Stara Zagora

I’m back home in Bulgaria for a week. My first stop is Stara Zagora, to visit my grandma. Her apartment is on the top floor of this big communist-era apartment block, with a view of the city that I’ve always found particularly charming. Very good building to tree ratio.

I’ve been here countless times since I was little. The apartment was recently remodeled, but my favorite details are still the same – the geraniums on the balcony, the big stereo, the calls of the doves nesting outside.

(the box of chocolates I brought from Japan is new)

In the early afternoon we go on a walk around the neighborhood. Bulgarian cities tend to be quite grey and yellowish, so I’m curious how the camera will perform.

On the bottom right is a white cat that kept following us for a bit.

I had forgotten just how common these coffee vending machines are. And somehow they always have images of ladies drinking espresso on the side.

This banana tree is a bit of an oddity. My uncle tells me that the climate in Stara Zagora has gotten warm enough where in recent years people have started attempting to grow bananas in their yards. In the winter they cover them with a big plastic bag to prevent them from freezing.