Sofia, Bulgaria
Sofia is a quiet city compared to most capitals. It has a very homey feeling in the air. Our first day was filled with markets and churches. My favorite was an outdoor market. The building structures were permanent, but it was full of things for sale that you would actually need like flowers, fruits, nuts and clothes. Fierce followed the pigeons around until he spotted two little boys riding a bike and a scooter. He followed them for quite some time as they raced this way and that. I think he wished he was bigger so he could play too. There was an indoor two story market very similar to the one in Budapest. This has your fish, pastries, sausages and a few stalls for the arts and crafts. Fierce liked the stairs and the elevator which he calls "Down." Oh, and the fountain...He would have liked to go IN the fountain.We walked by a very large Jewish Temple, found a little t-shirt with a dinosaur on it for Fierce and arrived at the Church of Sveta Nedelya in the center of the city. I thought Fierce would like lighting a candle. Well, I am not up to date on Catholic practices and was told I lit my candle in the wrong place...sorry! Then Fierce was more interested in blowing the candles out...nightmare! We re-lit the candles and skit-dat-dled out of there!
Day 2 and we were both ready to explore. We passed by the Russian Church after trying out the Natural History Museum. The museum was a hit in that there was painting for kids and big animals, rocks, etc. Everything is behind glass so it feels a bit sterile and smelled of formaldehyde. Fierce was not in the best of moods, so we didn't stay long.Next, we went to a little ark where Fierce made frinds with a six year old girl who let him play with her scooter. After a while she had to leave, but another lady let us know that the coffee shot/ bar had some more and he got to play with a car. Later, Fierce cried when I tried to go into the Aleksandur Nevski Memorial Church so because I knew he was tired I thought we could look at the antique flea market until he fell asleep. Instead, he was super cute and put on a show for all the people selling their wares. Across the street was the oldest church in the city and below it is an archaelogical site that you can go down into.l I told Fierce it was a fort and, therefore, he didn't put up much of a fuss having to leave the great outdoors...win! After this, I did go see the main church and it was gorgeous...wow! We grabbed lunch at a near-by restaurant. I asked what was a Bulgarian dish and was informed that it was a French/Italian restaurant...oops! Oh well, we were hungry. We went to a park dedicated to the Soviet Union era next where Fierce finally fell asleep. From there I walked through an outdoor book market and thought my sister-in-law, Sara, would have loved it even if the books were not in English :) Fierce woke up soon after so we stopped at a play place and I got some really great smiling pics out of him. He is getting so good at climbing and using the equipment, it is really cute to see him improve and get excited of his accomplishment.
Traveling with a Toddler Tip:Most airports have some sort of kids play area, so don't forget to ask where it is at the information desk. This is a stress free way to entertain your kiddo while you wait for the baggage drop counter to open up.
