When:
August 7 - 19, 2013
Led
by:
Jim Gold
Featuring:
-
Explore monuments of ancient Thrace, Greece, Rome,
Byzantium, and medieval Bulgaria.
- Visit Sofia, scenic Bansko in the Pirin Mountains, artistic
Plovdiv.
-
See 10th-century Rila Monastery with its icons and murals,
and Veliko Turnovo, medieval capital of Second Bulgarian
Empire !
- Travel to dance, sing, and attend performances of Bulgarian
folk dance groups at local Koprivshtitsa Folk Festival !
Price includes:
- Round
trip jet from New York
-
Transfers
- Hotels
- Two
meals daily
- An
English speaking guide
- Our own private bus
and driver
- All
entrance and performance fees.
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Price:
 About Jim Gold
Jim brings a love of music, people and languages to his tours and dance classes, making them
a joy for all ages. For over 25 years, he has led Jim Gold International Folk Tours to
Bulgaria, Greece, Norway, Turkey, Hungary, Israel, Jordan, Croatia, Slovenia, Czech Republic,
Slovakia, Egypt, Tunisia, Russia, the Baltics and Spain to experience their history and culture,
from a folk dance perspective. He is also the author of ten books. His latest is: 50 Folk
Dances Choreographed by Jim Gold. Jim is a classical guitarist and folk singer as well. He has
performed on TV, at universities and schools, and on national radio.
Bulgarian Folk Dancers Meet with Members of Our Group
Performers Warm Up at the Koprivshtitsa
Folk Festival
Koprivshtitsa
Folk Festival
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Anne Shaffer writes about Bulgaria 2010
Carol Karels Bulgaria Journal from 2007
 Day
1: Wednesday, August 7:
Depart on Air France from JFK airport in New York City.
Day
2:Thursday, August 8:
Arrival in Sofia. Transfer to 5-star Radisson SAS located in the heart of the
city. Welcome dinner at Victoria Restaurant. Overnights at Radisson Hotel.
Day
3: Friday,
August 9:
Sightseeing walking tour of Sofia: Alexander Nevski Cathedral,
Nationa Parliament, Saint Sofia Basilica, 4th century Saint George Rotunda, ruins of
Roman Serdica,. Optional visit to the Sephardic Synagogue, largest in Eastern Europe.
Afternoon free. Explore museums, galleries, shops, bistros Folklore Dinner with live show
and wine.
Day
4: Saturday, August 10:
Further sightseeing, this time of greater Sofia. Visit the National
Museum of History in the prestigious Boyana District. Continue through the wooded
Vitosha mountain, to the village of Kovachevtsi to attend the singing workshop at the
Summer School of Kremena Stancheva, world famous Bulgarian folk singer.
After a
traditional home-made lunch, return to Sofia through the picturesque Iskar River Gorge, with
stops in the Town of Samokov (optional visit to synagogue and Museum House of Ariel, a
Jewish family known as first modern bankers in Bulgaria) and the Iskar dam, largest
artificial lake on the Balkans. Evening free..
Day
5: Sunday, August 11:
Drive to 10th-century Rila Monastery (in UNESCO’s list of world
heritage). Enjoy a fresh trout lunch on the bank of a mountain river, then drive downhill to
the city of Blagoevgrad, home of the American University in Bulgaria, continue through
Predela mountain pass separating the Rila and Pirin mountains, highest ranges in the Balkans,
to the town of Bansko. Overnights in luxurious five-star Hotel Kempinski Grand Arena.
Day
6: Monday, August 12:
Walking tour of Bansko, a stronghold of Bulgarian culture and
tradition. Then visit the mysterious village of Dobarsko, where the local choir Dobarski
Babi will give us a private performance followed by a traditional Bulgarian banistsa and
yogurt snack. Late afternoon picnic dinner at Chalin's Farm including horse cart ride,
wine, and live music.
Day
7: Tuesday, August 13:
This morning we’ll journey into the heart of wild nature, a unique ride
on the narrow-gauge railway from Bansko to Avramovi Kolibi, highest railway station on
the Balkans! Then drive through the beautiful pine forests of the Rhodopes—the mountain
of Orpheus, to Velingrad, spa-capital of Bulgaria. Stop for a delicious lunch before driving
through the Upper Thracian Valley, a fertile land known as Bulgaria’s fruit and vegetable
basket, on to the artistic capital. Of Plovdiv. Evening free. Overnights at hotel
Trimontium-Princess.
Day
8: Wednesday, August 14 :
Morning sightseeing tour of Plovdiv's Old Quarter, known as
Bulgaria's Montmartre for its art galleries and antique shops. View masterpieces of 17th to
19th century Bulgarian architecture, a 2nd century Roman Theater, and the country's richest
Ethnographic Museum. Afternoon at leisure. Dinner with chamber music at famous
Alafrangi Restaurant where Pope John Paul 2nd lunched during his visit in 2001.
Day
9, Thursday ,
August 15:
Drive through Valley of the Roses to the Valley of Thracian Kings
(UNESCO's site). Visit the recently discovered Kosmatka Tomb, the gold-domed Shipka
Memorial Church before crossing the Balkan Mountains through the Shipka Pass with
Liberty Monument commemorating Bulgaria's Liberation from Turkey in 1878. Afternoon
visit to Etura Open Air Crafts Museum displaying two centuries of country houses and
crafts. Arrive in Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria’s medieval capital. Overnights at the Grand
Yantra Hotel.
Day
10, Friday, August 16:
Sightseeing tour of Veliko Turnovo. Visit the dramatic Tsarevets
Royal Hill with its palaces and churches perched on cliffs of Yantra River gorge. In the
afternoon, we’ll drive to the charming village of Arbanassi, summer residence of medieval
royalty. Dinner in a stylish local restaurant with live music.
Day
11-12, Saturday-Sunday, August 17-18:
KOPRIVSHTITSA FOLK FESTIVAL!
After early breakfast, drive through the scenic Beklemeto mountain pass to Koprivshtitsa, for
the opening of the local Koprivshtitsa Folklore Festival! Morning walking tour to see the
authentic architecture of Bulgaria’s National Revival Period (18-19th century). In the
afternoon, enjoy singing and dancing at the festival! Overnights at the small country hotels
Bashtina Kashta, Astra, Kolorit, and Dahlia.
Day
13, Monday, August 19:
Transfer to Sofia Airport for your flight home.
Koprivshtitsa
Folk Festival Parade
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