COST:
The total cost for me was £650
This included:
Flights
Transfer
Hotel (breakfast and dinner included)
Lift pass
Lessons (2 hours a day for 6 days)
Kit hire (board, boots, helmet for 6 days)
All of this was booked only 4 weeks in advance.
Food for
thought
– I heard someone on the plane talking about booking ski lift passes when they get there, just incase there's not been enough snow to warrant paying going further up the mountains – this seems like it could be worth thinking about, however from experience, I've found it tends to be better value for money buying everything together in advance - especially if you require lessons and equipment hire.
For example with Crystal Ski for a 6 day ski pass, equipment hire and lessons it was £215
or separately £82 for lessons, +£56 for equipment hire +£124 for lift pass (which may increase if booked when at the resort) totalling at £262
If you have your own equipment and don't require lessons then it may make sense to investigate snow conditions and prices nearer to the time - here are the links for the main Borovets Resort page
and also Crystal Ski
- just one of the tour packages you could use.
WEATHER AND SNOW:
The resort like most has web cams dotted about so you can check the conditions. You can access these on the 'My Borovets' app which also has a very detailed and clear weather app for the various points up the mountain.
TOP TIP: download the app - it's very useful - you can track your runs etc
We were extremely lucky with the snow as there had been hardly any snow fall until the day we flew out and then for the first two days we were there it snowed constantly. They do have snow machine blowers on the lower slopes for when there isn't much snow, but this spraying in your face is not as nice or delicate as the natural snow fall.
In terms of temperature, it varied between 2°C and -11°c (lower at night times) but you didn't really feel or notice it due to layering up correctly and doing physical activity. The bars and restaurants are always warm, and are equipped with coat hooks to hang all your layers on near to most, if not all tables.
If you would like more information on packing/what to wear for cold environments - CLICK HERE
to check out the 'what we wore' section on the Iceland blog where it occasionally got to -17°C in the day time!
TOP TIP:
Take a portable charger with you, as when the temperature drops into the minuses some phone batteries tend to cut out at apx 30-40% battery.
MONEY:
Restaurants and gift shops prefer cash to card due to tax reasons
The receipts tend to be in Bulgarian, so if ordering and paying as a group, it's best to tot up what your share is before the menus are taken away. They can do paying individually if requested, it will just take longer.
TOILETS:
Did you ever go on holiday to like France, Spain or Greece back in the 90's? If so, this won't be too much of a shock for you... as Borovets pluming is a little 'old fashioned' shall we say... you are requested not to put loo roll in toilets.
TOP TIP: If you're the only girl on a lads holiday and can afford it - get your own room!
You don't want to be sharing no poo rag bin!
There weren't many 'public toilets' but the majority of bars are happy for you to use theirs. However, there is one at the bottom of the nursery slope, hidden between 'ice angels' and the 'pizza hut' (no, not the chain 'Pizza Hut' sorry).
Most bar toilets tend to be unisex, and I advise making sure you have a packet of tissues in your pocket!
FOOD AND DRINK:
I learnt during this trip that the Bulgarians are big meat eaters! So if you're a meat eater, you'll be fine, and the food looked amazing!! But for vegetarians/vegans – being brutally honest, our hotel restaurant was a bit crap – you can read more about that in the hotel review here.
Talking to friends we made who were staying at various other hotels, it seemed to be a regular theme of lack of vegetarian/vegan selections to make a substantial hot 'meal' from. And we found out that one hotel served the food 'lukewarm' but provides a microwave incase you want it warmer – which I thought was very strange!
Eating out is fine for vegetarians, as long as you like cheese, or aren't afraid to ask for something without – for example the sausage mash and Yorkshire puddings - without the sausages from Black Tiger were amazing!! (no idea if the gravy was vegetarian, I just turned a blind eye and hoped for the best!) But I think poor Neil survived off chips or the vegan Subway patty for the whole week!
The best place we found to eat out (other than Neil funding Subway's wages for that week) was a little Chinese restaurant called 'Chinese Moon'. The menu was clearly labelled, they spoke amazing english, and were really helpful in recommending what dishes we were able to convert to be vegan and the portions are MASSIVE! Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the food, as we were so hungry and excited by all the choices it was gone before I'd thought about it!
The food at the Hotel Rila restaurant was good also, but a little pricey. I had salmon (yes I eat fish occasionally) cream cheese and olive bruschetta one day, and a cheese toastie and chips another – I didn't spot anything vegan on the menu, but I didn't look to be honest. The Rila terrace bar however is worth a trip just for the hot chocolate! It was to die for!
Drink wise – buy one get one free is popular in most bars on spirits and cocktails! Make the most of it!
The Sommersby ciders are a lot lot sweeter than what we have back in the UK, the apple one tastes like apple Tizer – and they also have blueberry, watermellon and strawberry flavours! Which are all delicious if you have a sweet tooth!
