270/7753098098_b8e162577c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a><a title=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753102414/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8293/7753102414_5f5053a75b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wine tasting at Trio in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nFrom Trio we headed down the street to <a href=\"http://www.teroestates.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Tero Estates</a>/<a href=\"http://flyingtroutwines.teroestates.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=15&amp;Itemid=15\" target=\"_blank\">Flying Trout</a>. Ashley Trout was pouring. We had a great conversation with her and drank some wonderful wines. C. bought a bottle Deep River Red which is one of the Flying Trout labels and one of C.\'s long-time favorites.\n<a title=\"Trio winery in Walla Walla by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753106940/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8425/7753106940_77c550dfec_z.jpg\" alt=\"Trio winery in Walla Walla\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Trio tasting room by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7753111468/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7112/7753111468_2ffc1b2bd1_z.jpg\" alt=\"Trio tasting room\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" /></a>\nAfter this tasting room, we walked down Main Street to <a href=\"http://www.fortwallawallacellars.com/\" target=\"_blank\">Fort Walla Walla Cellars</a> neither C. nor I had been there to taste wine before. It\'s a relaxed, friendly tasting room. The wine was excellent--big, bold reds.\n\nThe only problem with wine tasting when you live in Bulgaria is that it isn\'t easy to get wine home in your suitcase. As such, I more or less try to buy what I\'ll drink while I\'m visiting and not more.','An upcoming family wedding ','','inherit','open','open','','6975-autosave','','','2012-08-10 18:28:54','2012-08-10 16:28:54','',6975,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/10/6975-autosave/',0,'revision','',0),(6980,1,'2012-08-14 01:04:08','2012-08-13 23:04:08','My little brother N. married K. on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Walla Walla. So now he\'s a married man and he has a Mrs. This makes him the first kid in our family to get married. Not that he\'s a kid or that little. Nope. In fact, he\'s 28 years old and 6\'2.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8263 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776811840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7776811840_14bd27eaf2_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8263\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>This was a really wonderful day and all things considered this was also a pretty easy wedding. At least from the point of view of the groom\'s family.\r\n<a title=\"N, C and me at the church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776734850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7776734850_090c142bd8_z.jpg\" alt=\"N, C and me at the church\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nSure we hosted the rehearsal dinner at our family cabin and that took a lot of planning, sweat equity and hard work but when the actual wedding rolled around it was pretty smooth sailing. Then again, maybe that\'s always the case when you\'re not actually in the wedding. <!--more-->\r\n<a title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776948534/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7776948534_db2c985274_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776944014/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7776944014_b7bced7f46_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"K\'s nails by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776953028/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/7776953028_ce9e272651_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s nails\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe bride invited my mom, my sister and me to get our hair done for the wedding with the bridesmaids. This was great fun and meant that I didn\'t have to worry about what I\'d do with my fairly short hair. We showed up had a cup of coffee, ate some fruit and I drank a mimosa.\r\n<a title=\"Fruit by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776928610/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776928610_b88648d206_z.jpg\" alt=\"Fruit\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Drinks by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776924618/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7776924618_3c2b235998_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8240 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776892752/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776892752_7707b91db9_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8240\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Make-up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776910976/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7776910976_60857944be_z.jpg\" alt=\"Make-up\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Make-up for the wedding by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776872270/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7776872270_3516181d9c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Make-up for the wedding\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Lip gloss by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776877218/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776877218_084b54ddd0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lip gloss\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"The salon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776860224/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7776860224_3439d6af63_z.jpg\" alt=\"The salon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776856076/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7776856076_df148cfc3f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776831840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7776831840_e2ce7214c5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776844404/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776844404_8e15918965_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThere was one funny-awkward moment when the stylist asked me what color the bridesmaids dresses were. Um, I don\'t know. Why? Well because I wasn\'t actually a bridesmaid. It\'s just that the stylist didn\'t know this and it took me a minute to catch onto the fact that she didn\'t know that I wasn\'t a bridesmaid. So I lean over to ask a bridesmaid what color the dress is. Answer: maroon with a grey sash. The stylist looks at me with big eyes and says: it\'s pretty brave of you to not have even tried on your dress before the wedding. I hope it fits. That would be pretty brave (and/or crazy) of me but as the sister of the groom I was simply doing a reading and luckily this does not require a matching dress. Needless to say, I straightened things out pretty quickly and the stylist thought I was a whole lot less crazy than she had just minutes before.\r\n<a title=\"My hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776919382/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7776919382_2d4cdb69c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"My hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8229 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776915206/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776915206_566513f7cb_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8229\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom the salon, I stopped by Coffee Perk for an iced coffee and here my sister C. and I practiced our readings for the wedding. She read a selection from Shakespeare\'s play <em>As You Like It</em> and I read e.e. cummings \"i carry your heart.\" We stopped by Macy\'s so that my sister could buy a pair of earrings to wear and then I ended up buying a pair too. Mine were originally $29 and I got them on sale for $9. Not bad. Not bad. Only I didn\'t buy mine to wear at the wedding. I just bought mine because I liked them.\r\n<a title=\"Me all dressed up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776765948/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7776765948_e6d45e44c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me all dressed up\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8270 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776782178/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7776782178_6a0f37a457_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8270\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAt home, C. helped me wiggle into my dress with my hair all done up and I helped her.  I didn\'t expect to have this problem given the fact that my hair is so short but I did. Oh and I got lots of complements on my hair. So that was nice. Needless to say, I don\'t think I\'ll ever be able to recreate it at home.\r\n<a title=\"Mom and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776729102/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7246/7776729102_e1321bb20c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Mom, Dad and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776720346/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7776720346_a3cf9f5235_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom, Dad and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAbout 1pm we headed down to the church for photos. Again, this was really easy for me and involved me sitting around waiting until I was called for photos. I probably should have tucked my kindle into my clutch but I didn\'t think about that ahead of time.\r\n<a title=\"dAd by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776691652/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776691652_e39428be32_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776672992/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7776672992_c7426a8b5b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776660678/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7776660678_6091faac3c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nMy poor little brother had a harder go of things. He took photo after photo both inside the church and outside the church in the 100+ degree day. By 2pm even the back of his vest was sweaty and I felt really bad for him and really glad for me. I was very happy not to be wearing a full tux.\r\n<a title=\"Eating candy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776601262/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776601262_1eb9855b06_z.jpg\" alt=\"Eating candy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe service started at 4pm. There were probably 130+ people at the church. It was a really wonderful service. There were some <em>allergies</em> on the part of my brother... or maybe they were tears. Either way, it was wonderful to see N. &amp; K. so happy and so in love.\r\n<a title=\"Cousins by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776591502/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7776591502_94ff7ca916_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cousins\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAfter the ceremony N. &amp; K. escaped to sign the marriage license and then headed to Laht Neppur for a beer (or two). I tagged along because I am that kind of a girl. It was great fun. The bar is pretty everyman. There are picnic tables inside the bar, everyone drinks beer and people throw peanut shells on the floor. It was a really wonderful contrast of high and low to see N. &amp; K. all dressed up in the bar drinking.\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776583850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7776583850_c7f42ed721_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776559078/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7776559078_80f80395e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776567184/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7776567184_fd7e4e5e80_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776509626/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7776509626_87432fc8d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and the bouquet by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776437360/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7776437360_a82fe1a1ee_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and the bouquet\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" alt=\"The floor\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom there we walked down the street to the Red Monkey in the late afternoon heat. We had a cloyingly sweet shot made by K.