Bringing Ivan Home - Day 10 - US Embassy Day

On Monday morning we moved from our apartment to a suite at the Best Western Thracia.  It was only about a block and half away, so we were able walk over there.  Jason made one trip alone and then we all made the second trip together.  The two-room suite was nice. The sofa turned into a bed for Nikolas and we requested a pack-n-play for Ivan.  It took a while for the boys to realize that they could run around and scream like they did at the apartment.

We got settled and Jason ran out to pick up some lunch.  We sure missed having a kitchen table, but it was still easier to eat in the hotel room than to take everyone out to a restaurant.

After lunch we met Mariana for our visit to the US Embassy.  When we arrived at the embassy we were informed that the visa system was down, but they were going to try alternate ways to process Ivan's visa. About 90 minutes later while we were filling out the paperwork by hand, it all of a sudden came back up. We had a quick interview and Ivan's visa was approved.

We took a taxi back to the city and center and did a little shopping before returning to our hotel.  We relaxed for a bit and went over to Pizza Palace for dinner.  Ivan loved the spaghetti with pesto.  We followed up dinner with some gelato before picking up some drinks and fruit at the grocery store and returning to our hotel.  It had been a long day and we were all tired.  We were all asleep by 10:00pm.

Bringing Ivan Home - Day 9

A friend had shared with us that not only does Raffy have good dinner and gelato, but they also served a nice breakfast.  Since Sunday was our last day before moving to our hotel that offered free breakfast, we decided to give it a try.  Vitosha Blvd. was very peaceful at that time on a Sunday morning.  Only a few people were out.  It was very relaxing. 

The server brought us the English menu, but it was the lunch/dinner menu and didn't include any breakfast items.  We asked her if they had a breakfast menu and she brought a small menu in Bulgarian that included four choices.  They did not have a breakfast menu in English and she could not translate, so we took a chance and chose two of the four items on the list for our family.  We had no idea what would show up at our table, but everything else we had ever ordered from Raffy had been good, so we hoped this would be good, too.  We ended up with a breakfast platter for two that included eggs, sausages, a small salad, and french fries with mayo and a traditional Bulgarian breakfast with cucumbers, tomatoes, sliced meats and cheeses, and some tasty chocolate chip bread. It was all very good and there was plenty there for all four of us.  

After breakfast we walked over to the grocery store to pick up a few items.  It had been very hot outside, so we tried to do most of our outdoor activities either earlier in the morning or in the evening.  We finished our shopping and went back to the apartment to rest for a bit. Jason ran out and picked up a quick lunch for us.  Later in the afternoon we were able to Skype with our church family during their morning worship service.  It was nice to have a little contact with our friends back home and to let them know how our trip was going.  

After the Skype session we walked over to Wok to Walk for some Chinese food.  Wok to Walk is a little stir fry restaurant on Vitosha Blvd. where you choose your rice/noodles, meat, veggies and sauce. The portions are generous.  Two meals was plenty for all four of us. Nikolas really liked eating there and had been asking to go back for several days.  The first time we went Ivan didn't want anything to do with it, but this time he happily ate lots of chicken and rice.  Our family really enjoys Chinese food, so we were hoping that he'd come around.     

And as normal, after dinner we met Ben and Heather for our nightly gelato. Bulgarian gelato is so good.  They have lots of different flavors and it doesn't cost much at all.  We could get four dishes with one scoop each for about $5 total.  Sometimes we even splurged and got two scoops!  (Since being home I have attempted to satisfy my gelato cravings with store-bought gelato.  Sadly, it's not even close to the same.)  Families who are traveling to pick up their children should definitely check out the gelato shops!

After our snack we headed back to the apartment and got the boys to bed so we could get things packed up and ready to move to the hotel the following morning.