The boys were obsessed with the 'blue Fanta' which we're still not 100% sure what the flavour was.. however, this mixed with gin is now called the 'Angela Merkel' (Andy's new mug he bought)
And as mentioned above – the hot chocolate at the Rila terrace bar is to die for! Literally! it was liquid hot silky pudding!
TOUR COMPANY – Crystal Ski
Our holiday was a 'package deal' through Crystal Ski, teamed with TUI. It was so easy and took a lot of stress and hassle out of organising the trip. Everything was done for you.
For example, once landed in Sofia, and as my phone works abroad, I got a text welcoming me, and telling me what bus number to get for the transfer to the resort. Alternatively, there were also Crystal Ski Reps waiting at the airport gate with massive 'Crystal Ski' signs.
Once on the bus, we got given envelopes with all our lift passes, and 'vouchers'/'tickets' for kit hire and the lessons we'd booked. Plus additional information such as the activities available to book like a day out on a skido! Dates for social events like an organised bar crawl and karaoke nights were also listed – and this involved all the hotels guests.
The reps were in the various hotels over the week, and available on the phone for any issues or concerns you may have, and they genuinely seemed committed to helping you have your best time!
There is also a really useful app which meant we had all our flight, hotel, and resort information at our finger tips (such as weather, snow fall and various activities available).
Here
is a link to the tour company we booked with - it has a lot of useful info about the resort - incuding a downloadable map, and price breakdowns.
THE LESSONS
When booking with Crystal Ski, you can select to book lessons also. Neil and I did the beginner sessions, and Andy and John did the intermediate (they went the previous year and did the beginner sessions).
The ski/snowboard school was called 'Borosport' and the lessons were for two hours in the morning, although we often over ran, which isn't a bad thing!
On the first day everyone from all the hotels meet at the bottom of the slopes, fill out a short skill ability card and the instructors separate you into groups of apx 6-8.
I would definitely recommend the instructor Iliya as he was FANTASTIC! We covered so much on our sessions! And as I mentioned in the introduction – we were doing red runs on our 3rd day on the slopes!! Obviously a lot depends on the ability of all members in your group and your instructor – but from what Andy and John said, their sessions seemed to be more of a 'tour guide' than a 'lesson' so if you are unsure of whether to do the beginner or intermediate – I'd say stick with beginner.
Also, Iliya said that he doesn't like taking beginners/boarders in general on green and blue slopes because they are too flat – and therefore harder. I really didn't agree with this to start with.. but after a few green runs, I totally got his point! So don't panic if they say they're taking you on a red! They know what's best!
Below is a list of the key things I brought back with me... which I'm hoping to remember for my next trip!
- Bend the knees
- Keep 'diagalo' (which meant diagonal)
- Stand up 'up up up' to turn
- crouch and bend knees {squat} to slow 'down down down'
- Point and look in direction want to go
- Look up the slope - never look down
- Keep weight on your front foot
- Lean forward
- Keep a straight spine/shoulders – shoulders make the turn
- confidence is key
- a walk and sauna after is brill to loosen/ease muscles
OTHER
Be careful of knock off items - when we were looking around the shops, one store was selling 'Jake Wolfking' coats and another was selling 'Toy Story 5' toys (Toy Story 4 was released 6months prior to our trip). So shop with care.
WHAT WE'D DO DIFFERENT NEXT TIME
Go to the gym before to build up fitness and stamina
Pack a kettle for lazy morning brews, afternoon teas and the odd noodle pot
we think it may be luck of the draw for if you have a kettle in your room or not.. as we requested one from reception, but got told something along the lines of their weren't enough for all rooms... so if there's space in the case next year – I'll probably take one just incase. – Alternatively – you do get hot water in the restaurant, but this is only during the breakfast time slot or you can ask the bar for hot water – which is free
Pack your own food if vegetarian/vegan
'Steal' jam from the breakfast sitting if you want it for the later dinner sitting
– you'll have to read the bit about the hotel food to understand why this is so important – because it's not available in the evening (when we asked for it we got told very abruptly that jam is just for breakfast!)
Research/organise/plan a trip to the Aquaclub "Kotvata" in advance
this is a SPA centre, that has outdoor and indoor mineral water thermal pools and the beautiful views of the Rila mountain! It is apx 40min drive away from the resort -so taxi fare could be quite expensive.
TOP TIP: if you don't want to travel, you can pay to use the pool and spa facilities at the Rila hotel
Plan to spend a late afternoon/evening in the Rila Terrace bar for food and to slowly get drunk and watch the sunset – take a blanket/wear snowgear
Borovets is the oldest and biggest mountain resort in Bulgaria, and is set among age-old pine woods.