\'s favorite bartender. Even though the shot was sweet-sweet, it was the perfect match to the smooth but bitter-ish beer we\'d just had. They were his and her drinks. Before we left, K. spent a couple of minutes in the walk in cooler with strict directions not to let her dress touch the floor. The Red Monkey was just a detour on the way to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where the actual reception was taking place.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776358876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7776358876_598076a921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776316278/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7776316278_8270e1a3b3_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776310216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7776310216_e2875f2c4a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776299216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7776299216_cd66db6e8c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776286800/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7776286800_90e3fd3b72_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776246876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776246876_927fff7f1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776240268/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7776240268_ed3b983f7e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776233932/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7776233932_e7e2e1cd84_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"K with her bartender by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776227186/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776227186_059a2e5a6c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K with her bartender\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"In Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776273074/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776273074_33f0eba686_z.jpg\" alt=\"In Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe Marc as it\'s fondly called is the nicest hotel in town and the only one with a ballroom. That makes it a staple on the wedding circuit in town. While this may make it sound common and pedestrian what it really means is that the hotel knows how to host a good reception. The food was amazing, the drink service was top notch and when the waiters cleared tables they did it professionally and with very little distraction.\r\n<a title=\"At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776214264/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7776214264_13a792ae77_z.jpg\" alt=\"At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and F At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776180680/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7776180680_80214a0e4f_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and F At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and friend by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776161368/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7776161368_274f2bcb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and friend\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cheers! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776133594/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7776133594_0bb85acb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cheers!\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe night ended with a lot of dancing. I think that I can safely say, a good time was had by all.\r\n<a title=\"Cake fight by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776103492/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7776103492_0d5fea3d29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake fight\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Cakee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776041962/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7776041962_702c5513f7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cakee\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cake by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776048990/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7776048990_bebd08db08_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and K the first dance by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775975402/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7775975402_e8c2291404_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and K the first dance\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775933514/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8444/7775933514_8c72fa5e81_z.jpg\" alt=\"Friends\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','A Wedding in Walla Walla  ','','publish','open','open','','a-wedding-in-walla-walla','','','2012-08-14 01:04:08','2012-08-13 23:04:08','',0,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/?p=6980',0,'post','',2),(6981,1,'2012-08-13 20:26:34','2012-08-13 18:26:34','My little brother N. married K. on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Walla Walla. So now he\'s a married man and he has a Mrs. This makes him the first kid in our family to get married. Not that he\'s a kid or that little. Nope. In fact, he\'s 28 years old and 6\'2.\n\nAll things considered this was a pretty easy wedding. At least from the point of view of the groom\'s family.\n\nSure we hosted the rehearsal dinner at our family cabin and that took a lot of planning, sweat equity and hard work but when the actual wedding rolled around it was pretty smooth sailing.\n\nThe bride invited my mom, sister and me to get our hair done for the wedding with the bridesmaids. This was great fun and meant that I didn\'t have to worry about what I\'d do with my fairly short hair. We showed up had a cup of coffee, ate some fruit and I drank a mimosa.\n\nThere was one funny-awkward moment when the stylist asked me what color the bridesmaids dresses were. Um, I don\'t know. Why? Well because I wasn\'t actually a bridesmaid. It\'s just that the stylist didn\'t know this and it took me a minute to catch onto the fact that she didn\'t know that I wasn\'t a bridesmaid. So I lean over to ask a bridesmaid what color the dress is. Answer: maroon with a grey sash. The stylist looks at me with big eyes and says: it\'s pretty brave of you to not have even tried on your dress before the wedding. I hope it fits. That would be pretty brave (and/or crazy) of me but as the sister of the groom I was simply doing a reading and luckily this does not require a matching dress. Needless to say, I straightened things out pretty quickly and the stylist thought I was a whole lot less crazy than she had just minutes before.\n\nFrom the salon, I stopped by Coffee Perk for an iced coffee and here my sister C. and I practiced our readings for the wedding. She read a selection from Shakespeare\'s play <em>As You Like It</em> and I read e.e. cummings \"i carry your heart.\" We stopped by Macy\'s so that my sister could buy a pair of earrings to wear and then I ended up buying a pair too. Mine were originally $29 and I got them on sale for $9. Not bad. Not bad. Only I didn\'t buy mine to wear at the wedding. I just bought mine because I liked them.\n\nAt home, C. helped me wiggle into my dress with my hair all done up and I helped her.  I didn\'t expect to have this problem given the fact that my hair is so short but I did. Oh and I got lots of complements on my hair. So that was nice. Needless to say, I don\'t think I\'ll ever be able to recreate it at home.\n\nAbout 1pm we headed down to the church for photos. Again, this was really easy for me and involved me sitting around waiting until I was called for photos. I probably should have tucked my kindle into my clutch but I didn\'t think about that ahead of time.\n\nMy poor little brother had a harder go of things. He took photo after photo both inside the church and outside the church in the 100+ degree day. By 2pm even the back of his vest was sweaty and I felt really bad for him and really glad for me. I was very happy not to be wearing a full tux.\n\nThe service started at 4pm. There were probably 130+ people at the church. It was a really wonderful service. There were some <em>allergies</em> on the part of my brother... or maybe they were tears. Either way, it was wonderful to see N. &amp; K. so happy and so in love.\n\nAfter the ceremony N. &amp; K. escaped to sign the marriage license and then headed to Laht Neppur for a beer (or two). I tagged along because I am that kind of a girl. It was great fun. The bar is pretty everyman. There are picnic tables inside the bar, everyone drinks beer and people throw peanut shells on the floor. It was a really wonderful contrast of high and low to see N. &amp; K. all dressed up in the bar drinking.\n\nFrom there we walked down the street to the Red Monkey in the late afternoon heat. We had a cloyingly sweet shot made by K.\'s favorite bartender. K. spent a couple of minutes in the walk in cooler with strict directions not to let her dress touch the floor. The Red Monkey was just a detour on the way to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where the actual reception was taking place.\n\nThe Marc as it\'s fondly called is the nicest hotel in town and the only one with a ballroom. That makes it a staple on the wedding circuit in town. While this may make it sound common and pedestrian what it really means is that the hotel knows how to host a good reception. The food was amazing, the drink service was top notch and when the waiters cleared tables they did it professionally and with very little distraction.\n\nThe night ended with a lot of dancing. I think that I can safely say, a good time was had by all.','A Wedding in Walla Walla  ','','inherit','open','open','','6980-revision','','','2012-08-13 20:26:34','2012-08-13 18:26:34','',6980,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/13/6980-revision/',0,'revision','',0),(6982,1,'2012-08-13 20:28:19','2012-08-13 18:28:19','My little brother N. married K. on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Walla Walla. So now he\'s a married man and he has a Mrs. This makes him the first kid in our family to get married. Not that he\'s a kid or that little. Nope. In fact, he\'s 28 years old and 6\'2.\n\nAll things considered this was a pretty easy wedding. At least from the point of view of the groom\'s family.\n\nSure we hosted the rehearsal dinner at our family cabin and that took a lot of planning, sweat equity and hard work but when the actual wedding rolled around it was pretty smooth sailing.\n\nThe bride invited my mom, sister and me to get our hair done for the wedding with the bridesmaids. This was great fun and meant that I didn\'t have to worry about what I\'d do with my fairly short hair. We showed up had a cup of coffee, ate some fruit and I drank a mimosa.\n\nThere was one funny-awkward moment when the stylist asked me what color the bridesmaids dresses were. Um, I don\'t know. Why? Well because I wasn\'t actually a bridesmaid. It\'s just that the stylist didn\'t know this and it took me a minute to catch onto the fact that she didn\'t know that I wasn\'t a bridesmaid. So I lean over to ask a bridesmaid what color the dress is. Answer: maroon with a grey sash. The stylist looks at me with big eyes and says: it\'s pretty brave of you to not have even tried on your dress before the wedding. I hope it fits. That would be pretty brave (and/or crazy) of me but as the sister of the groom I was simply doing a reading and luckily this does not require a matching dress. Needless to say, I straightened things out pretty quickly and the stylist thought I was a whole lot less crazy than she had just minutes before.\n\nFrom the salon, I stopped by Coffee Perk for an iced coffee and here my sister C. and I practiced our readings for the wedding. She read a selection from Shakespeare\'s play <em>As You Like It</em> and I read e.e. cummings \"i carry your heart.\" We stopped by Macy\'s so that my sister could buy a pair of earrings to wear and then I ended up buying a pair too. Mine were originally $29 and I got them on sale for $9. Not bad. Not bad. Only I didn\'t buy mine to wear at the wedding. I just bought mine because I liked them.