Richard and I arrived in Sophia today, after a bus ride through the snowy Bulgarian countryside. I'm posting this from our biggish hostel room in the middle of the city. As I look around, I see a shelf full of artfully displayed empty wine bottles, a folksy wooden plate hanging on the wall above the Santa doll, a picture of the Taj Mahal, seashells on the nighttable next to the decorated Christmas tree, and a slew of embrodery pillows on the sofa. The dresser is faux wood with barnished metal doors that grate when you open then, and when I attempted to put my clothes away I realized that all of the drawers are full of tools. It's friendly and comfortable here. At the moment we're sharing our common space with two Brits. One is on a two-year holiday from his techie job, and the other has been traveling around for years exploring his love affair with the Balkans. Our bedroom door is open, and I'm listening to Richard and Jason babble on while then drink rakia (a Balkan grape brandy). We'll have a fine time here, although the variety here is a little dizzying: today I ate with relish tofu in a spinach carrot sauce.