Summer days in Sofia

The latest chapter in my 2017 first-times is in the Balkans. 

Work brought me to Sofia, curiosity retained me a couple of extra days.

Temperatures above 30 (and a little too many working hours to shrug off) make a good starting point for a rather easy-going, unpretentious urban exploration, punctuated with homemade ginger lemonade and ice cream stops.

Like everywhere, high temperatures mean for kids that a hose is the best game ever invented. 

The city is truly cheap, the tour to get a flavour of the city - and tips for the rest of the day - is even free. Blue-starred Euroflags can be spotted everywhere, testimony of the financial help received from Brussels for all sort of public works. 

A visit to the "market of women" brings me back to another age, maybe one I never lived in, rich of perfume of ripe summer fruit at prices I cannot relate to any longer

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Out of the Market, the scent of damascene roses is a constant in touristic places, not only in creams and soaps but also in candies, jams and even in a local liquor - which locals swear never to drink.

The Free Sofia Tour and buying rose scented creams topping the to-do list, visiting Alexander Nevsky' cathedral comes right next. A beautiful Orthodox church where one could spend hours enjoying not only the rich decorations but also the 3 hectic guardians running around to chase unaware visitors and enforce the 10 Lev/5€ price rule for taking photos. Success rate rather low, in the opinion of this humble observer.

And Italy is really everywhere, food, wine and fashion first and foremost. Sometimes with funny results.

Bonus of the trip: Orthodox blessing with geraniums and holy water, live on Bulgarian TV - and advice to remember to smile when cameras are around.

Wandering about Lisbon

There you go: twice in Lisbon in two weeks, after years trying to find the best moment to get there. Does one ever learn that "best moments" do not exist?


After a late night flight, a late night Uber ride, a late night delivery of a briefing, I was exhausted but Lisbon was there for a few days.

Two weeks ago, Lisbon was hot, unbearably hot, forest fires exploding in the north, people too tired to even talk. Two weeks later the city is cloudy, fresh and moody.



Half million people, life style well above European average, sun through the clouds and a pretty waterfront. What some would call a good start.


At the end, this Lisbon time was about friends, about walking, about going up and down and up again. It was about sipping coffee with a bite of chocolate, and drinking white wine looking down towards the Ocean. No, that is not the Ocean, it is the Tagus that you are looking at.


Too short a time, it turned out. Enough to visit four or five miradores and the Belem Jeronimo's monastery and to climb the Arch of Augusta street to enjoy the view on Praca do Comercio. Not enough to visit all I wanted to visit at the slow pace we decided to keep.

And certainly not enough to get sick of eating pasteis. Not even close to that.