Sinemoretz

The Beaches are fantastic, there are two of them. Thanks to our host from Villa Philadelphia, we took a boat ride up to the King's Spring along the Veleka River, visited the border town of Rezovo (the head of the Border Police took us around!). We visited the confluence of 42N and 28E - the flowers, plants, the Strandja mountains - it was incredible. Bobi also took us up to a small village where there is two professors run a small botanical garden with thousnads of cactus, roses, oranges, lemons, bamboo, all types of poppies and more. This is a place that one does not have to worry about too much noise and street hawkers -it's a great place. Villa Philadelphia's rooms are comfortable and the terraces in front of the room is an excellent vantage point to watch birds (we even saw dolphins!), the Black Sea, sip an espresso and just plain relax. Bobi and his wife Margi helped us with day trips as well as making us feel right at home.

Quick Tips:

I found the people in the village very friendly and the restaurants having a wide assortment of food - including vegetarian!. The nearest ATM's are in Sozopol - so bring some cash along - the lev-dollar ratio is about 2 to 1.

Best Way To Get Around:

We were picked up by Bobi, the manager of Villa Philadelphia. Once in the village, one can easily walk around, many restaurants to choose from, There is bus service to Burgas from Sinemoretz as well as one is able to take the bus to area sites such as Sozopol.

Villa Philadelphia is a wonderful place to escape to. It architectural design provides you with both intimacy and privacy. In front of the Hotel is Bobby's Cafe with its patio and small waterfall. There is a terrace above the cafe as well which gives you some intimacy. In the back of the building is the hotel: six rooms total - 4 on the first floor and 2 on the second. Each room is nice sized and cozy, a modern bathroom with plenty of hot water. In front of each room is the terrace. The Terrace is completely open on the second floor with spectacular views of the Black Sea. The first floor terrace is divided into sections with lattice - giving you privacy, but also a feeling of openness. The one thing I really liked about the place is that the rooms are in the back - giving you a sense of privacy and the small garden in the courtyard adds a great touch to the place. There is a cafe and internet access on the premises with a lovely patio in the front of the building where we had our breakfasts - many flowers and plants. The beach is about a 8 minute walk from the place. The Veleka river is nearby with its many hiking trails. The hosts, Bobi and Margi, were helpful in suggesting day outings and help us post our postcards as well. Beyond being excellent hosts, they speak English and have a great sense of humour to boot!

Sinemoretska Sreshta (Sinemoretz Meeting) is a lovely restaurant near the center of Sinemoretz. The owners are kind folk - The are two parts to the restaurant - a summer garden which seats about 20 or so people with lovely grape vines and the retaurant/bar. We chose to sit outside in the garden. Bobi, the manager of Villa Philadelphia, joined us for a late lunch. He recommended the place because of the food. He was right. We were served Shopska Salad which had peppers, feta cheese, tomatoes (fantastic tomatoes I might add), and cucumbers all diced. Also some cold cuts for us all to share. Bobi said that when one eats Shopska salad in Bulgaria, one must have the Rakia - grape brandy - with it - we took him up on it. We each ordered different main courses - I had the chicken kebob with rice, Bobi had a soup called chorba (tripe soup) and my friend Patrick had chicken in a white sauce. Along with dinner a few bottles of Bulgarian wine. We all had the baklava for dessert and espresso coffee. The meal for the three of us came out to about 27 leva ($14.00 US).

When first viewing The Strandja Mountains, in the lower east side of Bulgaria, it seems as if they slowly run into the Black Sea. Green with old growth Oak trees throughout. We took a boat along the Veleka River - Captain Steven at the helm. Captain Steven is a character - didn't speak a word of English - but very talkative and very informative from what we gathered. He took us to the King's Spring - about a 90 minute boat ride up the Veleka. There we heard the continous call of the Cuckoo and many field birds. The meadows were lush green. The area has several walking paths - one of which leads to the spring - there, with cups in hand - we tasted some of the sweatest spring water ever. It was relaxing and no one around - We had a picnic lunch and after a few hours of walking - returned to Sinemoretz very satisfied with the trip! Highly recommended!!!

Old Nesebar is north of Burgas - It claims to have one of the highest concentrations of churches spanning 1200 plus years. We arrived early in the morning in order to avoid the crowds - we found the place almost to ourselves - many restaurants, shops and so forth. Our interest was walking and exploring - the range of churches were incredible - the architecture fascinating. We spent a total of two hours walking and completed the walk with a wonderful breakfast (less than 3 leva a person).