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celluloid diaries

February 13, 2017

Capsule Conversations: Vanessa Morgan

I chatted with a Belgian travel enthusiast about her favourite packing tips and travel habits.

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  • 5 Tips for Navigating Foreign Public Transportation
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  • I made it to the Rila Monastery! The earliest buildings of this site, as it stands today, date back to 1334. It's the most popular monastery in the Balkans and has quite the history. It was even protected by the sultans during Turk rule for its beauty and significance. _____________________ Because I work hard during the week, it's tempting to just relax and sleep on the weekend rather than sightsee around Bulgaria. In order to play tourist and have a relaxing weekend at the same time, I turned a sightseeing trek into a spa getaway. I decided to visit the Rila Monastery in the mountains about 1.5h outside of Sofia, and stay the night at the Rilets Resort and Spa, that overlooks the forest and a river. . . . . . . . #rila #bulgaria #easterneurope #glt #gltlove #girlsthatwander #wearetravelgirls #girlsabroad #womenwhotravel #femmetravel #traveldreamseekers #travelgirlsgo #explorerbabes #shetravels #travelgram #instatravel #exploreeverything #travelstoke #fromwhereistand #mytravelgram #worldtraveler #instago #igtravel #neverstopexploring #passionpassport #wanderlust #iamatraveler #traveldiaries #digitalnomadgirls
  • It's so much fun to have a colleague who shares your sense of humour and your love of simple and elegant brands like @everlane. Even though I live in Canada and Dima lives in Bulgaria, we're walking in step. Photo by @ilinarejeva
  • Content creators in action. This past weekend, I was in Belgrade, Serbia for WordCamp Europe 2018. WordCamps are two-day conferences about WordPress, the content management system used to build 30% of websites today. I run the local WordCamp in Montreal, which usually attracts around 350 people. WordCamp Europe draws a crowd of over 2,000, so it was pretty impressive. _____________________ For the first time in my WordPress career, I was attending a WordCamp as a sponsor, because SiteGround supports many WordCamps around the world. Usually I'm an organizer, a speaker, or a simple attendee but now I have a whole new lens through which to see the event. _____________________ For the past three years, being a content creator/marketer in the tech industry has been my bread and butter and the key to living a somewhat nomadic lifestyle. But it's not all glam. In fact, it's mostly not. This weekend was spent creating content on the fly, fostering conversations on social media and in real life, and acting on business opportunities only conferences can offer. _____________________ It goes without saying that I was happy to return to my little apartment in Sofia to recover, although I'm quickly learning that all the post-conference follow-up is a lot of work, and on top of it, we're already planning our next big event! I'd be lying if I told you I didn't find it all exciting though. _____________________ Photo by @ clickeysteve . . . . . . . #serbia #belgrade #balkans #WCEU #easterneurope #glt #gltlove #girlsthatwander #wearetravelgirls #girlsabroad #womenwhotravel #femmetravel #traveldreamseekers #travelgirlsgo #explorerbabes #shetravels #travelgram #instatravel #exploreeverything #mytravelgram #worldtraveler #igtravel #neverstopexploring #passionpassport #wanderlust #iamatraveler #traveldiaries #digitalnomadgirls
  • I spent most of the day inside today but the 30 min walk by the river last night and the commute from my hotel earlier today have given me a little glimpse of this city. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Centuries ago, Belgrade was called Singidunum which is Celtic for white fort or town. Funny enough, the contemporary name of Belgrade derives from the Slavic words "bel", which means white, and "grad", a suffix used for a town or fortress. Serbs write the word Beograd without an "l" because they don't pronounce "l" in the word "bel". They write "beo" exactly like they pronounce it. Pretty helpful for a foreigner in my opinion. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ Apparently lots of cities in this part of the world are called "white city". For example, there is Belgorod in Russia, Bilhorod on Dniester in Ukraine, or Biograd na Moru in Croatia. So here is a photo of the Sava river rather than the white buildings, because apparently that's a little more unique. . . . . . . . #serbia #belgrade #balkans #WCEU #easterneurope #glt #gltlove #girlsthatwander #wearetravelgirls #girlsabroad #womenwhotravel #femmetravel #traveldreamseekers #travelgirlsgo #explorerbabes #shetravels #travelgram #instatravel #exploreeverything #mytravelgram #worldtraveler #igtravel #neverstopexploring #passionpassport #wanderlust #iamatraveler #traveldiaries #digitalnomadgirls
