Together! Day #1

Our first day of parenting these new children started with them waking up happy and enjoying the Bulgarian breakfast options at the hotel.  The had croissants and some meat.  After breakfast we set out for a walk to try to find Travis some coffee that hopefully, more closely, resembled the Canadian variety.   We walked out to the McDonalds on the main pedestrian street, Vitosha Ave.  The Coffee was a little less potent than the regular espresso served in Bulgaria but still potent.  The kids had no hats or mitts and it was just below 0 so we found a street vendor that was selling toques and mitts and they chose some hats and mitts to keep them warm while we walked around.  In Bulgaria every one walks and walks very few people drive to where they want to go even when it is cold outside.  They also make sure their children are dressed very warm so we got fewer looks from by passers once their heads and hands were covered.  Eliana had a warm jacked but Justus only had a hoodie.
   I had heard about a Christmas market that was supposed to be happening in the down town area so we called a cab and got him to drive us to where the market was supposed to be taking place. He tough we were a little nuts and once we got there we realized why.  It was only about 6 blocks from our hotel and the market was not really worth going to.  So we had to think quickly about what we would do now.  The cab was already hired and he spoke some English which is rare so we made a last minute decision to go to the new children's museum in Sofia. After a 20 minute cab ride we arrived at a very modern looking building and went inside.  It ended up being a great activity for us to do because the descriptions and directions were all in Bulgarian and English so all of us could understand and take part in all the activities.  The kids had a lot of fun, were so amazed at many of the displays and really enjoyed themselves!  I was impressed that in the health and agriculture part of the museum they were educating children about the dangers of food containing GMOs and chemicals.  They served only GMO free and chemical free food at the cafe as well.
Here are a bunch of pictures from our afternoon.

We called our Taxi after spending a few hours and having a snack of cucumbers and carrots at the museum.  We asked the driver where was the best place to buy large Milka bars and he happened to have a membership to the big Costco like store where all the small stores buy their supplies.  He was willing to get us into there to buy all the chocolate we wanted.
Afterwards we headed back to the hotel for supper.  Eliana and Justus each ordered their favorite traditional Bulgarian dish.

 Of course Shopska Salad is always first on the list of things to order.

 Justus ordered a dish pronounced "saermee."  It is sour cabbage and minced meat rolled in grape vine leaves and eaten with plain yogurt.  This is his absolute favorite food.  His Uncle made this for them regularly.

Eliana ordered "meesh mash"  and it is scrambled eggs with peppers, tomato and Bulgarian cheese.  This dish tasted good and I new we would be making this at home.  Grape leaf wraps maybe not.

This was our last meal in Bulgaria and I don't know if that triggered the wave of grief that occurred, after the meal, in our room but whatever it was I think it needed to happen.  Grief needed to come out and be expressed and thankfully they were able to allow it to overwhelm them and be comforted.  It was long and heart breaking as they started to process this huge event that no child should ever have to experience.  The amazing part was that they allowed us to comfort and hold them, stroke their hair and our tears flowed for them as well.  Adoption is not easy and is always rooted in traumatic events in the lives of children no matter how young or old they are.  As their little bodies wracked with sobs we were storming heaven for healing of their little hearts and minds.  
They came through it and we looked at the photo book their foster mother had made for them from their younger years and they were then ready for bed.  It was going to be a short night as we needed to leave at 4:30 am for the air port.