I’m happy with the show. The music and execution were fantastic. It’s one of those events that sticks with you and leaves a lasting memory.
The team managed to sneak in some Bulgarian jokes and contemporary puns and localize the experience, particularly with Phantom’s signature. It was never PO.
It was difficult to find the cast – not on the show’s website or anywhere inside the venue. Leaving here for future reference, we had Nadim Naaman as the Phantom, Harriet Jones and Georgia Wilkinson as Christine, Lara Martins as Carlotta, and Dougie Carter as Raul. Sources – here and here.
This was the first time I had visited the number one hall of NDK (4K+ seats) since childhood. I researched where the music would be best. I think the 18th row was a bit far from the stage and I could’ve tried to find something closer, perhaps on another day.
It’s not too late to visit the show, it performs until Sunday.
Sofia has many restaurants where you can sit, spend hours, and eat well. The city center is transitioning from an office center to a tourist center, with airlines delivering thousands of tourists every day. Consequently, as offices relocate from the center, restaurants witness a shift in their clientele from regular locals to ever-changing tourists. When a guest asks for a recommendation, we tend to send them to the slow and expensive places for the best experience. The reality is that it’s not where we eat. It’s more likely that you’ll find a Bulgarian having lunch at KFC or Pizza Lab than any of those traditional recommendations.
So here is my list of places where I actually like eating. All are either fast food or close to that. They’re ordered by importance, high to low.
Beshamel – a chain of small restaurants with cooked food. It’s fast food but not junk food. The kitchen is central so the food is the same at all of the places. Most of the meals are not far from what my parents would cook
BDS – a chain of fast food kufte/kebapche places. You can have Shkembe and Shopska Salad or the menu with 2 kebapche and experience the true Bulgarian cuisine
Ikigai – an okay Bulgarian edition of Japanese-style food. If you want ramen though, Umamido is a better choice.
Fabrika Daga – I eat sandwiches there but they have ordinary food. The food is hipster, with a lot of taste in everything. I enjoy that and am a frequent customer
Satsanga – the only vegetarian food I enjoy eating. It would be my top contender for the most delicious food in Sofia
Ribs Brothers – what the title says
There’s nothing wrong with places like Shtastlivetza, Mediterraneo, Pod Lipite, Victoria, Happy and so on that get traditionally recommended to visitors. However, all the places where I go are quick, you pay, get your food, eat, and leave. The food is fine.
I’d normally not take photos of my lunch but found these two, featuring Ribs Brothers and Beshamel.
In November 2023, newly registered electric cars in Sofia began receiving license plates starting with EA (Electric Automobile). Electric vehicles have the right to park for free in the city center and this change probably makes it easier for everyone who uses the benefit. Me and my kids on the other hand started counting the cars. All newly registered cars would have plates that look like EA XXXX AA. We would try to find the highest number but it would always end with AA. Today we spotted an EA AB number, meaning that there are at least 10K electric cars registered since the introduction of the new plates in November.
2 electric cars, parked in the middle of nowhere, Poligona, one of which has the highest EA AB number on our family record. Looks like a Zoe.
Veselin.blog 