On the northern side of Rila mountain it is 2925m (1350m above sea level). It has been home to many world ski championships including Bulgaria's very own Petar Popangelov, who won the 1977 European Cup in slalom World Cup in Lenggries, Germany has his own red run named after him 'Popangelov'. Another Bulgarian alpine skier, Khristo Angelov who competed in two events at the 1980 Winter Olympics still lives at the resort and has his own bar which is full of photos from Olympic events, and offers ski lessons!
This was my 2nd snowboard holiday, (apx my 5th snow holiday) but I still had various reservations about going as my first attempt of switching from skis to a board ended with me in tears, an injured coccyx and feeling like a massive failure! But because the people I were going with were also beginners, lessons were included as part of the package, and Neil's a vegan (I'm vegetarian and a very fussy eater) – I thought why not! – and I'm happy to say that it was a success. I loved (almost) every minute of it and I'll definitely go back again!
The reason I say almost is that it was a little touch and go at the beginning due to my IBS and a very un conveniently timed time to be a female! (Especially when you're on a 'lads' holiday – and if you read the 'need to know' section on 'toilets' I'm sure you can imagine how fun my first few days were!) But this soon passed (no pun intended) and by day three I was doing turns on red slopes! YES RED SLOPES!
Green: beginner | Blue: beginner/intermediate | Red: hard | Black: in john's words – "once you go black – you never go back"
Day 5 of boarding (day 6 of the holiday) however, I had a nasty fall and twisted my knee. I burst out into tears on the slope – messy cry style and everything – but luckily no emergency skido or helicopter were needed and I 'heel edged' my way to the nearest bar for a cider to take the edge off!
The next and last day of snowboarding, I forced myself back out (full of ibuprofen) as I refused to end the holiday on a fall and feeling nervous – and i was fully prepared to just 'heel edge' if it was too much – but I managed to do some turns!! admittedly only on flatter blues! but still, I was proper proud of myself 🙂
Anyway..
We had 5 days off work and flew out from Birmingham to Sofia on the Saturday (just over a 3 hour flight). We got a transfer to the resort (which was all organised for us via the tour group Crystal Ski that we'd booked through), and we had 6 days boarding, flying back on the following Saturday.
Below you'll find some key info that may be useful if you want to visit Borovets, and a day by day blog as to what we did, and where we went etc. However, if you just want to look at the pretty pictures – click here!
TOP TIP: Pack in advance – Sounds simple, but this really helped me and my anxiety issues as it gave me time to see what I needed to wash or re buy because I couldn't find it!
FLIGHT AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS
(Saturday 4th January 2020)
It takes apx 1 hour 40 mins to get to Birmingham from Derby, so we met at 9am (at works carpark as it was central for everyone) which then gave us plenty of time to drop the car off and get through security (the flight was 12.55).
Dave dropped me off with Wander, and everyone gave her a little fuss before we left. She was so confused bless her and it broke my heart leaving her, even though it was just for a week!
We pre booked airport parking using a comparison and cash back site, and the total cost for the week was £21.71. It was located at car park 7, which was on the other side of run way to the other carparks but was quite easy to find with the Sat Nav. Upon arrival there is a ticketed barrier, but as we'd pre paid we called for help on the machine to check what to do, and were told to press for a ticket, park up and report to the info 'hub' where the attendant met us and checked the car over for 'damage'. This confused us to start with, but makes sense and was quite re assuring that the car will be looked after, and don't worry, when returning you don't need to pay anything at the ticket machines.
The bus ran every 10mins, and dropped us off right outside the departure entrance. As we'd checked in online, we used the self service baggage drop (none of us were over our weight allowance which is good) and joined the que for security searching. Andy however, had to take his bag to the 'oversized luggage' drop off because it was a bag with shoulder straps. We then went through security and off to Weatherspoons for food! – Keep your eyes peeled for a post on Tips and Tricks on how to make security as quick and as painless as possible!
The plane was a Boeing 757-200, which made me happy and relax slightly due to all the news reports recently about the 800 max's! Because we didn't all book and check in together we weren't sat together, which wasn't an issue for us – but if you do all want to sit together make sure you check in together, and even better book as a group.
I got a seat by the window, middle to rear which is one of my favourite places to be, as for some reason I always feel safer. Although, if you are on the wing your view can sometimes be restricted.
I'm often torn between an isle or window seat, as being quite an anxious person, I like the isle as I feel less trapped. I have the freedom to get up, visit the little girls room or get things I've forgotten out of my bag... like an extra layer as planes are always so cold! But the in a window seat you can lean on the wall to sleep and look out at the gorgeous sky on a day time flight – and the sky was beautiful as ever on this trip, even though the sun set almost instantly at around 3pm.
I slept for an hour straight then dozed for the remaining time of the flight. Which is no surprise really, as I struggle to stay awake in a moving vehicle unless I'm the driver and I'd had an exhausting few weeks at work.