\n\nAt home, C. helped me wiggle into my dress with my hair all done up and I helped her.  I didn\'t expect to have this problem given the fact that my hair is so short but I did. Oh and I got lots of complements on my hair. So that was nice. Needless to say, I don\'t think I\'ll ever be able to recreate it at home.\n\nAbout 1pm we headed down to the church for photos. Again, this was really easy for me and involved me sitting around waiting until I was called for photos. I probably should have tucked my kindle into my clutch but I didn\'t think about that ahead of time.\n\nMy poor little brother had a harder go of things. He took photo after photo both inside the church and outside the church in the 100+ degree day. By 2pm even the back of his vest was sweaty and I felt really bad for him and really glad for me. I was very happy not to be wearing a full tux.\n\nThe service started at 4pm. There were probably 130+ people at the church. It was a really wonderful service. There were some <em>allergies</em> on the part of my brother... or maybe they were tears. Either way, it was wonderful to see N. &amp; K. so happy and so in love.\n\nAfter the ceremony N. &amp; K. escaped to sign the marriage license and then headed to Laht Neppur for a beer (or two). I tagged along because I am that kind of a girl. It was great fun. The bar is pretty everyman. There are picnic tables inside the bar, everyone drinks beer and people throw peanut shells on the floor. It was a really wonderful contrast of high and low to see N. &amp; K. all dressed up in the bar drinking.\n\nFrom there we walked down the street to the Red Monkey in the late afternoon heat. We had a cloyingly sweet shot made by K.\'s favorite bartender. K. spent a couple of minutes in the walk in cooler with strict directions not to let her dress touch the floor. The Red Monkey was just a detour on the way to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where the actual reception was taking place.\n\nThe Marc as it\'s fondly called is the nicest hotel in town and the only one with a ballroom. That makes it a staple on the wedding circuit in town. While this may make it sound common and pedestrian what it really means is that the hotel knows how to host a good reception. The food was amazing, the drink service was top notch and when the waiters cleared tables they did it professionally and with very little distraction.\n\nThe night ended with a lot of dancing. I think that I can safely say, a good time was had by all.','A Wedding in Walla Walla  ','','inherit','open','open','','6980-revision-2','','','2012-08-13 20:28:19','2012-08-13 18:28:19','',6980,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/13/6980-revision-2/',0,'revision','',0),(6983,1,'2012-08-14 00:39:38','2012-08-13 22:39:38','My little brother N. married K. on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Walla Walla. So now he\'s a married man and he has a Mrs. This makes him the first kid in our family to get married. Not that he\'s a kid or that little. Nope. In fact, he\'s 28 years old and 6\'2.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776811840/\" title=\"IMG_8263 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7776811840_14bd27eaf2_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8263\"></a>All things considered this was a pretty easy wedding. At least from the point of view of the groom\'s family.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776734850/\" title=\"N, C and me at the church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7776734850_090c142bd8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"N, C and me at the church\"></a>\nSure we hosted the rehearsal dinner at our family cabin and that took a lot of planning, sweat equity and hard work but when the actual wedding rolled around it was pretty smooth sailing.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776948534/\" title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7776948534_db2c985274_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K\'s hair\"></a>\nThe bride invited my mom, my sister and me to get our hair done for the wedding with the bridesmaids. This was great fun and meant that I didn\'t have to worry about what I\'d do with my fairly short hair. We showed up had a cup of coffee, ate some fruit and I drank a mimosa.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776928610/\" title=\"Fruit by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776928610_b88648d206_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Fruit\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776924618/\" title=\"Drinks by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7776924618_3c2b235998_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Drinks\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776892752/\" title=\"IMG_8240 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776892752_7707b91db9_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8240\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776872270/\" title=\"Make-up for the wedding by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7776872270_3516181d9c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Make-up for the wedding\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776877218/\" title=\"Lip gloss by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776877218_084b54ddd0_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Lip gloss\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776860224/\" title=\"The salon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7776860224_3439d6af63_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"The salon\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776856076/\" title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7776856076_df148cfc3f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hair and veil\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776831840/\" title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7776831840_e2ce7214c5_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hair and veil\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776844404/\" title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776844404_8e15918965_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hair and veil\"></a>\nThere was one funny-awkward moment when the stylist asked me what color the bridesmaids dresses were. Um, I don\'t know. Why? Well because I wasn\'t actually a bridesmaid. It\'s just that the stylist didn\'t know this and it took me a minute to catch onto the fact that she didn\'t know that I wasn\'t a bridesmaid. So I lean over to ask a bridesmaid what color the dress is. Answer: maroon with a grey sash. The stylist looks at me with big eyes and says: it\'s pretty brave of you to not have even tried on your dress before the wedding. I hope it fits. That would be pretty brave (and/or crazy) of me but as the sister of the groom I was simply doing a reading and luckily this does not require a matching dress. Needless to say, I straightened things out pretty quickly and the stylist thought I was a whole lot less crazy than she had just minutes before.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776919382/\" title=\"My hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7776919382_2d4cdb69c4_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"My hair\"></a>\nFrom the salon, I stopped by Coffee Perk for an iced coffee and here my sister C. and I practiced our readings for the wedding. She read a selection from Shakespeare\'s play <em>As You Like It</em> and I read e.e. cummings \"i carry your heart.\" We stopped by Macy\'s so that my sister could buy a pair of earrings to wear and then I ended up buying a pair too. Mine were originally $29 and I got them on sale for $9. Not bad. Not bad. Only I didn\'t buy mine to wear at the wedding. I just bought mine because I liked them.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776765948/\" title=\"Me all dressed up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7776765948_e6d45e44c4_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me all dressed up\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776782178/\" title=\"IMG_8270 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7776782178_6a0f37a457_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8270\"></a>\nAt home, C. helped me wiggle into my dress with my hair all done up and I helped her.  I didn\'t expect to have this problem given the fact that my hair is so short but I did. Oh and I got lots of complements on my hair. So that was nice. Needless to say, I don\'t think I\'ll ever be able to recreate it at home.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776729102/\" title=\"Mom and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7246/7776729102_e1321bb20c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Mom and N\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776720346/\" title=\"Mom, Dad and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7776720346_a3cf9f5235_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Mom, Dad and N\"></a>\nAbout 1pm we headed down to the church for photos. Again, this was really easy for me and involved me sitting around waiting until I was called for photos. I probably should have tucked my kindle into my clutch but I didn\'t think about that ahead of time.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776691652/\" title=\"dAd by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776691652_e39428be32_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"dAd\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776672992/\" title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7776672992_c7426a8b5b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776660678/\" title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7776660678_6091faac3c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\"></a>\nMy poor little brother had a harder go of things. He took photo after photo both inside the church and outside the church in the 100+ degree day. By 2pm even the back of his vest was sweaty and I felt really bad for him and really glad for me. I was very happy not to be wearing a full tux.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776601262/\" title=\"Eating candy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776601262_1eb9855b06_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Eating candy\"></a>\nThe service started at 4pm. There were probably 130+ people at the church. It was a really wonderful service. There were some <em>allergies</em> on the part of my brother... or maybe they were tears. Either way, it was wonderful to see N. &amp; K. so happy and so in love.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776591502/\" title=\"Cousins by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7776591502_94ff7ca916_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Cousins\"></a>\nAfter the ceremony N. &amp; K. escaped to sign the marriage license and then headed to Laht Neppur for a beer (or two). I tagged along because I am that kind of a girl. It was great fun. The bar is pretty everyman. There are picnic tables inside the bar, everyone drinks beer and people throw peanut shells on the floor. It was a really wonderful contrast of high and low to see N. &amp; K. all dressed up in the bar drinking.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776583850/\" title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7776583850_c7f42ed721_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776559078/\" title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7776559078_80f80395e6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776567184/\" title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7776567184_fd7e4e5e80_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776509626/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7776509626_87432fc8d6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776437360/\" title=\"N and the bouquet by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7776437360_a82fe1a1ee_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"N and the bouquet\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\" title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"The floor\"></a>\nFrom there we walked down the street to the Red Monkey in the late afternoon heat. We had a cloyingly sweet shot made by K.\'s favorite bartender. K. spent a couple of minutes in the walk in cooler with strict directions not to let her dress touch the floor. The Red Monkey was just a detour on the way to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where the actual reception was taking place.