It's Wednesday, It's Polski Trambesh Market

As some of you may, or may not, know Wednesday is market day is sunny Polski Trambesh. As markets go, this is one of the largest that is within a reasonable distance from us. There are plenty of other ExPats who also like to make use of the weekly markets here. As we do seem to meet them from all over when we have gone there ourselves. Normally our first port of call is the fruit and vegetable market. Much of it is so fresh that the sellers might well have picked it the previous evening. A lot of the produce is seasonal, so sometimes it is a case of buy it when you see it. You can always find something that you didn't realise that you needed at these places.

Today's bargain buy was Peaches, which have just come into season. This is a particularly happy event for me as it means one thing. Peach marmalade. Now if you have never tried this, you don't know what you are missing. Besides Marmite, this is what toast was made for. During the depths of winter, it really does help to remind me that soon the snow will be gone and the sun will be warming us again. Not all of the peaches will be used for making marmalade, as we did get some purely for the purpose of eating. If temptation gets too much for people I would like to remind them about the joys of wet wipes. The peaches are often so juicy that when you bite into them the juice will run down your arm and drip from your elbow. If you don't fancy bees, wasps ad flies plaguing you, then the wet wipes can be a real benefit.

The market at Polski Trambesh is divided into two halves, and it is the railway lines that are the dividing line. You can either use the underpass, or cross the rails themselves. If you cross above ground it is prudent to remember that it is a working railway and to keep a watchful eye out. Using the underpass, although nice and cool on a summer's day like today, can have it's own problems. Sometimes the smell of not very clean bodies can be quite potent. The good thing is that there is none of the usual hustle and bustle that those brought up in the UK would have expected. This is Bulgaria after all, and things are carried out at a much more leisurely pace.

So with the fruit and vegetables bought there is always time for a coffee. People often arrange to meet up on these occasions, and today was no exception. The Ladies had planned to go to lunch today, even some of us men were allowed to attend, and we didn't even have to wear a frock. So the coffee stop was an ideal place to exchange information on what bargains were to be found where. Also the logistics of providing directions and times to appear at the restaurant were also reiterated for those intending to attend. So with coffees drunk, and people aware of the plans for later it was time to make our way to the other side of the market.

We chose the fragrant path way of changing sides, and fortunately it wasn't too bad at all. It's a long way to hold your breath if you are going from one side to the other. For some reason it didn't seem quite so busy there this week, and it was possible to take your time without being jostled. Another good thing with Polski Trambesh is the cafes are great places to sit and people watch, especially the ones just off of the main square. The only problem with people watching is that you don't actually notice the time passing, and before we knew it, it was time to head down to the restaurant.

Some of the ladies, and some of the men, had already arrived by the time that we got there. Luckily Iskra had previously phoned the restaurant and let them know that there would be a larger than normal gathering of ExPats there for lunch. It gave them a chance to push tables together, sort out extra staff for a couple of hours and possibly get extra supplies in too. Whatever happened it all seemed to work very well. I think that I can safely say that everyone enjoyed their meals and various conversations that were ebbng and flowing round the tables. I was quite pleased with myself, as even though the menu was in English I managed to order my meal in Bulgarian. The best of it was that what I got served was actually what I hoped that I had ordered. So I can definitely recommend the chicken livers with onions and a side order of chips, if anyone ever finds themself at this restaurant.

As these things have a habit of doing, all too soon it was time to finish, as people started to drift off to go and attend to livestock. It still left about nine of us to go for a final coffee, just off of the main square. It made for a very pleasant Wednesday, good food, good company, good conversations and the sun shone. The good news is that hopefully it will not be too long until the next lunch date. So very many thanks to all who were able to make it, and looking forward to the next one already.