Once landed in Sofia, and as my phone works abroad, I got a text from Crystal Ski welcoming me, and telling me what bus number to get for the transfer to the resort. Alternatively, there were also Crystal Ski Reps waiting at the airport gate with massive 'Crystal Ski' signs.
Once on the bus, we got given envelopes with all our lift passes, and 'vouchers'/'tickets' for kit hire and the lessons we'd booked. Plus additional information such as the activities available to book like a day out on a skido! Dates for social events like an organised bar crawl and karaoke nights were also listed – and this involved all the hotels guests.
The transfer took apx 1.5 hours on a large bus, which did have a toilet but it wasn't in use. So make sure you go before boarding the bus.
We got to the hotel quite late (past the evening meal time slot) but they had kept food on specially for us. So we were encouraged to check in, dump our bags and head to the restaurant as quick as possible. There was a slight issue with John and Andy's room (they had a double bed!) and in the restaurant there wasn't much choice for vegetarians and even less for vegans but it was food so we were happy! you can read the full hotel review here.
After we'd eaten we took a walk out and Andy and John showed us the sights. First impressions were very pretty, calm and everything seemed to be in close proximity with lots of cute little gift shops. I was a little bit taken back by the men that stand on the road side trying to encourage you in to bars and restaurants, offering you special deals etc, as it made me feel uncomfortable (stranger danger!) But they're harmless, and if you actually engage with them they're really nice and friendly and you can have some good banter/get some free shots out of them!
The local supermarket was an apx 5-10 min walk from the hotel. It had a wide selection and excepted card and it also has a cash machine outside.
Once back at the hotel we played cards in Andy and John's room and went to bed about 12.15.
FIRST DAY ON THE SLOPES
(Sunday 5th January 2020)
We had to be up and in the board and boot fitting room for 8am, and then meet on the slopes at 10am – and unfortunately, I struggled to sleep due to a flickering light outside my window (which I eventually got sorted) but there were also dogs barking\howling outside my window for most of the night and the 'neighbours' were extremely noisy upon their return at apx 3-4am, and I hadn't unpacked my ear plugs!!
So when the alarm went off at 6.45am I was not the chirpiest!! But running off a mix of excitement, panic and anxiety I showered and headed down for breakfast. As I was so nervous I couldn't really stomach a full breakfast and opted for a small bowel of 'Alpen' type cereal.
The equipment fitting for us was in the building next to the Gondola chair lift, which was just around the corner from our hotel – apx a 5min walk and it was super speedy (I think we were lucky that there was no queue, and that we filled out our details online before hand as advised on the bus transfer). The staff are adamant that they want to know what foot you are, to the point where they'll come over and push you to see which foot you land on, so they can set your board up accordingly. However, with being a beginner at boarding personally – I prefer to be 'duck footed' so I can have the choice.. but this was not an option!
After, we headed to the meeting point for everyone from all the hotels which was at the bottom of the slopes, (I was so glad I had Andy and John with me here as I wasn't sure where to go! But if your lessons are with Borosport you can't miss them, they wear all red!). We filled out a short skill ability card and then the instructors separated us into groups of apx 6-8. Our group was amazing!! There was me, Neil, Maggie who is a teacher from Liverpool who moved to Australia (and her husband Matt was in Andy and John's group) Shane and Sarah from Devon – who are in the process of doing up a campervan! and then Luke and his little lad Kye (guessing about 11years old).
Our instructor was called Iliya and he was FANTASTIC! He was so patient, clear and fun! If I go back next year I'd definitely be requesting to have him again!!
We started off by walking up the slope and doing some stretches whilst discussing our abilities. Iliya explained the basics and demonstrated how to get the board on and how to stand on, off and over the board safely. And then he progressed to teaching us how to do turns, yes turns.. and with only one foot strapped in to the board!! Which was interesting! Later he explained that this was to get the hardest bit out of the way and that it will also benefit us when it comes to the chair lifts – and it definitely did!
Turns and lifts is where I struggle the most due to my confidence issues, but today was a good day! I was managing to get some turns in, even if it was only on the flat bit, but we haven't tackled lifts yet!
The nursery slope doesn't have a lift for it. You have to carry your board and walk up each time. Which takes a lot longer than it does to board down. And due to the altitude, board weight, awkward boots and lots of layers, this is hard work! I can run 5k on a treadmill no bother, and I was strugling, so I'd recomend doing some hill walks prir to your trip!
The lesson finished at 12 and Iliya suggested we all headed to Black Tiger for food and drink – I thought this was a lovely touch as it really helped you all bond as a group and Andy, John and Matt were always welcome to join us! It's a running trend to have a beer or cider to help 'take the edge off' and relax you up for the afternoon session out on your own – but remember not to have too many!! In terms of food, I shared a margarita pizza with John, Andy had some amazing traditional stew dish recommended by Iliya and Neil went to subway for a vegan roll.
