Expectations

I had expected to be well into my road trip by now. The car problems had caused a frustrating delay. While I'm on the subject, I have a couple of other frustrations when it comes to travel.  I expect everyone who deals with tourists to have at least a little English, and to accept my credit card. How do they expect to make money?
I was so relieved to have my car fixed that I forgave the mechanic both of these transgressions. We were finally on our way. Heading south, we decided to stop in Melnik before leaving Bulgaria. We had visions of a luxury hotel, sauna and massage in our heads. The GPS led us up a narrow cobbled stone road to a rustic looking building that didn't look very luxurious or spa-like.  Of course the owners neither spoke English, nor accept credit cards.  They also seemed bothered by our request for a massage. There was no noticeable sauna or hot tub.

Feeling slightly let down, we set out to explore the town. I was surprised to find gardens full of flowers, vegetables and grape vines. We resisted the temptation to sit down at a restaurant garden, and carried on uphill. DC wanted to enter a museum of an old house, somewhere I would usually avoid as a tourist trap. Since it cost less than $2, we went in. The lady who took our tickets gestured that would should visit the cellars last. The house turned out to be exquisite, with painted ceilings, stained glass windows, roof top gardens, and a secret door that hid a room used by spies. Finally we made our way down to the cellars and explored the rock tunnels used to store wine, before sampling some of the local brew.

Melnik was turning out to exceed our expectations. The local Wine Museum offered wine and "rakia" tasting for under $2, and we couldn't pass that up. There were plenty of restaurants to choose from and we ate well, ordering some new dishes, like fried cheese and skillet veggies, but not overdoing the portion sizes this time.
I climbed up a path looking for Despot Slav's Fortress, and was greeted by a view of sandy rock hills, so dry and bare, they resembled the Badlands of S Dakota. What a contrast from the gardens below in the village, and the green hills of the rest of Bulgaria. I am learning not to expect too much, but welcome the adventure of experiencing something new.