When we got off the ferry we had no clue where to go so I approached a couple who had also gotten off the ferry. The man was so nice trying to speak a mix of English and French to explain that the train station was 5 km from the ferry and we would have to taxi. He was a boarder control over in Calafat where we just came from and he kindly waited for us at the boarder control in Bulgaria since they all knew one another. Once we were through he got a taxi for us and told the driver where to go, he even bargained a price for us, it was beyond generous of him to go out of his way like that to help us. We have been really lucky with how kind people have been in helping us find out way throughout this entire trip. The taxi dropped us off right in front of the station and we went inside to see if we needed a reservation thinking the only train was at two to Sofia but sure enough there was a train leaving for Sofia right then so we ran to catch it and made it on. In four and a half hours we'll have reached our destination so now would be a good time for some more episodes of Gossip Girl. About six hours later and four sleepy heads we arrived in Sofia. We walked the half an hour to the hostel, which is so great with their own private court yard and free beer and pasta for dinner, checked in and set off to enjoy our first night out. The hostel had given us a map with some suggestions for where we should go so we headed to the Ale House where they brew their own beer. Even though we had eaten the free pasta and beer at the hostel we were in for round two for food. While eating we watched some of the eurocup finals (Spain vs Portugal, go Spain!) then headed into the streets to look for a cool place out on the town. Well we failed miserably because it's a Wednesday night and nothing is going on. Instead we found the coolest cafe called the apartment cafe which is literally and apartment with themed rooms where you can sit and choose your own tunes and have a casual drink. We stayed for a little while before giving in to our tired eyes and heading home to the hostel mostel for bed. The following day we will have to explore the city before our bus to Greece, our final stop on this crazy adventure. We woke up late and slowly checked out of the hostel. As all four of us were hungry we hit a traditional bulgarian restaurant that the hostel had recommended. It was only noon but we ordered a bottle of red to cheers to our last day together as the boys are sticking around Bulgaria for a while longer. After eating I toured us around the town, we got to see the second largest cathedral within the Balkans, the synagogue, the mosque, and we tried getting into the Bulgarian baths but they were closed for renovations. It was a fun day though touring around being able to take our time and catch some rays out in the sun. Soon it was time to get back to the hostel grab our bags and say our goodbyes to the boys. It has been so great having them around we were sad to go our separate ways. We had all become instant friends so easily, as though we had known them much longer than three days. It is so nice to know that my next adventure could be to visit some of my new friends I have made along the way throughout this past year. Ashley and I arrived to the bus station and got our tickets settled, not the easier task as we had no more Bulgarian money so we tried paying in euros but for some frustrating reason they would not accept my bill because it was ripped. So we tried getting more Bulgarian money from an ATM but our cards weren't accepted because their machines don't accept foreign cards. So we had to go to an exchange office to convert our euros to Bulgarian but the conversion left us short five dollars so then the lady at the ticket office finally allowed us to pay the majority in Bulgarian and the rest in euros. For the next twelve hours we are confined to the bus but the up side is we're riding in style with TVs and internet and when we arrive we'll be in Athens!
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