Neil and I went back out to the nursery slope to practice for the afternoon and Andy and John ventured further up met us later.
That evening we utilised the use of the free sauna (which just had us in!) before going for the evening meal. As mentioned in both the food and hotel review sections, the food choice was a little random. This particular evening I had roast potatoes and mushroom soup, with some fruit.
After some food we went out to some bars, and played a nail hammer game in a bar called BJ's (yeah yeah I know! What makes it worse is when you notice the names of the 3 bars/shops surrounding it! – Bj's, Head Ski store, White Magic).
Anyway, to play the nail game you have to buy some nails from the bar, and they'll also give you a hammer. When one of the logs is free, you take it in turns to each hit a nail, and the winner is the first who gets their nail all the way into the log table. Sounds easy? except you have to use the 'wrong' end of the hammer! – Andy was showing me how it was done and hit the nail so hard that it flew half way across the bar!! There is no way this game would be allowed in the uk!! Haha!
Neil won our first round, I came 3rd, Andy lost then John won the second round.
After BJ's, we went to white magic which is the bar owned by 'Mario' the old ski Olympist who was such a lovely man – he liked mine and Neil's tunnels – and the pictures all over the walls are amazing!
Then, the party animals we are – we ended the night playing cards! And John did a snow angel in his pants!
BAR CRAWL
(Monday 6th January 2020)
We didn't have that much of an early start today – thank god! And I slept a lot better with the aid of an eye mask and ear plugs!
I had a super dodgy tummy in the morning again, but I forced some 'fake Aplen' and a coffee down me along with some pills and powered through – it's so much fun being a girl with IBS! And poor John has come down with the flu and is having to spend the morning in bed!
I felt a lot more confident on the board today too, and thought I was going super fast!! But when I got Neil to video me I saw I wasn't at all! Think we might brave going up further tomorrow, which is good because walking up that nursery slope is killing me!
I also talked to Iliya about my board set up, and he converted it to the 'duck' setting for me – which was a lot easier!
For lunch today we went to Francos, and I had cider and sausage and mash Yorkshire's but without the sausages. (I did get a funny look from the waitress, but she smiled when I said 'vegetarian' although – I don't know if the gravy was vegetarian or not).
We did a few more runs (on the slope) after and then headed back for a sauna again. The sauna was a little bit busier this time, but there was still plenty of room for everyone, and John made some new friends.
Crystal Ski had organised a bar crawl which was 15 lev apx £6.60 each, and you got a free shot in every bar! As I don't like shots, I gave all my free drinks to either Andy or John! I'm amazed Andy was still standing after the amount he drank!! We met at 'Vicky's diner' and went to apx 4-5 bars and Maggie and Matt joined us half way round with their hotel reps, I think there must of been about 150 of us in total. We also met another couple, who I thought were friends of Maggie and Matt - but I was wrong!! And we later found out that she went home with a guy who bit her finger, and her partner had pinned up against the wall!?!?! I didn't really see them for much more of the holiday....
The bars we went to all had happy hour on, and the later it got the more 'party esque' they got. Games like boys vs girls karaoke and 'the first person to find a bra, pants etc and bring it to the DJ' were played and one bar had a pole for pole dancing – although Andy decided he wanted to pole dance with a square wall pillar in the last bar instead.. him and Neil re-enacted the scene from dirty dancing and Maggie taught Andy the correct way to respond to a 'dancing cowboy lasso'. We also got a flash of boobs as we walked past the local strip club to where everyone shouted 'BOOOOBS!' and cheered loudly! And Neil got told he looked like 'Waldo' or 'Wally' from 'Where's Wally'.
It was anamazing night, but I gave in at about 12.45 and headed off to bed – dreading how I'll feel the next day!
I WENT DOWN A RED SLOPE TODAY
(Tuesday 7th January 2020)
I WENT DOWN A RED SLOPE TODAY!!! And I went on a chair lift and didn't fall over! However that was mostly due to that fact that I sat next to Iliya and he held me up!
Toe edge on the red slope for me was really difficult and tiring on your legs! But as soon as we swapped over to heel edge I felt a lot better! Must be because I can actually see where I am going! We didn't do anything to crazy today, just weaved 'diagalo' across the slope getting a feel for it. There were a few flat parts on these runs where you have to go straight to get some speed up – and I don't like going fast!! but I was a lot more confident and therefore successful than in 2016!! Iliya said that he doesn't like taking beginners/boarders in general on green and blue slopes because they are too flat – and there for harder. Which I really didn't agree with to start with.. but after a few green runs, totally got his point!
