Living in Bulgaria

Market Day In Valchadol
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.In Bulgaria, many of the larger villages hold markets on a Saturday or Sunday.
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.Valchi Dol is one such village.
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.Valchi Dol holds a market once as week on a Sunday.
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.This village is about ten kilometres away from Nickoleavka.
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.I don’t quite know what I was expecting, but the market surprised me.
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.It was quite large and there was a lot more going on than I thought there would be.
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.People had turned up from all over the place to try and sell their surplus produce.
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.These were wide and varied. This ia a market with roads of character.
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.A traditional market where people get together to swap goods and stories
.and generally chill out.
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.It felt like stepping back in time.
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.As you can see from the photos, there are several parts to the market.
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.At the beginning is the traditional stalls that you find on any market.

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.Selling clothes, hardware, toiletries etc.
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.Then further on there was a circle with horses and carts.
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.We weren’t sure if these were for sale or just a place where the owners
.had parked their transport for the day.
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.When you walk past them you come to people selling practically they
.have that is surplus to their requirements.
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.We saw one guy with two pigs, another with a couple of goats and further on

.baby chicks and ducklings were being sold.
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.The next section was like a boot sale.
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.People were selling second hand clothes etc.
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.The market winds round to the start again, right at the very beginning
.there are all the fruit and veg sellers.
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.The produce is all home grown and tastes wonderful.
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.After spending a good while looking around, we made a couple of
.purchases and left via the ice cream stall.
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.It was very hot and the ice cream was not only very welcome but also delicious.
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.All in all we both thought it was a very enjoyable day out.
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.The market at Valchadol was well policed and there was no evidence of trouble,
.but as with all large markets you need to take reasonable precautions.
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.Maybe one day we will see you there?