Bulgaria 2013 - Day 10 - Sunny Beach

And so the day finally arrived - the obligatory trip to Sunny Beach, the largest seaside resort in Bulgaria and only 12 minutes drive from the villa.

Anything goes and can be found here. A mixture of Great Yarmouth and Nice. Ranging from "Kiss me quick" hats ( or worse) and KFC to very sophisticated bars on the beach where you can find the girls of Ukraine cavorting playfully in the sand in their micro-thongs. That last bit should really be reserved for boys only holiday.

The 18-30 Brits, in the meantime, are down the other end of the beach getting down & grubby in a giant foam party. And yes there is catering to match. As well as KFC there is All Day English breakfasts, Kebabs, Pizza etc etc. of course the obligatory MaccyDs.

On the other hand some fantastic BBQ meats can be found that have been cooking slowly all day long.

I was volunteered to drive to this mad place in the mighty Aygo. Would you belive this thing has 4 doors? No boot mind you? Even our luggage had to go on the rear seats. When Hertz were picking their fleet for the airport why did they think this would be a good choice?

Anyway, it goes and is very easy to park. The gearbox is also very small making the choice of either 3rd or 1st gear a bit hit and miss. After Mrs CT had enquired for the fifth time "what gear are you in"? I wearily replied "T-shirt & shorts". Ooh you should have seen the look - definitely not amused!

A stop off at Lidl on the way back to stock up on beer & salty snacks and ingredients for the evenings dinner of Tomato & Mozzarella pasta & salad washed down with a forgiving little Rosé number from Aix en Provence. An episode of Midsommer Murders and an early night rounded the day off.

How rock and roll are we!! Laters xx

Bulgaria 2013 - Day 9 - Massage, Farts & Boobs

Dear Ladies

Mrs CT here. Mr T's creative juices have dried up so I'm guest-writing today, and what a day I've had!

Prior to our departure to the Black Sea resort of Aheloy Mrs Beeney highly recommended a bit of pampering at the newly opened @Vineyards Spa. A veritable menu of all types of soothing massages and beauty treatments were available, and as my good friends know I'm not adverse to a bit of pampering.

So off I went to the Spa to book. Mr Beeney had commented to Mr T that the Spa was run by a "stunning, naughty 19 year-old" (sad old git). Well she was nowhere to be seen however I was presented with a buff 20'something male. We'll call him 'Adonis' for the sake of this blog. Adonis & I discussed the treatments on offer and then from 'under-the-counter' Adonis produced an advert for an all-over body treatment involving steam rooms, salt scrub and aromatherapy massage that was not on the menu. Well, I was sold.

I arrived promptly and was taken to the steam room but a lady probably older than me - Mr B you need to have an eye test. I sat there waiting patiently in the steam room and after 10 minutes I was about to pass out. Relaxing my ..... foot! So I stepped out and from the parting mists of the steam room Adonis appeared in his trunks - baggy shorts, not speedos and said hello. I politely said hello back and which point he asked me why I was not in the steam room. "Too hot" I replied at which point he walked off. I felt a bit embarrassed for not fully embracing the treatment's agenda so nipped back into the steam room before he came back to have his swim or whatever he was preparing to do. No sooner had I sat back down Adonis entered the steam room. "Please lay on your front" he said to me. I was about to tell him steady-on, I've only just met you when I realised he was going to do my treatment - bingo :o).

I then duly made preparations to lay on my front on one of the tiled benches in the steam room and as I lowered my rubesque figure onto the bench the sealing of my flesh onto the hard, wet surface caused a humongous farty sound which sent me into a fit of giggles. Adonis did his best not to laugh and covered up his fit of giggles with some coughing - how polite, his mother must be so proud. What ensued was to be a very invigorating whilst relaxing aroma-salt scrub punctuated by farty sounds as I had to move from my front to my back. But not before I had flashed my boobs at him, very embarrassing. The thing is he had to undo my bikini top to do my back but I was struggling to do it back up before moving onto my back; you know what its like ladies. Thinking I could hold my top in place whilst covering myself up with one arm and hand I proceeded to make the move - bad idea; I was never going to cover-up those bad boys with one arm, what was I thinking?!!! I managed to lose the top and my dignity in a couple of seconds, at which point Adonis gallantly offered to lend me a hand and helped me put my top back on. This was a new one for me, but as Mr T reminded me I was old enough to be his mother, and probably the same size as her! Why do I stay with him?