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\" title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"The floor\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776358876/\" title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7776358876_598076a921_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776316278/\" title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7776316278_8270e1a3b3_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776310216/\" title=\"Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7776310216_e2875f2c4a_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Red Monkey\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776299216/\" title=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7776299216_cd66db6e8c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776286800/\" title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7776286800_90e3fd3b72_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Shots\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776246876/\" title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776246876_927fff7f1d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Shots\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776240268/\" title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7776240268_ed3b983f7e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Shots\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776233932/\" title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7776233932_e7e2e1cd84_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Shots\"></a>\n\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776273074/\" title=\"In Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776273074_33f0eba686_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"In Red Monkey\"></a>\nThe Marc as it\'s fondly called is the nicest hotel in town and the only one with a ballroom. That makes it a staple on the wedding circuit in town. While this may make it sound common and pedestrian what it really means is that the hotel knows how to host a good reception. The food was amazing, the drink service was top notch and when the waiters cleared tables they did it professionally and with very little distraction.\n\nThe night ended with a lot of dancing. I think that I can safely say, a good time was had by all.','A Wedding in Walla Walla  ','','inherit','open','open','','6980-revision-3','','','2012-08-14 00:39:38','2012-08-13 22:39:38','',6980,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6980-revision-3/',0,'revision','',0),(6984,1,'2012-08-14 00:42:56','2012-08-13 22:42:56','My little brother N. married K. on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Walla Walla. So now he\'s a married man and he has a Mrs. This makes him the first kid in our family to get married. Not that he\'s a kid or that little. Nope. In fact, he\'s 28 years old and 6\'2.\n\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776811840/\" title=\"IMG_8263 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7776811840_14bd27eaf2_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8263\"></a>All things considered this was a pretty easy wedding. At least from the point of view of the groom\'s family.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776734850/\" title=\"N, C and me at the church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7776734850_090c142bd8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"N, C and me at the church\"></a>\nSure we hosted the rehearsal dinner at our family cabin and that took a lot of planning, sweat equity and hard work but when the actual wedding rolled around it was pretty smooth sailing.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776948534/\" title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7776948534_db2c985274_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K\'s hair\"></a>\nThe bride invited my mom, my sister and me to get our hair done for the wedding with the bridesmaids. This was great fun and meant that I didn\'t have to worry about what I\'d do with my fairly short hair. We showed up had a cup of coffee, ate some fruit and I drank a mimosa.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776928610/\" title=\"Fruit by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776928610_b88648d206_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Fruit\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776924618/\" title=\"Drinks by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7776924618_3c2b235998_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Drinks\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776892752/\" title=\"IMG_8240 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776892752_7707b91db9_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8240\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776872270/\" title=\"Make-up for the wedding by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7776872270_3516181d9c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Make-up for the wedding\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776877218/\" title=\"Lip gloss by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776877218_084b54ddd0_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Lip gloss\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776860224/\" title=\"The salon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7776860224_3439d6af63_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"The salon\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776856076/\" title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7776856076_df148cfc3f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hair and veil\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776831840/\" title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7776831840_e2ce7214c5_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hair and veil\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776844404/\" title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776844404_8e15918965_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hair and veil\"></a>\nThere was one funny-awkward moment when the stylist asked me what color the bridesmaids dresses were. Um, I don\'t know. Why? Well because I wasn\'t actually a bridesmaid. It\'s just that the stylist didn\'t know this and it took me a minute to catch onto the fact that she didn\'t know that I wasn\'t a bridesmaid. So I lean over to ask a bridesmaid what color the dress is. Answer: maroon with a grey sash. The stylist looks at me with big eyes and says: it\'s pretty brave of you to not have even tried on your dress before the wedding. I hope it fits. That would be pretty brave (and/or crazy) of me but as the sister of the groom I was simply doing a reading and luckily this does not require a matching dress. Needless to say, I straightened things out pretty quickly and the stylist thought I was a whole lot less crazy than she had just minutes before.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776919382/\" title=\"My hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7776919382_2d4cdb69c4_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"My hair\"></a>\nFrom the salon, I stopped by Coffee Perk for an iced coffee and here my sister C. and I practiced our readings for the wedding. She read a selection from Shakespeare\'s play <em>As You Like It</em> and I read e.e. cummings \"i carry your heart.\" We stopped by Macy\'s so that my sister could buy a pair of earrings to wear and then I ended up buying a pair too. Mine were originally $29 and I got them on sale for $9. Not bad. Not bad. Only I didn\'t buy mine to wear at the wedding. I just bought mine because I liked them.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776765948/\" title=\"Me all dressed up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7776765948_e6d45e44c4_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me all dressed up\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776782178/\" title=\"IMG_8270 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7776782178_6a0f37a457_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8270\"></a>\nAt home, C. helped me wiggle into my dress with my hair all done up and I helped her.  I didn\'t expect to have this problem given the fact that my hair is so short but I did. Oh and I got lots of complements on my hair. So that was nice. Needless to say, I don\'t think I\'ll ever be able to recreate it at home.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776729102/\" title=\"Mom and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7246/7776729102_e1321bb20c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Mom and N\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776720346/\" title=\"Mom, Dad and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7776720346_a3cf9f5235_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Mom, Dad and N\"></a>\nAbout 1pm we headed down to the church for photos. Again, this was really easy for me and involved me sitting around waiting until I was called for photos. I probably should have tucked my kindle into my clutch but I didn\'t think about that ahead of time.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776691652/\" title=\"dAd by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776691652_e39428be32_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"dAd\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776672992/\" title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7776672992_c7426a8b5b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776660678/\" title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7776660678_6091faac3c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\"></a>\nMy poor little brother had a harder go of things. He took photo after photo both inside the church and outside the church in the 100+ degree day. By 2pm even the back of his vest was sweaty and I felt really bad for him and really glad for me. I was very happy not to be wearing a full tux.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776601262/\" title=\"Eating candy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776601262_1eb9855b06_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Eating candy\"></a>\nThe service started at 4pm. There were probably 130+ people at the church. It was a really wonderful service. There were some <em>allergies</em> on the part of my brother... or maybe they were tears. Either way, it was wonderful to see N. &amp; K. so happy and so in love.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776591502/\" title=\"Cousins by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7776591502_94ff7ca916_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Cousins\"></a>\nAfter the ceremony N. &amp; K. escaped to sign the marriage license and then headed to Laht Neppur for a beer (or two). I tagged along because I am that kind of a girl. It was great fun. The bar is pretty everyman. There are picnic tables inside the bar, everyone drinks beer and people throw peanut shells on the floor. It was a really wonderful contrast of high and low to see N. &amp; K. all dressed up in the bar drinking.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776583850/\" title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7776583850_c7f42ed721_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776559078/\" title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7776559078_80f80395e6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776567184/\" title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7776567184_fd7e4e5e80_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776509626/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7776509626_87432fc8d6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776437360/\" title=\"N and the bouquet by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7776437360_a82fe1a1ee_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"N and the bouquet\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\" title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"The floor\"></a>\nFrom there we walked down the street to the Red Monkey in the late afternoon heat. We had a cloyingly sweet shot made by K.\'s favorite bartender. K. spent a couple of minutes in the walk in cooler with strict directions not to let her dress touch the floor. The Red Monkey was just a detour on the way to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where the actual reception was taking place.