Monday, 01-Sept-2025, through Wednesday, 03-Sept-2025
One of the big escapes of this adventure in Bulgaria was Sinemoritz – a small town on the Black Sea that Andrea has worked at for a summer. Beaches, summer sun, and relaxation were the name of the game.
With that in mind… here’s the photos. There really isn’t much to tell that the photos don’t say – we relaxed on the sand, swam in the sea, and ate some simply incredible food.
Relaxing was the name of the game. And we excelled.
Tuesday, 26-August-2025 through Sunday, 31-August-2025
Bulgaria.
I haven’t been to this part of the world, before. I knew that I had the best tour guide I could ask for in Andrea, and had done the base background research on the history and culture (and had obviously absorbed some myself, such as Banitsa), but the adventure was a first foray into a new world, regardless.
It was glorious.
I can’t overstate how great of a guide Andrea was / is – I lovingly call her “The queen of Sofia”, and that title was well earned the whole time we were in town. Everywhere we went, people recognized her. Every restaurant saw the owner, chef, or someone similar come out to visit and catch up… alongside consistent extras unexpectedly appearing. Each bite was excellent, and each drink was special. I was in incredibly good hands.
Now, what did we do, specifically? Quite a bit: – We visited Andrea’s Grandma for her birthday! – We had amazing food – Italian, Turkish, pastries, and BBQ – We met fun and interesting people – tons of folks from Andrea’s previous life, all interesting and enjoyable – We explored. Walking around the city, I even had an afternoon of solo exploration where I got to recollect the fun of my Grand Adventure, exploring a city where I don’t know the language.
It really was an excellent start to an excellent vacation.
Spring, 2025 – Throughout the beginning of the year
I love cooking. Andrea loves cooking. Our classmates and friends love cooking.
And so, to the surprise of no one… we did a lot of cooking. Even as the MBA wore on, time grew short, and deadlines loomed high… we cooked. Here’s a few quick glimpses into some of the more photogenic dishes:
Banitsa! Andrea cooked this quite a few times, and even taught me how to cook it! It’s a Bulgarian dish, made with Filo dough, Bulgarian cheese, spinach, and scrambled eggs – all wrapped up, and baked in the oven. It’s amazing, and I’m continually astounded at how incredible it tastes.
Steak! I cooked steak quite a few times – even a prime rib one evening! I haven’t learned any new tricks, truth be told, but neither have I lost any of my edge on cooking an excellent meal. Seared, with veggies and bread on the side… it’s simple, but excellent.
One advancement I did make… I tried cooking Beef Wellington once! Now, granted, I did buy it pre-made… but hey. I was able to cook it right, so… that’s a partial win, right?
Vegan Bolognese! This is Andrea’s signature dish, alongside the banitsa, and ohh my god. I can’t wax poetic enough about how good this is, and how amazing the whole floor smells when it’s simmering.
Dinners out happened as well – some traditional American breakfasts, and even an evening out at a nearby Japanese restaurant. Fun, and a lovely chance to get out of the house and away from the various papers.
I made sliders! The old recipe that I adore from Boston, I’ve made this quite a few times – it’s simple and elegant, with just grilled burgers and a quail egg on top, but… mm. Simple is good.
I adore fried chicken, and Chicken Katsu is pretty close… so I was very happy to make a full meal of it with some stir fried veggies and bok-choi alongside. The rice… well, I don’t cook rice often, so thankfully I had some help with getting that part right.
Now, you can’t have busy university days without pasta. But… We don’t do boring pasta here. Combined with a nice sauce, maybe some asparagus or Soppressata or mushrooms… a burrata ball… It’s not so bad.
Last, but not least, we have my old-fashioned slow cooked recipe. Babyback ribs, mac and cheese, and some roasted root veggies… It had been a rough week, and I was feeling a bit homesick, so this was a perfect pick-me-up to restart the day. An American friend even joined me, which added that perfect extra bit of positivity into the evening.