Bringing Ivan Home - Day 8 - More Souvenir Shopping

After breakfast on Saturday morning we decided to walk over to our favorite souvenir shop.  We have been to this shop on several previous visits to Sofia and have always been very happy with it. They have a wonderful selection and the staff is very nice.  For anyone traveling to Sofia who is looking for a great souvenir shop, check this one out.  It's located in the Serdika metro station.  If you go in the entrance next to the St. Nedelya Church, go down the stairs and make a couple of turns until you get to the corner.  There are lots of souvenir shops in this area, but this one is our favorite by far.


We were able to pick up St. Nicholas and St. Ivan artwork, traditional costume tops for each boy, jogging suits for each boy, some rose products, a Bulgaria t-shirt for Ivan, a set of matryoshka dolls and a few other items.  Since this was our last trip to Bulgaria for a while (not planning another visit until we take the boys back for a visit when they are teenagers!), we bought a few more souvenirs than normal.

After the shopping trip Jason stopped by Raffy to pick up a pizza for lunch.  The pizza there was very inexpensive (around $5) and was plenty for all four of us.  The pizza and a bottle of Coke was a great lunch!

We had an early dinner and then got the boys in bed at a decent time.  We had been staying up way too late every night so everyone was tired.  After the boys were asleep Jason walked back over to Raffy to pick up a couple of their amazing desserts.  He said it was very busy on Vitosha Blvd. at that time on a Saturday night.  We enjoyed our strawberry pie and peach cheesecake before crashing for the night.

Bringing Ivan Home - Day 7 - Sightseeing and Shopping

On Friday we spent the morning at the apartment catching up on laundry and relaxing.  We heated up some leftover pizza from Raffy for lunch and then decided to do some sight-seeing and shopping. We met up with Ben and Heather and walked to the St. Nedelya Church and Presidential Palace.  We also visited the White Stork gift shop since so many adoptive families speak so highly of it.  We had searched for this specific gift shop on several previous visits to Sofia and had never been able to find it.  We finally found it, and honestly, I wasn't very impressed.  It was small, hot, and the employee wasn't very friendly. We picked up a few souvenirs there and headed back towards Vitosha.  Here are a few pictures from our sightseeing adventure:

We stopped for a few groceries before making our way back to the apartment. We visited several grocery stores, but this grocery store seemed to have the best selection.  (For any families who are staying near Vitosha, it's located at 2 Solunska Street.)   Our normal shopping trips included a variety of juice, yogurt, soda, cereal, milk, fresh fruit and snacks.  They had everything we needed.  Ivan fell asleep in the stroller on the way back and was not interested in napping when we returned to the apartment, but Nikolas rested for a bit until it was time to leave again.

We had an early dinner before meeting up with Ben and Heather for gelato.  After our snack we walked to the end of Vitosha Blvd. near the National Palace of Culture.  Being Friday evening there were a lot of people out.  Nikolas really enjoyed the many street performers.  We loved having dinner outside and then walking along Vitosha Blvd. in the evenings.  After a while it began to feel very normal to us.  It was so relaxing!    

Bringing Ivan Home - Day 6

After breakfast we met Mariana from our NGO near our apartment and then walked a few blocks to meet the Greene family so we could take care of the kids' medical appointments.  We caught taxis at the city center and rode to the medical center.  The kids are required to have TB tests as part of the checkup, so we had that done first.  We then went back upstairs and waited at least 30 minutes for the doctor to return.  The kids played with toys in a room that was very hot while we waited.  The appointments were quick and easy.

We took a taxi back to the main intersection near our apartment.  It was early afternoon by this point, so we ran over to Burger King to pick up a quick lunch.  We took it back to our apartment and enjoyed it there.  It was so nice having an apartment with a kitchen table!

After lunch the boys both napped for a while and we had a chance to relax for a bit.  Later we took a short walk around Vitosha Blvd. before meeting up with Ben and Heather for dinner.  We decided to try Raffy for dinner and were so glad we did.  It ended up becoming our favorite restaurant in the area.  The menu is huge and the prices are great.  They also have amazing desserts!!  If you are an adoptive family staying in Sofia, you need to try this restaurant.

After dinner we stopped by the grocery store for a few items and then headed back to our apartment for the evening.