On Saturday morning, I got up bright and early to drive to Skopje, Macedonia with some friends. We rented a car and decided to explore the country. Macedonia is really the perfect destination for a long weekend. In this case, a four day weekend.

<a title="The flag in the wind by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7136159971/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7081/7136159971_6f279221a1_z.jpg" alt="The flag in the wind" width="640" height="427" /></a>The thing about Macedonia is that it's kind of like Bulgaria but not. The kind of speak the language but not (hi there: sirenje and rakija). The country kind of looks like Bulgaria but not. The sidewalks are kind of like Sofia's but not. And to really confuse matters you can also get shopska salad and french fries with cheese in Macedonia.

We left Sofia about 9am, spent an hour at the boarder and then we were in Skopje by early afternoon. It's not a very long drive nor is it very difficult. Sure the roads in a few places aren't great but we're in the Balkans after all. Once in Skopje we spent a little bit of time driving around the city lost-ish and looking for our hotel but these things are to be expected in a new city.<!--more-->
<a title="Skopje by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7136145197/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7085/7136145197_4ff8caa4ee_z.jpg" alt="Skopje" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Walking the streets of Skopje by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7136158347/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7136158347_fd417a3814_z.jpg" alt="Walking the streets of Skopje" width="640" height="427" /></a>
The weather this past weekend throughout the Balkans was wonderful. Skopje was amazing. The sun was shinning and it was hot out. I'd been wearing jeans and a t-shirt in the car but once in Skopje I decided that I could no longer wear jeans and that I had to wear the single dress that I'd packed. It was hot. I also spread on a layer of sunscreen and dug out my sunglasses. These things are important when you are as white as I am and you've spent most of winter covered up.
<a title="In front of the fountain by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7136158923/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8151/7136158923_8f0cddcea1_z.jpg" alt="In front of the fountain" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Alexandar the Great and the fountain by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7136159341/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7186/7136159341_6aae96532b_z.jpg" alt="Alexandar the Great and the fountain" width="640" height="427" /></a>
Skopje is a wonderful city to wander around in. We walked down Makedonija Street towards Ploshtad Makedonija where there is a giant new fountain/statue combo in the middle of the city square. According to one taxi driver, the new addition cost 12 million Euro. It's a pretty serious fountain.

It might, just might, be a little over the top. There's a lot happening: a statue at the top, lions around the base, fierce men around the column with weapons and plenty of water features. The Macedonians know how to build a fountain that's for sure.
<a title="Skopje's new fountain by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7136153017/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7107/7136153017_c9ed88d632_z.jpg" alt="Skopje's new fountain" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Amigos Mexican food by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6990073244/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7074/6990073244_8effdae4a0_z.jpg" alt="Amigos Mexican food" width="640" height="427" /></a>
But before we actually got to Ploshtad Makedonija we stopped at Amigos the Mexican restaurant for lunch and a beer. Yep, for anyone following along at home--Skopje has their own Mexican restaurant but Sofia does not.

So like all good expats we hit up the Mexican restaurant. Then like all good expats we debated the various merits of the food and then found ourselves wondering if our standards were falling the more time we spent out of the States or if the Mexican food in Skopje was actually pretty decent. We decided it was the second.
<a title="Mexican food for lunch by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7136155807/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7136155807_2fe117c5a7_z.jpg" alt="Mexican food for lunch" width="640" height="427" /></a>
This lead to us daydreaming about a Mexican restaurant in Sofia. From here we let our imaginations run wild with visions of corn tortillas and dreams of winning the <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/05/01/cinco-de-mayo-is-in-5-days/" target="_blank">upcoming nacho competition</a>. Yes, I've been thinking a lot about Tex-Mex recently. I am not sure what this says about me but I do know what the first meal is that I want to eat upon returning to the States: taco truck.
<a title="Mosque in the old town by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7136146841/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7136146841_d36831fe94_z.jpg" alt="Mosque in the old town" width="640" height="427" /></a>
After lunch we wandered some more. Emphasis on wandering. Slowly.

We took pictures with the new fountain. We took pictures on the Stone Bridge. We popped into a church Sevit Dimitrija and took pitcutres of Daud Pasha Baths--which apparently used to be one of the Balkans largest Turkish bath. We zig-zagged through the old town and after an hour or two found a nice place outside to settle in for an afternoon beer.
<a title="Exploring old town by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/6990059630/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7131/6990059630_0869a54236_z.jpg" alt="Exploring old town" width="640" height="427" /></a>
<a title="Stone bridge by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7136142053/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7269/7136142053_3ffb689885_z.jpg" alt="Stone bridge" width="640" height="427" /></a>
This afternoon beer lead us back to the hotel for a serious nap before dinner and that's what great about being on holiday. You can take a nap whenever you want. And you know what? We took serious advantage of this rule because really there's no point in going on holiday if you can relax when you want to.
<a title="Fort by karolinka.sofia, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29050866@N06/7136148799/"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7248/7136148799_5e72a9612e_z.jpg" alt="Fort" width="640" height="427" /></a>