The rest of the treatment passed uneventfully with a lovely all-over body massage - heaven. Then Adonis decided to warm up some pebbles and place them from my boobs, down the middle of my stomach in a line, stopping on the fou-fou. Yes, you heard me right. I feared he spent a tad too long pulling back my bikini bottoms to place the offending hot pebble onto said area. Thankfully I had had some nice topiary done before the holiday. However if I thought placing the stone was a 'long' task then the collecting of the stone some 15 minutes later was definitely drawn-out. Bad bugger.

A few adjectives to sum up my experience ..... relaxing, cleansing, surreal, fun. The best £45 I've spent in a long a time.

Laters xx

Bulgaria 2013 - Day 8 - Old Nessebar & Cocks

If you are travelling to this part of the world then a trip to Old Nessebar is a must. This delightful village set on a promontory dates back to the 6th century and since 1983 has been a designated Unesco World Heritage site.

These days it is rammed with tourists, tourists shops and fish restaurants. There are some interesting sites to be seen. Walking down a side street a cockerel was making himself heard. It took a little while to see where the noise was coming from. Turns out he lives on someones balcony!

After a couple hours of wandering around this labyrinth, Mrs CT declared it was time for refreshment. A restaurant by the sea was required for an early lunch. We have eaten at this restaurant before. Good food, reasonably priced and spectacular scenery in particular the giant fig tree that grows in the middle of the terrace.

Dishes of squid, scad (deep fried fish, twice the size of whitebait but gutted), shopska salad with a side dish of pork "Elena" (thinly sliced charcuterie), where chosen from the vast menu.

The second item on this page however, did cause some consternation if not a bout of childish sniggering!

.......and finally. The offerings from this stall are quite outstanding. I cannot quite belive the product mix. Just imagine the conversation between mother and young Alice,

"Alice, what present would you like to take home, a furry kitty, a bubble gun, perhaps a laser pen? No mummy I would like a large wooden penis!"

Bulgaria 2013 - Day 7 - Garlic Prawns & Tiffanys

We have just eaten the best plate of Chilli & Garlic Prawns anywhere on the East coast of BG. On the grapevine we heard about a "pop up" restaurant due to appear nearby. Name of Cabernet Seize, it was actually on the Vineyards complex!

Anti-pasti to start with a robust local Merlot and then the main event. A huge bowl of Black Sea prawns cooked in a moorish garlic and chilli butter with plenty of crusty french bread to mop up the juices. Chef Simone explained that the kitchen was just too small to bake bread so he preferred to buy from a local artisan bakery, L'idl. Unlimited glasses of Prossecco were on hand to sooth the passage of the evening.

The only problem with this restaurant is that it opens only once every 2 years, the Chef can be a right miserable git if not properly lubricated and most female guests will be required to spend the night in his bed. Apart from that it is thoroughly recommended! 8/10

The prawns probably came from boats like these in the small but very beautiful village of Nessebar.

Unfortunately not everything here is quaint and genuine. Hugo Boss shirts for £10, Super-dry shirts for £8 are not the bargains they appear. As for the famous New York jewellers I am not too sure these are official concessions!

Tomorrow I will show you more of the cock that we saw at the Unesco Heritage site. Laters xx

Bulgaria 2013 - Addendum - Dear Caroline

Dear Caroline

Do you remember saying that if we thought the villa needed anything then we should buy it and you would reimburse?

We went to Burgas yesterday and the Carrefour supermarket. The offer of the day was too good to miss. So we have bought a red one. Only £450!

It will come in very handy for David to nip to Lidl first thing to buy you fresh croissant that he can butter.

We will leave it in the hallway when we leave. Key in the cutlery drawer

Hope you find it useful.

Love S & Mrs CT xx

Bulgaria 2013 - Day 6 - Airport, Pool

Yet another day of doing nothing! We can certainly get used to this. Mrs CT woke up with a hangover due to participating/instigating the shots drinking at the bar with the youngsters. It was their last night but that is no excuse for Bad Auntie Sammy to join in! The following picture sums up the day. Picture of wasp due to my re-reading of my camera manual!

Picture of the car is a reminder of my trip down to the airport with Joel & Grace, the latter also hungover and annoyed with the former for travelling back to Luton in his Watford football top. Not too sure there will be many Luton fans awaiting his return!

Hopefully more news in the next entry as we are due to have a day out in Burgas. Laters xx

Joel and Mrs CT "sucking the lime".

Bulgaria 2013 - Day 5 - Chicken, Football & The Age of Consent

Weather hot, beer cold, Watford drew but won £20. Got the juniors coming around tonight for a Tommo Roast Chicken Dinner. I bet Mrs Beeney has never had something so big in her oven! Although there is no longer a 5-6 happy hour at the bar it is always a good place to come for the gossip of the day.

