Finally we got to Alekovo in June 2012!

A 5 hour drive from Sofia (yes, we know that Bucharest in Romania is nearer but the flights just weren’t convenient) and Nick got us lost by taking a wrong turning – although we did enjoy a beautiful 270km detour with some great sights along the way!

Finally meeting Joanna and Nigel was fantastic and they were more of a blessing than we had imagined.  Staying with them during our visit was great fun and a great introduction to living in Bulgaria in a “real” way, i.e. with the Bulgarian people.

When we finally got to the property we had a really good look around, guided by Nigel who had been working there for some time.  His advice in many areas has been invaluable – so if you need a renovator, contact him! There were large areas that we could not access – we couldn’t walk the real boundary as some areas had thistles 7 feet high in them!  Next time, in the spring, we will do that.

The barn and outbuilding roofs (internal) are beautiful craftsmanship – need to find a way to preserve and show that in the final house design.