OnTheRoad

Another day, another beautiful town. After the concrete monsters which inhabit Bucharest , it's truly a relief to find oneself in a place like Veliko Tarnovo. It's beautiful in the winter (such as it is - we had 19 degrees the other day), it'd be perfect in the summer.

Took to the hills on a hired bike yesterday (wrist still a little sore after boarding on Vitosha last week) and took in some of the surrounding countryside. We biked up to Arbanassi in an icy gale; all the houses up there had these huge, solid walls, which I assumed as to defend against these winds. Apparently not - the place is largely owned by Mafia mobsters, or so I'm told, and they are intended to defend against more than winds.

I've been told that snow is thick on the ground in Eastern Turkey, after talking to a couple of Aussies I met who'd been out that way. Gotta get that way soon... if you've got time, see what these lads have been doing - they're biking around out there. Madness.