For lunch we went to a traditional restaurant called 'Cum Inn Bar & Shisha Lounge' and I had a cheese mushroom omelette, it was good – but I think because I said I was vegetarian and I asked for it without the ham, they over did it with the cheese making it very salty! And Iliya was telling us about the resort bear that lives in the trees. Apparently she's female, and if you see her you just have to back away slowly and she'll leave you alone. (fingers crossed!)
After lunch, Neil and I hung out with Shane and Sarah who showed us some button lifts they'd been using the previous year they came. I've used a button lift before – on skis and on a board, but I still struggled to stay on it the first two attempts! The key is lean forward and look where you want to go – which I did – I just have terrible balance for the part where it 'yanks' you to get you going! It was however definitely better than having to walk up that damn nursery hill again!!
We decided to call it a day pretty early due to our legs aching from the red slope toe edge activity and went for a walk to find an old abandoned ski jump - keeping our eye out for the bear! It was a lovely short walk, you just have to be careful of the skidos as that's the route they do – but you can hear and smell them a mile off so don't worry!
Heading back we stopped off at a little cafe/bar for a hot chocolate, which gets served with a complimentary shot of something homemade that tastes like hot honey and Jager! Apparently all bars make theirs slightly different – I believe it's similar to the Grappa, which you can order off the drinks menu – personally I didn't like it and just the smell sent me west! John loved it and said it was very soothing for his sore throat.
After dinner we did the usual sauna visit and later that evening John taught us a new card game called trump's or clegg(?) which I won! (I never win games!)
UP THE MOUNTAIN WE GO!
(Wednesday 8th January 2020)
It was requested for us to meet earlier this morning (9:30am instead of 10:00am) so we could get up the mountain before the ques. I was hoping I'd get to go on the same chair lift as Iliya again – so he could catch me if I fell! But due to us faffing and not managing to get into position quick enough it was me, Neil and a skier – which was good! As it meant I could go left, Neil could go straight and the skier looked like a pro so he'd just whizz off! And none of us fell down 💪.
We did this run twice (once with young Kye and once without). On the second trip up the chair lift Iliya told us about how the phrase 'Goofy' came about, which is apparently due to Disney and an animation of them all surfing, but Goofy is doing it with his other foot forward! Not sure how factual this is – but I liked it! And Maggie then told us how the Australian 'shaka' came about from someone waving who was missing his fingers!
And this time I DID SOME TURNS ON A RED SLOPE!!!!
After we went for food at black tiger and Andy and Matt joined us. I had jacket potato cheese beans and tuna – yes I eat fish occasionally and yes it was amazing! – however I got three halves – where was the other one??
After food we all went up again – without the instructor – and I managed the chair lift again so ALL three times I never fell over!! This made me so happy!
This time down though was a lot more difficult than the first two, not sure if it was tiredness, lack of confidence/nerves because Iliya wasn't there or the snow conditions, but all of us struggled to stay up at one point, the board just kept slipping from under us. We did get an ace group photo though – just a shame that John was still ill and couldn't join us on the slopes.
He did however join us for another Grappa, hot chocolate and a browse of shops. We found a 'Jake wolfking' knock off which was amazing!! And I decided I wasn't going to get any new snowboarding gear from the shops here... The guys went back for a sauna session, and I stayed out to try and get some pics of sunset which ended up being highly disappointing and it was so cold my fingers hurt (I'd forgot my special gloves).
I met the guys for some food at the hotel – onion rings, chips and carrots tonight! Won at cards again! and went to bed early to make sure I got some stretching in, as I'm proper starting to feel it now! And was treated to some fireworks being set off in the distance!
SPA DAY AND A FULL FEED
(Thursday 9th January 2020)
We went up the other side of the mountain today in the Gondola – and the view across the land is just fantastic! You can see all the way across the National park. A trip up there is definitely recommended even if you don't take your skis or board as there is a small restaurant and deck chairs where you can sit to have a pint/food whilst taking in the view.
The slopes up here were nice and wide, with a good variety of steepness. I was struggling with turning from my heel to my toe edge today for some reason, and kept forcing/kicking the board out and was getting very frustrated with myself to the point where I had a nasty fall twisting my knee. I burst out into tears on the slope – messy cry style and everything – but luckily no emergency skido or helicopter were needed, Iliya was very good and made sure I was ok and everything moved the way it should before I even attempted to stand up and I 'heel edged' my way down to the nearest bar for a cider to take the edge off! With him constantly checking I was ok, and that there was no severe pain.
We had lunch and Iliya told us a hilarious story about how he once called an ex girlfriend 'ugly' accidentally when he was trying to be all romantic on a beach but due to not knowing the Spanish translation for a specific word, he used the Bulgarian word instead - which translated in Spanish as ugly - what were the odds of that!!??
