Bulgaria, this time

We have been on holiday (again!), this time to Bulgaria.  It was a tour for the Huddersfield & Disctrict Archaeological Society, visiting sites across Bulgaria and covering a huge timescale:   from an Iron Age dolmen near Hlyabovo, and the Thracian tombs near Mezek and at  Kazanlak, via Roman towns and villas, to medieval castles and churches, 18th-19th century houses and a 20th century garden.   Here's a selection of photos.

The dolmen near Hlyabovo

The Mosaic Museum at Devnya, built over a Roman house  

The castle walls at Veliko Turnovo

The garden at Balchik

Queen Marie of Romania had a garden made for her at Balchik, on the Black Sea coast, with several little villas for herself and guests.  She liked to spend her summers there, and if I had a garden like that, so would I.  The roses were at their best when we were there, and wonderful.

An old house in traditional style on the Black Sea, at Sozopol.

The full moon over the Monument to 1300 years of Bulgarian history, built 1981, at Shumen  

And we saw some knitting - in a couple of the places we visited, there were hand-knitted lace tablecloths for sale, including several hanging on the wall of a house in the old town of Sozopol, on the Black Sea coast.   Very good value, considering the amount of work that must go into them. (Though I didn't buy one, because what would I do with a circular lace tablecloth?)

Knitted lace tablecloths at Sozopol

A lot of the sites we visited were out in the countryside, so we saw a lot of wild flowers, and butterflies.  It feels such an achievement to be able to get a good photo of a butterfly that I have included some here.

And as you can see, we had very good weather - hot and sunny, but not too hot.  It was quite a shock to come home to distinctly chilly temperatures.  (Flaming June!)  

It was a fascinating holiday.  I knew very little about Bulgaria before we went, and I've learnt a lot.  I'd like to go back and visit Sofia and the Black Sea coast again.