I can safely say that I am a faithful traveler. Faithful to my favorite destinations. Which destinations are few. Here comes the problem, few destinations about which I want to write a lot. I want to write a lot because I liked them. The problem is that because of this I will repeat myself, still trying to bring something new from my journey.
I am a faithful traveler, in three consecutive years, I have been in only one place, the island of Thassos in Greece. I liked it so much that I decided to go to Thassos every year, as much as I could move. The pandemic made it difficult to travel to Greece and then we switched to the reserve option, Balchik in Bulgaria.
Much easier to get there, being much closer to my house. Last year I was in Balchik three times and this year I was once and I am preparing to go again at the beginning of September. I think you can see why I say I'm a faithful traveler.
A short walk through Balchik, less walking and more searching.
I think some more explanations are needed. I am no longer young, strength and curiosity are no longer my main qualities. Now I prefer peace and relaxation. It seems easier to go to places already known than to look to discover new places. On the other hand, my wife and I love to go on vacation to places where we feel like visiting friends or relatives. This can only happen in places where we have been several times and we have had time to establish relationships.
Our greatest joy is in the summer when we can get in the car and start on the road to the sea. A road we have made for decades, first in Romania, our country, and then further south, crossing the border into Bulgaria.
We were sent to Balchik by some painter friends, who went there to paint. Balchik was a place of Romanian artists in the period between the two world wars. At that time this region, Dobrogea in Romanian or Dobrich in Bulgaria, belonged to the kingdom of Romania. Queen Maria of Romania, the most important, well-known, and charismatic queen that Romania had, built her summer residence in Balchik. A small castle and a large garden are now the main tourist attractions of the city.
The most important Romanian painters painted in Balchik in the last century. Many still go there to paint there, because of the special light, because of the white limestone hills, which bore the name of the silver coast. So, our painter friends, the Daradici family recommended this place for our vacation. We are grateful for that.
Some images from a catalog with contemporary Romanian painters who painted in Bulgaria, a small tribute I pay to Constantin Daradici, who died a few years ago.
I think you noticed in the first photo the three flags in the middle of the resort. In the middle is the flag of Bulgaria, the country where Balchik is now, the first flag is of Russia, I think because Russian tourists spend the most money here and the last flag is that of Romania because Romanians are the most numerous tourists. This is because of Queen Maria's castle but also because here the prices are lower and the services are better than on the Romanian coast.
There are not many beaches in Balchik, the sea ends abruptly in small dams formed by stones. Because of this, this resort is sought after by people like me, less interested in the beach and water sports but passionate about walking, historical sites, and relaxation.
Because there are many beach lovers, some have been arranged close to the queen's castle, only that these beaches do not go directly into the sea, an alley dedicated to walking separates the beach from the sea. A small inconvenience that is ignored by most tourists. The sea is beautiful, the color of the water is sometimes green and it is a pleasure to look at it.
Other times the sea borrows the color of the sky and the effect is even more attractive.
The tourist resorts, besides all those related to the main purpose, ie hotels, restaurants have something else. A very attractive area for women, especially. Shopping area! Dozens of small shops and even stalls line the main promenade road so that even the shortest trip will bring you in front of something to buy. After every short vacation, when I want to make a calculation of expenses, I discover that most of the money went on all kinds of small objects that, most of the time, I really didn't need.
The promenade is always crowded, tourists are everywhere, looking for pleasure. A choice, in those hot days, is beer. Simple! This is usually the choice of men, but it is not exclusive.
With women, things always get complicated, no purchase is satisfactory if it doesn't take long if all the possibilities are not exhausted if they don't look everywhere ... Even if sometimes they find the door closed.
A closed-door is far too little to quench their thirst for shopping. There are a hundred places where money can be spent ...
Less money.
Average money.
A lot of money.
I don't know how it is with others, but in my family, it always happens like this during the holidays. The pleasure of looking for and buying souvenirs, gifts, and household items is an intrinsic part of the pleasure of the holiday. Without this opportunity to buy the joy would be less, the holiday would be boring.
Now I have to admit that there are items that are worth buying. Traditional objects specific to the country where you travel. decorative objects that take place in your home. A very small gallery in the garden of Queen Mary's Castle is worth all the money. I really liked looking at the objects, the buyers but also the seller.
This is vacation. It offers everything ... for everyone!
The holiday must be special, it must be different than when you are at home. We have to forget about work, we have to forget about worries.
A pleasant way to do this in Balchik is laziness. The terraces by the sea are pleasant and do not let you go. The pleasure of waiting for food with a pint of cold beer.
The food, the Bulgarian food is very tasty. The food is specific to the seaside areas, simple and tasty. Always lunchtime, my favorite time. Bulgarian food is tasty and plentiful.
I wanted to show you something else about a vacation at the sea. Not only sea, sand, and sun. This is not an authentic travel blog. It's just a vacation memory, a vacation in my style, which may resemble some but may be totally different from others. For this reason, I believe that it should have been written, some to find themselves and others, perhaps, to try something else.
The wind changed, it changed direction. The flags changed position.
Now the first is Romania's. Bulgaria is still in the middle, it is natural to be like that. Third...
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