  • Zdravo! I just arrived here in Belgrade, Serbia for WordCamp Europe. We drove from Sofia and to be honest the scenery on my Balkan road trip was not what I expected. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The first part of the 4h45 drive was flat farmland, until we hit the Balkan Mountains. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea. For over an hour, we drove the winding roads through the lush green mountain range and man-made tunnels. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Now, I'm about to take a power nap before heading out in search of Serbian food and drink. I don't have a local SIM card here, so you might have get updates in batches. Ciao! . . . . . . . #serbia #belgrade #balkans #WCEU #easterneurope #glt #gltlove #girlsthatwander #wearetravelgirls #girlsabroad #womenwhotravel #femmetravel #traveldreamseekers #travelgirlsgo #explorerbabes #shetravels #travelgram #instatravel #exploreeverything #mytravelgram #worldtraveler #igtravel #neverstopexploring #passionpassport #wanderlust #iamatraveler #traveldiaries #digitalnomadgirls
  • Public bathhouses are a vestige of Turkish influence here in Sofia, a city under Ottoman rule for nearly 500 years. Even the wealthy, who might have been able to design a bath in their private residence, preferred to come bathe with locals. It is said that's where the best gossip was heard. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The Central Mineral Bath pictured here was designed in the early 20th century with a mix of Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox styles. It was used as a public bathhouse until 1986 and was very recently turned into the Sofia History Museum. Come for the hot mineral water, stay for the exhibit. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ . . . . . . . #sofia #bulgaria #easterneurope #glt #gltlove #girlsthatwander #wearetravelgirls #girlsabroad #womenwhotravel #femmetravel #traveldreamseekers #travelgirlsgo #explorerbabes #shetravels #travelgram #instatravel #exploreeverything #travelstoke #fromwhereistand #mytravelgram #worldtraveler #instago #igtravel #neverstopexploring #passionpassport #wanderlust #iamatraveler #traveldiaries #digitalnomadgirls
  • I've been wearing a lot of office-appropriate outfits on this trip but it wouldn't be summer if I didn't sport denim shorts at least once. The weekend felt like the most appropriate time to bust them out since arriving here in Sofia. I leaned into my tourist persona and paired them with my super soft sneakers by @allbirds for some sensible sight-seeing comfort. I also wore a denim top so I could proudly represent my country in a Canadian Tuxedo on this morning's walking tour. Stay tuned for a complete blog post on everything I packed on my Eastern Europe adventure. Not visible in this picture: a decent amount of sunscreen. . . . . . . . #sofia #bulgaria #easterneurope #glt #gltlove #girlsthatwander #wearetravelgirls #girlsabroad #womenwhotravel #femmetravel #traveldreamseekers #travelgirlsgo #explorerbabes #shetravels #travelgram #instatravel #exploreeverything #travelstoke #fromwhereistand #mytravelgram #worldtraveler #instago #igtravel #neverstopexploring #passionpassport #wanderlust #iamatraveler #traveldiaries #digitalnomadgirls
  • I highly recommend the Free Walking Tour for anyone visiting Sofia. I've walked by the main attractions almost every evening this week, but there were tons of things I would never have known without my guide Dimitar. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This is St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, named after a Russian prince. The cathedral was created to honour Russian soldiers who died during the Russo-Turkish War, after which Bulgaria was declared independent from Ottoman rule. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Technically, the cathedral is the second largest in the Balkans after Belgrade's Church of Saint Sava. However, Bulgarian's still call St. Alexander Nevsky the largest "completed" church in the area, which is just an example of classic Balkan rivalry. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ . . . . . . . #sofia #bulgaria #easterneurope #glt #gltlove #girlsthatwander #wearetravelgirls #girlsabroad #womenwhotravel #femmetravel #traveldreamseekers #travelgirlsgo #explorerbabes #shetravels #travelgram #instatravel #exploreeverything #travelstoke #fromwhereistand #mytravelgram #worldtraveler #instago #igtravel #neverstopexploring #passionpassport #wanderlust #iamatraveler #traveldiaries #digitalnomadgirls

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