Andy had a nasty wipe out collision with a skier today which I think topped off all his little bumps and bruises throughout the week and he finally admitted that he was indeed broken! So me and him decided to call it a day whilst Neil went back up the chair lifts with Maggie and Matt for some more runs!
John today was still not feeling any better, and so decided to go to the local doctors where he got given ALL the drugs! And he was telling us how the doctors surgery was like something out of a dodgy movie as the doctor was quite eccentric and not bothered at all buy the fact that the patients bed was covered in dry blood! I'd of personally walked out and found another doctors – as there were plenty around – but John was so weak and had already waited for hours for all the paper work he just couldn't muster the strength to do it all again.
At lunch, we'd talked about making plans to visit the near by swimming complex Aquaclub "Kotvata" that has outdoor and indoor mineral water thermal pools and the beautiful views of the Rila mountain located apx 20mins from the resort, and Shane, Sarah Maggie and Matt were tempted to join us. But unfortunately by the time we'd all decided on what we were doing, the cost of paying for a taxi there and back again didn't warrant the time we'd get to spend there so we decided to just visit the spa and pool at the Rila hotel instead, where Maggie and Matt joined us as they were staying in the Rila Hotel.
The Spa and pool is lovely, and only cost 20lev (apx £14.00) for use of the gym, swimming pool, sauna, hot tubs, Turkish bath, Russian bath, steam room, cyro cabin and relaxation room. You can also book massages, nails and hair appointments.
I fell in love with the heated stone beds in the chill out area, and Andy loved the Cryo Cabin that sprays you in freezing cold water! The only bad part was that going in the late afternoon meant it was very busy – it's obviously free for hotel guests which meant that the Jacuzzis were often full – and frustratingly full of children! We counted at one point 21 people in one jacuzzi (max is 10) and apx 10 of those were between the ages of 1-10. The sauna and steam rooms were a lot quieter – however there was one moment in the sauna that was hilarious as a family of I think Bulgarians(?) joined us, but never gave me time to move to make more space so I got sandwiched between them all, and then the young boy sat on his mums knee next to me! The guys were trying their hardest not to laugh. I lasted about 1 minute and then just left – shortly followed by them in hysterics!
That evening we went out for food and went to a restaurant called 'Chinese Moon'. The menu was clearly labelled, they spoke amazing english, and were really helpful in recommending what dishes we were able to convert to be vegan and the portions are MASSIVE! Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of the food, as we were so hungry and excited by all the choices it was gone before I'd thought about it!
Maggie and Matt met us here and we had a few drinks before an early night ready for our last day on the slopes tomorrow.
It's fair to say I'm definitely starting to ache now, and for the first time in two years I'm craving to eat meat!! Mainly because I just want a rich, hot, full dinner in my belly – like a burger! or pie! It definitely takes it's toll on you having a dodgy tummy for days from a combination of nerves, eating strange and unusual food combinations and just feeling generally exhausted from all the activities, early starts and late nights. I also have that thing where I feel like I'm shaking for last two nights – you know like when you've been traveling for a long period of time, you stop but you can still feel the 'buzz' and movements?? It's weird!! But I've loved every moment of it! And I'm sad that tomorrow is the last day on the slopes!
NOT DEFEATED
(Friday 10th January 2020)
My knee was a little swollen and tender, but I forced myself back out (full of ibuprofen) as I refused to end on a fall and feeling nervous – thinking I'd just heel edge if it was too much but I managed to do some turns!! – admittedly only on flatter blues! But still, I was proper proud of myself 🙂
As it was our last day together Iliya basically said it was a free for all day – just have fun and do what ever it is you feel comfortable doing, and it was a really nice and enjoyable morning. I had a few 'silly' falls but nothing that injured or hurt my knee more so it didn't stop me.
We had a lovely lunch again at the top of the mountain, which Andy and John joined us for, and said good bye to Iliya (we were seeing him that evening for our 'diploma ceremony' so nothing too emotional) and then I snowboarded down to the half way gondola point with Shane and Sarah, whilst Neil went on a different run with Maggie, Matt and John. (I like to stick to what I know/feel comfortable with - especialy if injured minorly!) Andy got the gondola back down from the top as he didn't bring his board today. (He has a bruise the size of my face!!).
After getting the Gondola down I tried to do the nursery slope again but was absolutely shattered, and the snow conditions weren't right so I gave up pretty early and waited for Maggie, Matt and John at the gondola to have a 'board twin selfie' with Maggie as we had the exact same size and design boards! John and I then handed our kit in, I packed ready for leaving tomorrow and got ready to go out for the graduation party.
For the graduation party we'd booked a table at Francos, and arranged it so that Andy, John and Matt could come with us, as well as Kye's sister and step mum, however we had some time to kill before so went to the Rila roof top terrace and had the best hot chocolate I've ever had in my whole entire life!! It was like hot chocolate pudding! And the menu looked so tasty – I couldn't resist the smoked salmon and bruschetta.
