Rila Monastery

I recently had the opportunity to take a first-time visitor to Bulgaria to the Rila Monastery, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It's so fun to watch as the car goes higher and higher into the mountains and the visitor anticipates what it will be like, and then, well, there you are and it's so much better than could be imagined.

This is the view from halfway up the mountain road.


This particular visit was on a crisp, clear day and it was chilly, but not unpleasantly so. The museum has just been renovated and is beautifully arranged and labelled. It's also warm and the displays are all climate controlled. (Unlike the old days when it was damp and cold!)My guest especially liked Hrelyu's Tower, which is the oldest part of the Monastery complex.

















And here are some classic photos of the monastery grounds.

Past time and things to come!

Yes, it has been ages since I've written anything. Alas, life happens. I had the flu and then loads of work to make up when I got back to the office. No whining, though! I feel much better and I'm getting some things accomplished at last. I've got to take pictures, but I've finished a couple of small embroidery projects and two more are coming along nicely. I'll try and post those tomorrow.

More importantly, Blagoevgrad is starting to shows signs of the season. Shops are setting up seasonal displays and Christmas trees and the city is stringing lights along the main streets. Something new is the ice rink that's being built on the central plaza between City Hall and the movie theater. That's going to really add to the Christmas spirit, especially when the Christmas Village goes up!

Not a sign of the season, but just a change, is the addition of a traffic circle to Blvd. Cyril & Methodius. People are pretty confused by that one! There's a second one just one block north of the first one (on the way to the hospital). Watching ambulances whiz around them is pretty scary, honestly!

Happy Halloween!

In the spirit of the season, I carved my Jack o'Lantern today and here he is,




along with some chrysanthemums in the garden,



and my super-duper frogwitch windsock. (It's from Cracker Barrel. Need I say more?)


The windsock baffles my poor neighbors even more than the carved pumpkin. Oh well, they should be used to my American eccentricities after all these years!

Nom!

The weatherman says there is the chance of snow tonight (on Halloween, no less!), so I did a walk-n-shop this morning so I can just stay in for the rest of the weekend. Got all the ingredients for beef stew, a crusty loaf of warm bread from the neighborhood bakery, loads of fruit and fall veggies, chestnuts to roast, and the best treat of all. Our local potato chip manufacturer (Chipi) has recently come out with "homestyle" chips and my favorite is now the seasoned salt variety. Imagine kettle chips seasoned with smoked sea salt, black pepper, and chubritsa. Nom!!!

The stew is on, a pumpkin is baking and my house smells great. I kind of hope it does snow!

This time last year

I had just returned home from London after attending my son's graduation from Imperial College and the Feast of St. Crispin with Thamesreach. There was no graduation this year (I have to wait a year or so for the next one) and no time for celebration, thanks to our Board Meeting, but at least I kept in touch with my inner Englishwoman by reading this.

Autumn changes

It's fall break and the students are all off having fun. Now that the Board of Trustees have all departed, I may get some fun time too and do some sewing!

I walked home from the last Board meeting today (yes, on Sunday) and just marvelled at the changes in town. It's cool and crisp and the leaves are all sorts of colors. The big intersection by the University has suddenly become a traffic circle and is much easier to cross now. I guess the EU funds must be coming in again! Daylight Saving Time ended in Europe last night, so I even got an extra hour of sleep. Good thing, because I really needed it.

Icons

These are definitely my focus for this semester. The class on iconography is going well and I feel as though I'm learning lots. Tonight there was also a lecture by a Byzantine historian from Oxford, Clemena Antonova, on "Space, Time, and Presence in the Icon: Seeing the World With the Eyes of God". It was also very interesting and played to a full house. Guess I'm not the only one interested in such arcane matters! Professor Antonova focussed on several icons, including Rublev's Trinity. It's nice to be able to attend lectures which are not work-related!