Here We Come!

Well, it's finally time.  Tomorrow we start the long trek to bring this cutie home.  Please continue to pray for us.  I still hate to fly.  Pray for her, she's fixing to go through more change than I can really fathom.  Pray for the family, adjustment is an understatement for what we are going to be going through. 

Let the honeymoon begin!

Catch y'all on the flip side. ;0)

Time To Go Home

Well, we made it to the airport without a hitch.  Our driver was picking us up at like 3:30AM.  I was so afraid we'd not hear the alarm.  But we did it.  We caught the EARLY flight back to Sofia.  And guess who we saw in Sofia...the Italians.  What?  I thought the whole reason we had to leave Dobrich early & get to Varna was so they could catch their flight.  I think they spent their day in Sofia.  Oh well.  Can't do anything about it now.  But, yes, he must have been contagious with whatever it was he had because she was sick at the airport.  UGH!!!!! Anyway, after handshaking, hugging, and kissing all the sides (lol) the germ x came flying everywhere until I could find the closet restroom.  I guess we washed well enough that week because neither one of us came down with anything once home.  I hope our translators fared as well.

The flight to Paris was uneventful - THANK GOODNESS.  The Paris airport gets lots of complaints on the adoption boards, but we've never had any problems there.  Yes, it's crowded, but it is definitely doable.  We won't be going back that direction when we have Ani, which I am thankful for.  I don't know how she's going to handle those crowds.  It made me nervous just thinking about what she's going to be thinking on her trip home.
We made it to Atlanta without a hiccup, again I can't say thanks enough for the prayers.  There was a few slight moments of turbulence but it definitely could have been worse.  Customs in Atlanta (never been through that one) is definitely different than Chicago or Washington.  I now know how my granddaddy's cattle felt all their lives.  Poor things. ;0)
Well, that's pretty much it folks for Trip #1.  Looking forward to #2.  
See ya soon.

Varna, Look Out - We Are Here!

 On Friday we had the whole day and town to ourselves.  We started out with a walk in the park.  Andy is standing right in front of the entrance to the hotel.  Those big columns in the background are the entrance to the park which is located on the Black Sea.

 Same spot just looking the other way.

 That's as daring as the trip got - I walked over that bridge. lol

 Okay, you would think I have a green thumb or something the way I go on & on with trees in foreign countries.  ;0)  These trees are very fascinating to me because they don't grow tall.  They grow out.  I wonder if I could get them to grow here at home?

 I had to add this bird's pic.  That is how close we are to it.  He never moved.  We didn't even hear him make a sound.  I thought maybe he was wounded, but later on he flew away.  I guess he just wanted to make friends that day. ;0)

There was so much construction/cleanup/landscaping going on all over the park.

We accidentally found these trying to find a side street.  I had read about the red & white bracelets that are worn for the holiday.  It was kind of neat to find these all over these trees.  I can't wait to ask Ani about them.  So glad we went the wrong way.  (I've read about the holiday but it's too much to post here.)

Looking good at the Black Sea

Okay, here's our funny.  We stopped here for some lunch.  Happy's is a chain of restaurants that has EVERYTHING.  They have local Bulgarian food, American food, Asian food, etc.  We ate at one that first night in Varna near our hotel (which really isn't that far away from here)  Anyway, I love it because the menus are in Bulgarian, English, & have HUGE pictures of most of the items on the menu.  Perfect place to eat right?  Well, the pic above is the view.  As you can see below we are eating in the covered porch area.  It's shaded, cool breeze, you can hear the gentle waves......AND SEE SO MUCH MORE THAN WE CARED TO.  LOL  Yep, evidentally this area of the beaches doesn't really have a dress code.  Tops are definitely not mandatory.  Poor Andy.  Everytime I thought it was all clear, we'd see someone else.  Couldn't post those pics on here. bwahahaha.  At least lunch was good. ;0)

I wanted to just go grab some shells before we left.  So we head out on the sand.  Then I realize I am by myself.  Andy just couldn't do it.  hehe  He told me to go ahead, but I decided to just hang back with him since he was being so good.  So, no seashells from the Black Sea.  Oh well, I guess that gives us a reason to go back someday.  ;0)

I guess we really are the "stupid Americans."  We headed back in the other direction that afternoon for some more shopping & to try to find this "famous cathedral."  WE NEVER FOUND IT.  I've seen lots of pics & even watched those travel documentaries that you watch before you visit your destination.  Crazy, it's like it totally disappeared the day we were there.  lol  At lease the fountains were pretty.