At Francos I had a green salad and a gin as they didn't have the nice Somersby apple cider! And as I mentioned in the need to know section – most places do a happy hour of buy one get one free, so it's worth noting what's on offer before ordering as it may sway your decision! They're also very strong measures! After dinner Iliya presented us all one by one with our certificates and we all clapped and cheered each other – it was such a lovely atmosphere and environment! We then all chatted and drank the night away as Francos turns into a little bit of a party bar in the evenings. Later on we went to BJ's as we wanted to play the hammer game with everyone, so we all paired up and took it in turns – Luke's Girlfriend/Kye's step mom was fully making the most of the buy one get one free on the cocktails, and decided she was the 'nail police' inspecting everyones hits and making sure we were all playing correctly – declaring she was reigning champion amongst her friends – however soon lost interest after Neil won, admitting she was a terrible looser. We continued playing to see who would win next, but unfortunately we broke the hammer and the bar refused to give us another one.
One point to note here was that the bars were super kid friendly, and really didn't bat an eyelid by the fact there were two 11-13 year olds sat in the corner playing on their phones! Even the club we were heading to next were going to let them in – but Luke decided it was time for bed!
Iliyo said his goodbyes to us at BJ's and it was all very emotional! But we've all added him on facebook, and I've told him I'm booking him for lessons next year!
We also lost Neil here as he was now full of John's cold and headed home to bed, and Shane and Sarah made a quick exit as there was quite a bit of drama about if Jessica (Luke's missus) was joining us or not and 'club buzz bar' was next to a strip joint and they thought we were going in there! I was shattered by this time and had stopped drinking a while ago, so only lasted staying out until 2.30am, whilst John and Andy stayed out till gone 5! There was quite a funny story here too about the weird toilets but I'll leave that one to just the memories! Andy never ask Andy about his toothbrush!
HOME TIME
(Saturday 12th January 2020)
I woke up today at 10 and as much as I wanted to stay in bed longer, I hurriedly got dressed and headed down to the restaurant in hopes for coffee (breakfast stoped at 10 but I snuck in at 20past and thankfully the hot water was still on). I was all full of cold now and my body felt broken – coffee was a saviour!
Check out was at 12 and as I'd packed my majority of things a few days before I was in no rush – which I was very grateful for.
As we weren't getting picked up until 15:00 we had to store our luggage in a room downstairs. This room was open to all so I'd advise taking valuables with you where possible – or ensuring they are locked in your case.
As we'd already done all the sights, we spent our last 2.5hours chilling in the Rila pool and Jacuzzi and thankfully it was A LOT quieter this time round. Maggie and Matt were meant to join us but they were too hungover, so we just met them for food in the restaurant later and said our goodbyes to get the bus back to the airport.
The flight home was not quite as tranquil as the flight there. I got an isle seat, but was sat next to this rather obnoxious man who was either snoring so loudly and grossly that my chair moved every time he breathed in or out, or chatting to his friend/colleague swearing and complaining. There was also another annoyingly loud man who was sat behind me, you know one of those that just want to talk to everyone and thinks they're so funny? The air hostesses' were clearly not amused with him either and for the first time ever I wish I'd had noise canceling headphones!
Towards the end of the trip we started to get some really bad turbulence... which started to make me feel uneasy... but the man next to me was very scared, and his complaining and swearing got a lot louder and a lot worse. I tried to engage with conversation to take his mind off it.. but to no avail. Eventually we landed and I don't think I've ever exited a plane so quickly before!
We waited for our cases – and I was feeling rather satisfied by the fact that mine is always so easy to see/spot being white and headed to the bus stop for the car park. It was all clearly signed posted and really speedy and it wasn't long until we were on our way back to Slimming World head office for Dave to come and fetch me – I was so excited to see both him and Wander! But – Wander just ignored me when I got home - she was too busy sniffing my suitcase!
Sunday was spent on the sofa, feeling sorry for myself, from aches, pains and possibly the start of flu, as we had all now caught whatever it was that John or Maggie had (Maggie had been recovering from a long bout of flu/chest infection also).
We all made it into work on the Monday, but Andy and I got gradually worse and worse as the week went on, and I ended up having 4 sick days off work (inclusive of a weekend) - and I never take sick days! It was definitly the worse flu I'd ever had, even now over 3 months since returning - I still have a slight cough. Which hasn't been good due to the Panademic of Coronavirus which started at a similar time. We all keep joking saying we've had it as so many ski resorts have been breeding grounds for it over Jan/Feb, and I guess we'll never know... it has the same symtoms, I'd of just thought Dave would of got it if it's as contagious as they've been saying... unles we just got an early/mild strain of it? or just normal flu!
Either way, It's a holiday to remember for a life time!
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