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\" title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"The floor\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776358876/\" title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7776358876_598076a921_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776316278/\" title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7776316278_8270e1a3b3_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776310216/\" title=\"Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7776310216_e2875f2c4a_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Red Monkey\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776299216/\" title=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7776299216_cd66db6e8c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776286800/\" title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7776286800_90e3fd3b72_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Shots\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776246876/\" title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776246876_927fff7f1d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Shots\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776240268/\" title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7776240268_ed3b983f7e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Shots\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776233932/\" title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7776233932_e7e2e1cd84_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Shots\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776227186/\" title=\"K with her bartender by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776227186_059a2e5a6c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K with her bartender\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776273074/\" title=\"In Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776273074_33f0eba686_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"In Red Monkey\"></a>\nThe Marc as it\'s fondly called is the nicest hotel in town and the only one with a ballroom. That makes it a staple on the wedding circuit in town. While this may make it sound common and pedestrian what it really means is that the hotel knows how to host a good reception. The food was amazing, the drink service was top notch and when the waiters cleared tables they did it professionally and with very little distraction.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776214264/\" title=\"At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7776214264_13a792ae77_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At the reception\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776180680/\" title=\"N and F At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7776180680_80214a0e4f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"N and F At the reception\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776161368/\" title=\"N and friend by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7776161368_274f2bcb15_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"N and friend\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776133594/\" title=\"Cheers! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7776133594_0bb85acb15_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Cheers!\"></a>\nThe night ended with a lot of dancing. I think that I can safely say, a good time was had by all.\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776103492/\" title=\"Cake fight by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7776103492_0d5fea3d29_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Cake fight\"></a>\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776041962/\" title=\"Cakee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7776041962_702c5513f7_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Cakee\"></a>','A Wedding in Walla Walla  ','','inherit','open','open','','6980-revision-4','','','2012-08-14 00:42:56','2012-08-13 22:42:56','',6980,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6980-revision-4/',0,'revision','',0),(6985,1,'2012-08-14 00:43:43','2012-08-13 22:43:43','My little brother N. married K. on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Walla Walla. So now he\'s a married man and he has a Mrs. This makes him the first kid in our family to get married. Not that he\'s a kid or that little. Nope. In fact, he\'s 28 years old and 6\'2.\r\n\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776811840/\" title=\"IMG_8263 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7776811840_14bd27eaf2_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8263\"></a>All things considered this was a pretty easy wedding. At least from the point of view of the groom\'s family.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776734850/\" title=\"N, C and me at the church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7776734850_090c142bd8_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"N, C and me at the church\"></a>\r\nSure we hosted the rehearsal dinner at our family cabin and that took a lot of planning, sweat equity and hard work but when the actual wedding rolled around it was pretty smooth sailing.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776948534/\" title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7776948534_db2c985274_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K\'s hair\"></a>\r\nThe bride invited my mom, my sister and me to get our hair done for the wedding with the bridesmaids. This was great fun and meant that I didn\'t have to worry about what I\'d do with my fairly short hair. We showed up had a cup of coffee, ate some fruit and I drank a mimosa.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776928610/\" title=\"Fruit by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776928610_b88648d206_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Fruit\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776924618/\" title=\"Drinks by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7776924618_3c2b235998_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Drinks\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776892752/\" title=\"IMG_8240 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776892752_7707b91db9_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8240\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776872270/\" title=\"Make-up for the wedding by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7776872270_3516181d9c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Make-up for the wedding\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776877218/\" title=\"Lip gloss by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776877218_084b54ddd0_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Lip gloss\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776860224/\" title=\"The salon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7776860224_3439d6af63_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"The salon\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776856076/\" title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7776856076_df148cfc3f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hair and veil\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776831840/\" title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7776831840_e2ce7214c5_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hair and veil\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776844404/\" title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776844404_8e15918965_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Hair and veil\"></a>\r\nThere was one funny-awkward moment when the stylist asked me what color the bridesmaids dresses were. Um, I don\'t know. Why? Well because I wasn\'t actually a bridesmaid. It\'s just that the stylist didn\'t know this and it took me a minute to catch onto the fact that she didn\'t know that I wasn\'t a bridesmaid. So I lean over to ask a bridesmaid what color the dress is. Answer: maroon with a grey sash. The stylist looks at me with big eyes and says: it\'s pretty brave of you to not have even tried on your dress before the wedding. I hope it fits. That would be pretty brave (and/or crazy) of me but as the sister of the groom I was simply doing a reading and luckily this does not require a matching dress. Needless to say, I straightened things out pretty quickly and the stylist thought I was a whole lot less crazy than she had just minutes before.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776919382/\" title=\"My hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7776919382_2d4cdb69c4_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"My hair\"></a>\r\nFrom the salon, I stopped by Coffee Perk for an iced coffee and here my sister C. and I practiced our readings for the wedding. She read a selection from Shakespeare\'s play <em>As You Like It</em> and I read e.e. cummings \"i carry your heart.\" We stopped by Macy\'s so that my sister could buy a pair of earrings to wear and then I ended up buying a pair too. Mine were originally $29 and I got them on sale for $9. Not bad. Not bad. Only I didn\'t buy mine to wear at the wedding. I just bought mine because I liked them.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776765948/\" title=\"Me all dressed up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7776765948_e6d45e44c4_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Me all dressed up\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776782178/\" title=\"IMG_8270 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7776782178_6a0f37a457_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"IMG_8270\"></a>\r\nAt home, C. helped me wiggle into my dress with my hair all done up and I helped her.  I didn\'t expect to have this problem given the fact that my hair is so short but I did. Oh and I got lots of complements on my hair. So that was nice. Needless to say, I don\'t think I\'ll ever be able to recreate it at home.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776729102/\" title=\"Mom and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7246/7776729102_e1321bb20c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Mom and N\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776720346/\" title=\"Mom, Dad and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7776720346_a3cf9f5235_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Mom, Dad and N\"></a>\r\nAbout 1pm we headed down to the church for photos. Again, this was really easy for me and involved me sitting around waiting until I was called for photos. I probably should have tucked my kindle into my clutch but I didn\'t think about that ahead of time.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776691652/\" title=\"dAd by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776691652_e39428be32_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"dAd\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776672992/\" title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7776672992_c7426a8b5b_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776660678/\" title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7776660678_6091faac3c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\"></a>\r\nMy poor little brother had a harder go of things. He took photo after photo both inside the church and outside the church in the 100+ degree day. By 2pm even the back of his vest was sweaty and I felt really bad for him and really glad for me. I was very happy not to be wearing a full tux.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776601262/\" title=\"Eating candy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776601262_1eb9855b06_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Eating candy\"></a>\r\nThe service started at 4pm. There were probably 130+ people at the church. It was a really wonderful service. There were some <em>allergies</em> on the part of my brother... or maybe they were tears. Either way, it was wonderful to see N. &amp; K. so happy and so in love.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776591502/\" title=\"Cousins by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7776591502_94ff7ca916_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Cousins\"></a>\r\nAfter the ceremony N. &amp; K. escaped to sign the marriage license and then headed to Laht Neppur for a beer (or two). I tagged along because I am that kind of a girl. It was great fun. The bar is pretty everyman. There are picnic tables inside the bar, everyone drinks beer and people throw peanut shells on the floor. It was a really wonderful contrast of high and low to see N. &amp; K. all dressed up in the bar drinking.