Another Day in Sofia

IMPORTANT NEWS FLASH!!! AT 3:30 Sofia time we learned some totally awesome news ..... Finally the US Immigration Services e-mailed our cable 37 to Sofia -- thank you to everyone who helped make this happen. We don't know which phone call or e-mail did the trick but it's here. It might have been a joint effort and quite possibly the Milwaukee office of immigration is sick of hearing the Ollmann name. We have an appointment at 11:00 on Monday!!!

Gabi's appointment at the medical facility went off without a hitch. It was an eye exam (10 minutes), hearing check (10 minutes) and the shortest medical checkup I've ever seen -- a quick listen to her heart and it was over. It took the Dr. longer to fill out the paperwork about her history than anything else. I was hoping to at least get a weight and height but they didn't even do that .....

Afterwards we had Rossi drop us off quite a long way from the apartment so we could do some exploring -- we found some interesting sights ..... will share later.

First .........
This message is brought to you directly from the Ollmann living room in Sofia .....

And since Layla Gin (Aunt Gin) and several others have e-mailed about our kitchen and meals I thought we'd share a little about that with you. This is our state-of-the-arts kitchen complete with stainless steel appliances. We have a microwave and a toaster so life is good!

I brought pancake mix from the states -- on Wednesday we mixed up the batter, put the mix into the frying pan and tried to find something to turn them over with ..... our state-of-the-art kitchen is missing any and all utensils that have anything to do with cooking. We did find a couple forks so ....... This was the end result -- not very pretty, but they were tasty. Did you notice the chocolate chips on the counter -- yep, brought those too. Hailee loves chocolate chip pancakes -- me, not so much so I brought a small bottle of syrup too (see why there was 116 lbs. of stuff) -- Gabi loved the plain pancakes (no butter, no syrup), definitely did not like chocolate chip pancakes -- wish I had captured the face that she made when Hailee offered her a taste; priceless.
Oh almost forgot to show you the dangerous cabinets that are in this kitchen. Do you see where the handle is? Well it's in the middle of these HUGE doors -- do you know what happens when you're standing too close and pull that handle????? You get whopped in the head or the nose or the shoulder (don't bother asking me how many times it's happened -- we have learned to duck when opening the cabinets though) .... who thought it was a good idea to put handles in the middle of a HUGE door???? If anyone reading this is coming to Bulgaria and you get this apartment -- BEWARE of the kitchen cabinet doors!!!
During our "one time only" shopping trip to the Billo Grocery store (like a real American grocery - only much too far to get to without a car) Hailee picked out spaghetti sauce and noodles. I thank our trip to Kazakhstan for helping us pick out real sauce and not ketchup in a jar sauce (nasty, nasty stuff) -- this was very good and a huge hit with both girls - Gabi even told Rossi about the delicious meal I made last night. And then there was dessert -- a place called Jimmy's is right on the corner and they make their own ice cream bars -- they are delicious. Hailee was enjoying a chocolate - chocolate chip and Gabi is a girl after my own heart --she chose vanilla!
Tonights dinner -- rice (another item from home), frozen corn and some type of chicken thing with a little breading and sesame seeds all over them (no, I didn't bring them) -- the chicken was interesting to make, forgot to ask Kileem to read the package to me so we couldn't figure out the temperature or how long -- there was a picture of a fry pan & oil so I figured I could fry them -- yea, not the brightest idea. They got a little brown (okay, Jonathan, more than a little brown AND I had to open the windows cuz' it was a little smoky in here) but the smoke alarms didn't go off -- that was a positive -- the girls actually liked them ..... forgot to mention earlier; the only plates we have are these little dessert plates -- looks like the kids have a ton of food, but it's not. Do you see those raspberries Gin? We're going to have to go back tomorrow for more --that's our last cup full (yes they sell them in cups -- 1 lev a cup -- about 74 cents).

Here's the room that Gabi it most impressed with -- she loves it. She told Rossi it's the best room in the apartment (wait till she gets home and learns that her house has 3 of them --she'll be in heaven). It is nice -- the tub is beautifully tiled.

The sink is great with a nice shelf and a beautiful mirror - the picture really doesn't do it justice.

There's just two issues I have with this bathroom. The tub is beautiful, however, it's very difficult to get into -- now I admit I'm a bit on the short side but I think this would be hard for anyone. The tub is just set on the floor -- the sides are at least 3 feet high -- so you put your leg over and then go down another 3 feet to hit the bottom of the tub. So now you're basically straddling the wall -- than you lift the other leg over ..... who needs pilates when you've got a tub in Bulgaria??

Have to mention that at this moment Gabriela is in THAT tub enjoying a warm bubble bath -- she's singing up a storm and splashing away .... too funny!!!

Anyway, on to the next issue with the bathroom in this apartment. Look at the picture below -- what do you see? A door right? Well that door leads into the bathrom -- look next to the door -- what do you see? A light switch -- right? Well, guess what that light switch is for -- yep, the bathroom. Who thought of that one? Hailee and I are constantly going into the bathroom only to turn around and come out again to turn on the switch ........ yesterday Gabi was kind enough to turn it on as she went by; prevented me from having to come out AGAIN and do it on my own. What a smart girl!!!
We did see some "really neat"(compliments of Hailee) things today -- we were passing the Presidents House and we heard the sounds of marching so we waited. The guards were coming out for the changing of the guards -- both girls were mesmerized watching them do this.
And here are the new guards -- ready for their 4 (yes 4) hour stint.
The view of the Presidents House from the side. I know you can't see the emblem very well, but it is beautiful -- wish I could have gotten closer to it, but it wasn't allowed.
This is the Bulgarian Parliment -- it, too, is an absolutely beautiful building.

And finally -- (I promise this is it for the day!) -- a picture of the three of us waiting for the taxi from the medical center. Wish we could get a few more of these, but since we're on our own a lot of the time it's difficult. Not like America where I could ask a passerby to take a picture .....

Hailee would like to point out something for those of you who haven't noticed this yet -- she is now 5'3" which makes her 1/2" taller than me .... (guess that height advantage is most noticeable when she's getting in the tub!)