Talking of the pool bar, it brings me to my first opinionated rant of the holiday. One of the barmen is 24, speaks perfect English and has all sorts of metal hanging from his ears nose and lips. Despite all of this, the teenies from the UK appear to be infatuated. What worries me is that the barman probably has a very different agenda to them. He views them as "fair game" whilst they believe they are underage and he wouldn't dare try anything.

Underage in the UK you maybe. Here you are very much legal - age of consent is 14. And that is the crux of the matter. Sex anywhere in the world has to be consensual but when the age bar is lowered then holiday barmen have a much bigger field to play and attention from young girls in bikinis is welcome.

My advice, for what it is worth, before taking your daughters anywhere make them aware of the rules of engagement. Maybe then they will think twice about flirting with the staff 10 years their senior whilst still only being 24!

God help you if you are going to Spain or her islands. Age of consent is the lowest in Europe at 13.

Having said all of that, he is a bloody good barman!

Anyway, the 4pm match has just kicked off but I can only watch the first half due to aforementioned chicken. Laters xx

Too Early for Vodka

Mrs CT has lost track of time. On the Vodka & Tonic already and it's only 15:30. Bad girl!!

Bulgaria 2013 - Day 4 - Did Nothing, Football, Pizza

A very lazy day today. Got up late - it is the weekend. Went swimming and then had Lidl pizza with homemade salad for lunch. Wine and beer of course.

Mrs CT got on the Vodka and tonics early so I had nothing left to do but to retire to the pool bar to watch some Premiership football. Ended the day £30 up thanks to Arsenal and West Brom. By the end of the days play however, Mrs CT's Sun Dream Team, Courtman Crusaders are beating my Team Tommo 13. This is not good

Bulgaria 2013 - Day 3 - Lidl, Gin o'clock & Bulgarian Bulges

Well, as suggested in yesterday's entry, we ventured forth this morning to obtain supplies from the nearest supermarket, Lidl. All the usual fare that this group has to offer plus a lot more. The vegetable section was fantastic as was fresh fish. Mrs CT decided that I am to cook fresh trout on the BBQ this evening accompanied by a dill and butter sauce with a Greek Salad and Potato wedges. Doesn't want much?

Many other things were purchased including a chicken for traditional Sunday roast but most importnatly tonic water, wine and beer. No guessing what is about to happen from the next picture or even what time it is - yup Gin o'clock.

A nicely full fridge that will keep us going over the weekend. (Note the already prepared salad in the bowl by Mrs CT).

So after homemade ham salad rolls for lunch the clouds put in a brief appearance so we thought the pool bar would be a good distraction. A couple of large Cosmopolitans and beers were shared with Beeney junior and Miss Kelly. Once I managed to tear Mrs CT away from ogling the Bulgarian workers, enjoying a dip in their tight speedos, with even tighter buns and what I can only describe as frontal protuberances, we had a dip in our own pool.

You may just glimpse the top of our chariot for the next 2 weeks - the mighty Aygo. I will explain more about this tiny little dinky toy in another blog.

Only one thing of importance tomorrow - sport and lots of it - watching it with a couple of small accumulators (accas) already placed. Laters xx

Bulgaria 2013 - Day 2 - Empty Boxes & Chicken Impoosible

After a nice early night we awoke to the rays of the Bulgarian sun blasting their way into the bedroom. Up at 08:00 and downstairs to make a cup of tea for Mrs CT. Memories of where everything is kept came quite easily and a brew was quickly made. Having a look around the downstairs of the Villa it is apparent that there is enough booze to host a small party or at least keep us happy for a week. The biggest disappointment was the box with "Bollinger" written on it. It turned out to be exactly that - a box with "Bollinger" written on it.

The previous guests had kindly left a large bottle of beer in the fridge (2 litres) along with white wine, Sangria and 6 eggs. This last item also brought back memories of our trip 4 years ago, with our hosts, where boiled eggs with dippy soldiers were consumed every morning. This morning was no exception. It also brought forth the original egg timer notification of that period. Listen below if you dare!

The rest of the day was very lazy with Mrs CT having a mega siesta of 4 hours! We were joined around the pool by Joel & Grace, son of our hosts, as the ceiling of their apartment was being re-plastered after a serious leak in the property above. At least the girls got in the pool.

This is going to be one very relaxing, laid back holiday. Weather forecast is for even hotter temperatures than the last few weeks at 36c.