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776583850/\" title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7776583850_c7f42ed721_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776559078/\" title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7776559078_80f80395e6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776567184/\" title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7776567184_fd7e4e5e80_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776509626/\" title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7776509626_87432fc8d6_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776437360/\" title=\"N and the bouquet by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7776437360_a82fe1a1ee_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"N and the bouquet\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\" title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"The floor\"></a>\r\nFrom there we walked down the street to the Red Monkey in the late afternoon heat. We had a cloyingly sweet shot made by K.\'s favorite bartender. K. spent a couple of minutes in the walk in cooler with strict directions not to let her dress touch the floor. The Red Monkey was just a detour on the way to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where the actual reception was taking place.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\" title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"The floor\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776358876/\" title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7776358876_598076a921_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776316278/\" title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7776316278_8270e1a3b3_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776310216/\" title=\"Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7776310216_e2875f2c4a_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Red Monkey\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776299216/\" title=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7776299216_cd66db6e8c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776286800/\" title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7776286800_90e3fd3b72_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Shots\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776246876/\" title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776246876_927fff7f1d_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Shots\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776240268/\" title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7776240268_ed3b983f7e_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Shots\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776233932/\" title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7776233932_e7e2e1cd84_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Shots\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776227186/\" title=\"K with her bartender by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776227186_059a2e5a6c_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K with her bartender\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776273074/\" title=\"In Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776273074_33f0eba686_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"In Red Monkey\"></a>\r\nThe Marc as it\'s fondly called is the nicest hotel in town and the only one with a ballroom. That makes it a staple on the wedding circuit in town. While this may make it sound common and pedestrian what it really means is that the hotel knows how to host a good reception. The food was amazing, the drink service was top notch and when the waiters cleared tables they did it professionally and with very little distraction.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776214264/\" title=\"At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7776214264_13a792ae77_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"At the reception\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776180680/\" title=\"N and F At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7776180680_80214a0e4f_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"N and F At the reception\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776161368/\" title=\"N and friend by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7776161368_274f2bcb15_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"N and friend\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776133594/\" title=\"Cheers! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7776133594_0bb85acb15_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Cheers!\"></a>\r\nThe night ended with a lot of dancing. I think that I can safely say, a good time was had by all.\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776103492/\" title=\"Cake fight by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7776103492_0d5fea3d29_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Cake fight\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776041962/\" title=\"Cakee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7776041962_702c5513f7_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Cakee\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776048990/\" title=\"Cake by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7776048990_bebd08db08_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Cake\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775975402/\" title=\"N and K the first dance by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7775975402_e8c2291404_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"N and K the first dance\"></a>\r\n<a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775933514/\" title=\"Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8444/7775933514_8c72fa5e81_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Friends\"></a>','A Wedding in Walla Walla  ','','inherit','open','open','','6980-revision-5','','','2012-08-14 00:43:43','2012-08-13 22:43:43','',6980,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6980-revision-5/',0,'revision','',0),(6986,1,'2012-08-14 00:45:48','2012-08-13 22:45:48','My little brother N. married K. on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Walla Walla. So now he\'s a married man and he has a Mrs. This makes him the first kid in our family to get married. Not that he\'s a kid or that little. Nope. In fact, he\'s 28 years old and 6\'2.\n\n<a title=\"IMG_8263 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776811840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7776811840_14bd27eaf2_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8263\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>All things considered this was a pretty easy wedding. At least from the point of view of the groom\'s family.\n<a title=\"N, C and me at the church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776734850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7776734850_090c142bd8_z.jpg\" alt=\"N, C and me at the church\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nSure we hosted the rehearsal dinner at our family cabin and that took a lot of planning, sweat equity and hard work but when the actual wedding rolled around it was pretty smooth sailing.\n<a title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776948534/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7776948534_db2c985274_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe bride invited my mom, my sister and me to get our hair done for the wedding with the bridesmaids. This was great fun and meant that I didn\'t have to worry about what I\'d do with my fairly short hair. We showed up had a cup of coffee, ate some fruit and I drank a mimosa.\n<a title=\"Fruit by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776928610/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776928610_b88648d206_z.jpg\" alt=\"Fruit\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Drinks by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776924618/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7776924618_3c2b235998_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"IMG_8240 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776892752/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776892752_7707b91db9_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8240\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Make-up for the wedding by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776872270/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7776872270_3516181d9c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Make-up for the wedding\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Lip gloss by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776877218/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776877218_084b54ddd0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lip gloss\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"The salon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776860224/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7776860224_3439d6af63_z.jpg\" alt=\"The salon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776856076/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7776856076_df148cfc3f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776831840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7776831840_e2ce7214c5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776844404/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776844404_8e15918965_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThere was one funny-awkward moment when the stylist asked me what color the bridesmaids dresses were. Um, I don\'t know. Why? Well because I wasn\'t actually a bridesmaid. It\'s just that the stylist didn\'t know this and it took me a minute to catch onto the fact that she didn\'t know that I wasn\'t a bridesmaid. So I lean over to ask a bridesmaid what color the dress is. Answer: maroon with a grey sash. The stylist looks at me with big eyes and says: it\'s pretty brave of you to not have even tried on your dress before the wedding. I hope it fits. That would be pretty brave (and/or crazy) of me but as the sister of the groom I was simply doing a reading and luckily this does not require a matching dress. Needless to say, I straightened things out pretty quickly and the stylist thought I was a whole lot less crazy than she had just minutes before.\n<a title=\"My hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776919382/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7776919382_2d4cdb69c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"My hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nFrom the salon, I stopped by Coffee Perk for an iced coffee and here my sister C. and I practiced our readings for the wedding. She read a selection from Shakespeare\'s play <em>As You Like It</em> and I read e.e. cummings \"i carry your heart.\" We stopped by Macy\'s so that my sister could buy a pair of earrings to wear and then I ended up buying a pair too. Mine were originally $29 and I got them on sale for $9. Not bad. Not bad. Only I didn\'t buy mine to wear at the wedding. I just bought mine because I liked them.\n<a title=\"Me all dressed up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776765948/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7776765948_e6d45e44c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me all dressed up\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"IMG_8270 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776782178/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7776782178_6a0f37a457_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8270\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAt home, C. helped me wiggle into my dress with my hair all done up and I helped her.  I didn\'t expect to have this problem given the fact that my hair is so short but I did. Oh and I got lots of complements on my hair. So that was nice. Needless to say, I don\'t think I\'ll ever be able to recreate it at home.