My Amsterdam To Do List for September

It has been 5 full days since I have not left my house (and I do not count the 20 seconds necessary for throwing my trash out yesterday evening). I have been mainly bed-bound, since I have contracted the chicken pox. Most people have this illness when they are in kindergarden or elementary school. The few others, people like me, have managed to successfully dodge it. At least until last weekend, when I most likely contracted it when I was doing some volunteer work at a farm for kids. My friend made a good comment about this "That's some weird karma right there". I must agree.

Anyways, since I am feeling much better now, I started thinking of all the things I can be doing out in Amsterdam, once I can actually get out of my house without being a health hazard to my surroundings.

So here is are some things that are on my list:

1. The Stedelijk Museum
I have been waiting for this for so long! The museum has been closed for ever, and not even the interns there knew when exactly it would be opening. I wish my friend Gala would be here, with whom we have discussed this museum countless times.

Read more about the reopening here.

2. Unseen Photo fair
First time I heard about this was around a month ago from a German friend of mine. I was immediately intrigued, and put a mental marker on it. In the last 2 weeks I constantly see posts related to it in my Facebook feed. All of my friends in Amsterdam seem to be going nuts about it. So there is only one this left to do - Go see it myself.

For more info check out the website here.

3. The Begijnhof
The last time I was here was probably one of the first times I visited Amsterdam. I would definitely describe it as the secret garden hidden in the most busy touristic area of the city. Right next to the busy Kalverstraat and the Dam square, you can find this beautiful, tranquil, and somehow magical garden. This time I am gonna go see it as a resident of Amsterdam.

Check out the website here

Finally, here is one for wishful thinking - Inside Design, which was features in ELLE Decoration.
I was really hoping I could go see this one, but my chicken pox did not agree. In case I would look better on Sunday, I would love to catch the last day. But the realist in me, knows that it is probably something for next time.

When in St. Vlas...

Every summer when I come to Bulgaria, I decide to jump into the car with some of my friends and spend a weekend in Sunny Beach and party like it is our high school grad trip again. Alternatively, we go to St. Vlas, in Bulgaria known as Sveti Vlas. I would say that St. Vlas is about 2 km north from Sunny Beach, but in the past years they have practically merged.

Sveti Vlas is a very bizarre place. 

When you are passing the alcohol drenched, mostly teenage, tourists in Sunny Beach, luxury is the last concept that comes to your mind. As a tourist you also do not expect that only 2 km up the coast from the Bulgarian centre of debauchery, you can find the Saint Tropez, or the Orange County, if you will, of Bulgaria (these terms were also mentioned by some of my friends who came to visit me in Bulgaria). Rather than being flabbergasted by the group of Dutch or Scottish drunks who are trying to charm you after being thrown out of a cab in front of their hotel at 4:30 a.m., you will be amazed by the astonishing amounts of men in their 40ties dressed in expensive clothes getting out of their Bentleys and Maybachs in the company of not-so-natural blondes who are struggling to walk in their sky-high heels and tight mini dresses.

My name is...

Sveti Vlas (Bulgarian for Saint Vlas) is a rather small city, some would call it a village even, but officially since February 2006 it is listed as a city. It's history starts around the second century AD, and is called by the Greeks Larissa.
The village, now city, retained its Greek name up until the 14th century, when it was renamed Sveti Vlas (Bulgarian for Saint Vlas), as it is known until today.
It is documented that in the 14th century there were five monasteries in the area. The four male monasteries were St. Peter (Св. Петър), St. Ilija (Св. Илия), St. Andrei (Св. Андрей), and St. Vlas (Св. Влас), and the fifth was a female one named St. Ana ().
Therefore, when Bulgaria was under the Ottoman Empire it was registered as Manastir (Turkish for monastery).

View onto the marina and the Nesebar Bay from the residential complex Manastira, which means monastery in Bulgarian

Population then...

Since its establishment the population of St. Vlas was mainly Greek. After 1920 most of the Greek population migrated as part of the Greek-Turkish exchange. In the years after many Bulgarian families from Greece found their new homes in St. Vlas. Being at the feet of the mountain and on the seacoast, its excellent climate started attracting more and more people to the cozy village.

...and now

The city is a beloved place of many Russians who have purchased summer homes in St. Vlas, and soon might outnumber the Bulgarian population. The secret garden of Nesebar however, has not remained so secret, and has also been discovered by many Scots and Scandinavians.

St. Vlas is also known as a prominent summer destination among Bulgarian celebrities, who adore the beautiful marina. And why shouldn't they? I myself find it also very pretty. As a matter of fact, I also find it quite impressive. The marina of St. Vlas, also known as Marina Dinevi, is probably the biggest one on the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.
Besides offering a perfect place to find a parking spot for your beloved vehicle (yes, vehicle, because I do not only mean yachts), it hosts a couple of very delicious restaurants and a night club. The marina forms a part of the Dinevi Resort, which is named after the two brothers who built it. They have managed to cultivate the wild beaches and rocks of St. Vlas, and create what I would dare to call one of the most prominent and luxurious vacation spots in Bulgaria.

Sunset at the marina with Carole and Elena

Photo moment in the Marina Dinevi in St. Vlas with Deni and Elena in her chili peppers dress

Vamos a la playa!

Saint Vlas has many small beaches, all of them look in the south direction. Next to the marina, also forming a part of the Dinevi complex, is the Venid beach, which has been extended from its natural approximately 5 meters into a big beach full of umbrellas with sun-beds, volleyball courts, and beach bar and restaurants. During our stay here, we visited the beach bar La Playa. We liked it so much that we spent there four hours sipping on various summery cocktails from the menu.

Strawberry cocktail and an exotic lemonade to start with...while enjoying the beach

A little champagne - blue curacao - gin cokctail....it was quite intriguing, so resisting was pointless

La Playa - definitely a place worth the buzz

xxx
A.

Hello Bulgaria

After a couple of hours packing on Friday evening, a late night on one of Amsterdam's beautiful canals, and an almost 3 hour flight yesterday morning, I have arrived to Bulgaria.

Tomorrow I will be going to the seaside, which I am obviously excited about.
Besides enjoying the beach, nice food, and cocktails, I am finally going to be able to wear my summer clothes which have been impatiently waiting in my closet to be taken out and admired.

Packing, however, is always a tricky business. I am not a fan of traveling with a lot of luggage, so I get annoyed if my stuff does not fit in one suitcase.

I usually travel with a soft Samsonite suitcase that can be also carried as a backpack. It is ideal for any type of vacation, as you can take it as hand luggage, but is is also big enough to be filled with all your vacation purchases, and be checked in on your way back.

This time, however, it did not take too long for me to realize that I cannot fit everything in that suitcase. I wanted to take as many pretty summer clothes with me as I could...

Tough decision on which ones to take

And now all of it must fit into the suitcase

xx A.