Tomorrow Mrs CT has decided that a trip in the mighty Aygo is necessary for a supermarket run to Lidl (its where dwarves go shopping apparently).... And then she wants me to cook Friday dinner. I might be able to cook but I am not a magician! BBQ is looking more likely.

Bulgaria 2013 - Day 1 - Queueless, Terrorists, Cosmopolitans

........and so the 2013 Summer holiday begins. No early morning flight this time but a very leisurely drive down to LTN at 09.00 to catch the 12:25 Wizzair flight to Bourgas.

I have never seen LTN so empty. Queue at checkin - zero. Queue at security - zero. Queue at the Bar - Zero. This is going far too well.

The pink and purple plane awaits with its deep aubergine interior. Far more relaxing and reassuring than that blue and lurid yellow that the Chief Pratt of aviation uses - O'Leary and his Ryanair. The documentary this week showed his usual appalling lack of dignity and empathy.

Woa! Spoke too soon about the smooth running. The skys above Czech Republic and Hungary need resurfacing. As bouncy as next door's trampoline.

The picture above serves as a reminder of the atrocity that occurred at Burgas airport, summer, last year. Six innocent people lost their lives along with one misled terrorist.

Our flight today, landed just after the daily flight from Tel Aviv, the exact flight from last year. Security is now extraordinary. When this flight lands, the airport goes into lockdown. All non Israeli passengers are directed through a separate door. Those on the Tel Aviv flight are then escorted 40 at a time to their awaiting coaches under heavily armed guard. Have a look here for more details.

Thirty minutes later, after collecting the mighty Toyota Aygo, we were at The Vineyards, some one hour earlier than I had originally estimated. Mrs CT wasted no time in getting stuck into the Cosmopolitan cocktails.

More tomorrow. Laters!

Smudge helping with the holiday packing.

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/dJliyYmVXQ/

Wildlife of Stanwick

These are a few pictures of the wildlife we spotted on our Sunday Morning 5 miler around Stanwick and the lakes. This is something we have been a bit lax with over the previous few weeks.

The Vicarage Cat

The Stanwick Lakes Heron

another big cat!

Bluetooth Earbuds with Magnetic Docking #kickstarter #fail

UPDATE......UPDATE

This project was a complete failure. The inventor/owner decided that taking his family backwards and forwards to China was the way to spend the investment money. No product ever developed or shipped.

Some Kickstarter projects turn out to be a waste of time / fantasy / fraud (please delete as you feel necessary).



And here is yet another of my +Kickstarter  investments. By now you have probably realised that they are all iPhone related!

ELROY BLUETOOTH EARBUDS

Here is the promo video

Snappgrip - another Kickstarter project

Following my blog re the Pebble Smart Watch, I though I would let you know which other  +Kickstarter  projects I have invested in but have not yet come to production.

Here is a nice one to compliment your iPhone's camera and is from a UK designer

SNAPPGRIP

Again if you want to see more information, have a look at this video.

Pebble Smart Watch (E-Paper watch for iPhone or Android)

I put my name on the waiting list for one of these 12 months ago whilst they were still under design and getting funding via Kickstarter. Just received an email telling me that my order is ready for dispatch. Woo hoo!

I will let you know if it's any good when I receive it and have played around with it for a few days.

To see more have a look at this video.

Salad Nicoise - Fresh Tuna Steak

Tonight's dinner - keeping up with my Mediterranean diet! (Only because the tuna steak was reduced from £5 to £2 in Waitrose)!

Recipe here - http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/saladenicoise_6572

Football Accumulator for 6th August (Capital One Cup)

Here is my accumulator for this evening. I know very little about football so please don't take this as any sort of recommendation or tip! It is just a bit of fun for £3

Betfair http://soccer.betfair.com/

Chicken Dhansak

Chicken Dhansak - Tonights Dinner

This delicious and popular Parsi dish can be made with chicken or lamb. You can even omit the meat altogether and go vegetarian. Dhansak is traditionally served with Brown Rice and Kachumbar salad. While it seems like a lot of ingredients at first glance, most of them are for the Dhansak masala powder. To make and store some for later just double or triple the quantities from the recipe below, prepare and store in an airtight container. Another tip - Dhansak tastes even better the next day!

Yet another selfish driver incapable of parking!

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/cqdGgZmVSg/

Remember this? Wasn"t that long ago

via Dropbox

Worrying number plate!

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/cof-61GVUx/

Selfish Car Parking. Recognise it anyone?

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/codJsRmVRf/