\n<a title=\"Mom and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776729102/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7246/7776729102_e1321bb20c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Mom, Dad and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776720346/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7776720346_a3cf9f5235_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom, Dad and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAbout 1pm we headed down to the church for photos. Again, this was really easy for me and involved me sitting around waiting until I was called for photos. I probably should have tucked my kindle into my clutch but I didn\'t think about that ahead of time.\n<a title=\"dAd by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776691652/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776691652_e39428be32_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776672992/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7776672992_c7426a8b5b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776660678/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7776660678_6091faac3c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nMy poor little brother had a harder go of things. He took photo after photo both inside the church and outside the church in the 100+ degree day. By 2pm even the back of his vest was sweaty and I felt really bad for him and really glad for me. I was very happy not to be wearing a full tux.\n<a title=\"Eating candy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776601262/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776601262_1eb9855b06_z.jpg\" alt=\"Eating candy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe service started at 4pm. There were probably 130+ people at the church. It was a really wonderful service. There were some <em>allergies</em> on the part of my brother... or maybe they were tears. Either way, it was wonderful to see N. &amp; K. so happy and so in love.\n<a title=\"Cousins by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776591502/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7776591502_94ff7ca916_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cousins\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nAfter the ceremony N. &amp; K. escaped to sign the marriage license and then headed to Laht Neppur for a beer (or two). I tagged along because I am that kind of a girl. It was great fun. The bar is pretty everyman. There are picnic tables inside the bar, everyone drinks beer and people throw peanut shells on the floor. It was a really wonderful contrast of high and low to see N. &amp; K. all dressed up in the bar drinking.\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776583850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7776583850_c7f42ed721_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776559078/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7776559078_80f80395e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776567184/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7776567184_fd7e4e5e80_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776509626/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7776509626_87432fc8d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"N and the bouquet by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776437360/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7776437360_a82fe1a1ee_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and the bouquet\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" alt=\"The floor\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nFrom there we walked down the street to the Red Monkey in the late afternoon heat. We had a cloyingly sweet shot made by K.\'s favorite bartender. K. spent a couple of minutes in the walk in cooler with strict directions not to let her dress touch the floor. The Red Monkey was just a detour on the way to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where the actual reception was taking place.\n<a title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" alt=\"The floor\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776358876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7776358876_598076a921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776316278/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7776316278_8270e1a3b3_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776310216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7776310216_e2875f2c4a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776299216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7776299216_cd66db6e8c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776286800/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7776286800_90e3fd3b72_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776246876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776246876_927fff7f1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776240268/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7776240268_ed3b983f7e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776233932/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7776233932_e7e2e1cd84_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"K with her bartender by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776227186/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776227186_059a2e5a6c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K with her bartender\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"In Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776273074/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776273074_33f0eba686_z.jpg\" alt=\"In Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe Marc as it\'s fondly called is the nicest hotel in town and the only one with a ballroom. That makes it a staple on the wedding circuit in town. While this may make it sound common and pedestrian what it really means is that the hotel knows how to host a good reception. The food was amazing, the drink service was top notch and when the waiters cleared tables they did it professionally and with very little distraction.\n<a title=\"At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776214264/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7776214264_13a792ae77_z.jpg\" alt=\"At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"N and F At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776180680/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7776180680_80214a0e4f_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and F At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"N and friend by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776161368/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7776161368_274f2bcb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and friend\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cheers! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776133594/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7776133594_0bb85acb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cheers!\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\nThe night ended with a lot of dancing. I think that I can safely say, a good time was had by all.\n<a title=\"Cake fight by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776103492/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7776103492_0d5fea3d29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake fight\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Cakee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776041962/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7776041962_702c5513f7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cakee\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cake by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776048990/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7776048990_bebd08db08_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"N and K the first dance by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775975402/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7775975402_e8c2291404_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and K the first dance\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\n<a title=\"Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775933514/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8444/7775933514_8c72fa5e81_z.jpg\" alt=\"Friends\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','A Wedding in Walla Walla  ','','inherit','open','open','','6980-revision-6','','','2012-08-14 00:45:48','2012-08-13 22:45:48','',6980,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6980-revision-6/',0,'revision','',0),(6987,1,'2012-08-14 00:52:43','2012-08-13 22:52:43','My little brother N. married K. on Saturday at the First Congregational Church in Walla Walla. So now he\'s a married man and he has a Mrs. This makes him the first kid in our family to get married. Not that he\'s a kid or that little. Nope. In fact, he\'s 28 years old and 6\'2.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8263 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776811840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7776811840_14bd27eaf2_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8263\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>This was a really wonderful day and all things considered this was also a pretty easy wedding. At least from the point of view of the groom\'s family.\r\n<a title=\"N, C and me at the church by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776734850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8421/7776734850_090c142bd8_z.jpg\" alt=\"N, C and me at the church\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nSure we hosted the rehearsal dinner at our family cabin and that took a lot of planning, sweat equity and hard work but when the actual wedding rolled around it was pretty smooth sailing.\r\n<a title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776948534/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/7776948534_db2c985274_z.jpg\" alt=\"K\'s hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776944014/\" title=\"K\'s hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7776944014_b7bced7f46_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K\'s hair\"></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776953028/\" title=\"K\'s nails by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/7776953028_ce9e272651_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"K\'s nails\"></a>\r\nThe bride invited my mom, my sister and me to get our hair done for the wedding with the bridesmaids. This was great fun and meant that I didn\'t have to worry about what I\'d do with my fairly short hair. We showed up had a cup of coffee, ate some fruit and I drank a mimosa.\r\n<a title=\"Fruit by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776928610/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776928610_b88648d206_z.jpg\" alt=\"Fruit\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Drinks by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776924618/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7776924618_3c2b235998_z.jpg\" alt=\"Drinks\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8240 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776892752/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776892752_7707b91db9_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8240\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776910976/\" title=\"Make-up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8448/7776910976_60857944be_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Make-up\"></a>\r\n<a title=\"Make-up for the wedding by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776872270/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8430/7776872270_3516181d9c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Make-up for the wedding\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Lip gloss by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776877218/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776877218_084b54ddd0_z.jpg\" alt=\"Lip gloss\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"The salon by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776860224/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7138/7776860224_3439d6af63_z.jpg\" alt=\"The salon\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776856076/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7776856076_df148cfc3f_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776831840/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7776831840_e2ce7214c5_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Hair and veil by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776844404/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8434/7776844404_8e15918965_z.jpg\" alt=\"Hair and veil\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThere was one funny-awkward moment when the stylist asked me what color the bridesmaids dresses were. Um, I don\'t know. Why? Well because I wasn\'t actually a bridesmaid. It\'s just that the stylist didn\'t know this and it took me a minute to catch onto the fact that she didn\'t know that I wasn\'t a bridesmaid. So I lean over to ask a bridesmaid what color the dress is. Answer: maroon with a grey sash. The stylist looks at me with big eyes and says: it\'s pretty brave of you to not have even tried on your dress before the wedding. I hope it fits. That would be pretty brave (and/or crazy) of me but as the sister of the groom I was simply doing a reading and luckily this does not require a matching dress. Needless to say, I straightened things out pretty quickly and the stylist thought I was a whole lot less crazy than she had just minutes before.