Bulgaria days 6-7

Since I think my day counts are off, I'll be switching to just days of the week! Last night (Saturday), was daylight savings time here in Bulgaria. Hard to believe we have lost 2 hours in the last 3 weeks, not even counting the time zones we've crossed recently. So, Grandma, you are now 9 hours behind us!! Yesterday, David had his all day teacher seminar. There were about 30 teachers in his class. The boys and I, as always, walked to the park. This actually takes quite a bit of time as Abraham likes to sit and look for rocks along the way. It helps me kill time in the morning for a few hours!! The weather was GORGEOUS yesterday, probably close to 70 and very sunny. Once we got down to the river though, the wind really picked up.

We tried to come home for lunch and nap time, but only one of those things happened. Abers will finally eat some food.. PB&J, raisins, these things called bagel toasts found here in Bulgaria, and fruit leather. He is just not so much of an adventurous eater. I think we are probably keeping the dairies in business with the amount of milk he's drinking!! After a failed nap of which he kicked his brother so that his eyes would open, it was time to get up. He knows that nap time is over once Solly gets up...the little stinker!! We joined David and some of the teachers for coffee and cigarettes after the conference. It is amazing to me the amount of people that smoke and the number of cigarettes they enjoy. Shocking, really. It makes it hard to go out to eat as smoking is allowed inside. We are so spoiled by all of the no smoking laws that are actually enforced in the states!!!

On Sunday, we traveled outside of town about 16 kilometers to a beautiful monastery and estuary. The lake is closed off to boat traffic and fishing. It is the place for migratory birds from Africa and some other places. While the day was a bit cloudy, it was a nice walk outside. We watched a pelican dive and enjoyed the peaceful sounds of the birds. There was no noise from planes, trains, or cars. Once back to town, we again, enjoyed coffee with our hosts. This is a culture of coffee.
Coffee yesterday in the center. There are numerous cafes here that have outdoor seating. Each cafe's seating is designated by the color of chairs. The 3 ladies in the back are Bulgarian English teachers. The one to closest to me is the mom that took me out the other day. The other two are American Peace Corps volunteers. We joined them for Chinese after coffee yesterday.
Beautiful mural inside a monastery we visited today. It was repainted by a bunch of college students around 1996.
Magi (left) is a French teacher at the school and Vesi (on the right) is our host.
Abers was AMAZED to see and hear a rooster crowing. He loved this!! Plus, there were a ton of chickens pecking and scratching the ground. He kept wanting baby to see.
The house at the monastery where the 1 nun lives.
Abraham met a little friend at a park. This guy is from France, on one year of travels with his family.
The preserve.
Our "family" shot. Not that you can see the boys very well, but at least it is all of us!
A sign that tells of the different birds, plants, and such found at the preserve.
Abers playing in a sitting area.

Tonight we get to go see Vesi's flat and have dinner with her family. We are excited for a home cooked meal and to see what the inside of the buildings look like. Hard to believe we have been here a week, with one more to go. Both boys are doing well. I think Abraham is missing home though. We asked him what he dreamt about the other night and he answered Oma, Labala (Toiyabe, giraffe and monkey monkey. I guess we all went to the zoo with him. Poor kid, just wants all of his favorite things.