\r\n<a title=\"My hair by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776919382/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7106/7776919382_2d4cdb69c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"My hair\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8229 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776915206/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776915206_566513f7cb_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8229\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom the salon, I stopped by Coffee Perk for an iced coffee and here my sister C. and I practiced our readings for the wedding. She read a selection from Shakespeare\'s play <em>As You Like It</em> and I read e.e. cummings \"i carry your heart.\" We stopped by Macy\'s so that my sister could buy a pair of earrings to wear and then I ended up buying a pair too. Mine were originally $29 and I got them on sale for $9. Not bad. Not bad. Only I didn\'t buy mine to wear at the wedding. I just bought mine because I liked them.\r\n<a title=\"Me all dressed up by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776765948/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8426/7776765948_e6d45e44c4_z.jpg\" alt=\"Me all dressed up\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"IMG_8270 by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776782178/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8437/7776782178_6a0f37a457_z.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_8270\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAt home, C. helped me wiggle into my dress with my hair all done up and I helped her.  I didn\'t expect to have this problem given the fact that my hair is so short but I did. Oh and I got lots of complements on my hair. So that was nice. Needless to say, I don\'t think I\'ll ever be able to recreate it at home.\r\n<a title=\"Mom and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776729102/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7246/7776729102_e1321bb20c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Mom, Dad and N by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776720346/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7776720346_a3cf9f5235_z.jpg\" alt=\"Mom, Dad and N\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAbout 1pm we headed down to the church for photos. Again, this was really easy for me and involved me sitting around waiting until I was called for photos. I probably should have tucked my kindle into my clutch but I didn\'t think about that ahead of time.\r\n<a title=\"dAd by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776691652/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7263/7776691652_e39428be32_z.jpg\" alt=\"dAd\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776672992/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7776672992_c7426a8b5b_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Dad\'s upgrade by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776660678/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8441/7776660678_6091faac3c_z.jpg\" alt=\"Dad\'s upgrade\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nMy poor little brother had a harder go of things. He took photo after photo both inside the church and outside the church in the 100+ degree day. By 2pm even the back of his vest was sweaty and I felt really bad for him and really glad for me. I was very happy not to be wearing a full tux.\r\n<a title=\"Eating candy by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776601262/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776601262_1eb9855b06_z.jpg\" alt=\"Eating candy\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe service started at 4pm. There were probably 130+ people at the church. It was a really wonderful service. There were some <em>allergies</em> on the part of my brother... or maybe they were tears. Either way, it was wonderful to see N. &amp; K. so happy and so in love.\r\n<a title=\"Cousins by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776591502/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7128/7776591502_94ff7ca916_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cousins\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nAfter the ceremony N. &amp; K. escaped to sign the marriage license and then headed to Laht Neppur for a beer (or two). I tagged along because I am that kind of a girl. It was great fun. The bar is pretty everyman. There are picnic tables inside the bar, everyone drinks beer and people throw peanut shells on the floor. It was a really wonderful contrast of high and low to see N. &amp; K. all dressed up in the bar drinking.\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776583850/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8303/7776583850_c7f42ed721_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776559078/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8148/7776559078_80f80395e6_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776567184/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7776567184_fd7e4e5e80_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"At Laht Neppur by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776509626/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8298/7776509626_87432fc8d6_z.jpg\" alt=\"At Laht Neppur\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and the bouquet by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776437360/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7776437360_a82fe1a1ee_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and the bouquet\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"The floor by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776394754/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7134/7776394754_cce778e647_z.jpg\" alt=\"The floor\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nFrom there we walked down the street to the Red Monkey in the late afternoon heat. We had a cloyingly sweet shot made by K.\'s favorite bartender. K. spent a couple of minutes in the walk in cooler with strict directions not to let her dress touch the floor. The Red Monkey was just a detour on the way to the Marcus Whitman Hotel where the actual reception was taking place.\r\n\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776358876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8300/7776358876_598076a921_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Walking to Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776316278/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8435/7776316278_8270e1a3b3_z.jpg\" alt=\"Walking to Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776310216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7776310216_e2875f2c4a_z.jpg\" alt=\"Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776299216/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7126/7776299216_cd66db6e8c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K at the bar in Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776286800/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8304/7776286800_90e3fd3b72_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776246876/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7776246876_927fff7f1d_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776240268/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7127/7776240268_ed3b983f7e_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Shots by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776233932/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7776233932_e7e2e1cd84_z.jpg\" alt=\"Shots\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"K with her bartender by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776227186/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7253/7776227186_059a2e5a6c_z.jpg\" alt=\"K with her bartender\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"In Red Monkey by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776273074/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8299/7776273074_33f0eba686_z.jpg\" alt=\"In Red Monkey\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe Marc as it\'s fondly called is the nicest hotel in town and the only one with a ballroom. That makes it a staple on the wedding circuit in town. While this may make it sound common and pedestrian what it really means is that the hotel knows how to host a good reception. The food was amazing, the drink service was top notch and when the waiters cleared tables they did it professionally and with very little distraction.\r\n<a title=\"At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776214264/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7776214264_13a792ae77_z.jpg\" alt=\"At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and F At the reception by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776180680/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7776180680_80214a0e4f_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and F At the reception\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and friend by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776161368/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8429/7776161368_274f2bcb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and friend\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cheers! by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776133594/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7776133594_0bb85acb15_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cheers!\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\nThe night ended with a lot of dancing. I think that I can safely say, a good time was had by all.\r\n<a title=\"Cake fight by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776103492/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7776103492_0d5fea3d29_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake fight\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Cakee by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776041962/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7776041962_702c5513f7_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cakee\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a><a title=\"Cake by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7776048990/\"><img src=\"http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7776048990_bebd08db08_z.jpg\" alt=\"Cake\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"N and K the first dance by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775975402/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8439/7775975402_e8c2291404_z.jpg\" alt=\"N and K the first dance\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>\r\n<a title=\"Friends by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr\" href=\"http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7775933514/\"><img src=\"http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8444/7775933514_8c72fa5e81_z.jpg\" alt=\"Friends\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" /></a>','A Wedding in Walla Walla  ','','inherit','open','open','','6980-revision-7','','','2012-08-14 00:52:43','2012-08-13 22:52:43','',6980,'http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/08/14/6980-revision-7/',0,'revision','',0),