The Free Food Tour of Sofia

After lunch we waited in Krystal Park beside an gruesome statue of a much hated dictator, Stefano Stambolov who had been assassinated so the statue has a huge crack running through his head . No love there!
Kris, our guide met us and outlined the original and purpose of our tour known as 'Best Bites'. He was proud of his city and believed this to be the only free  food Tour in the world . New York has one too but you have to pay for the food you eat . This tour is free and happens every day at 2.00pm . The first 15 get on the tour.
Our first stop was the Supa Star soup restaurant which  specialized in freshly made healthy fast foods for on the go people . Here we sampled Tarator soup , a summer specialty in Bulgaria- in fact I am making it for tea tonight . It is made from yoghurt,cucumber,dill,garlic and walnuts and for cucumber haters to be avoided but the rest will enjoy.
Our next stop was a cafe known as The Sun Moon that served 32 different breads daily  with traditional dips and fare . We were given two dips to sample made from roasted red peppers,tomato and garlic,very delicious and I managed to get a bottle at duty free to take back with me. The other dip had eggplant added to it both were tasty and reflected the importance of tomatoes and peppers to Bulgarians,they are staple food and Kris told us of his childhood and the rituals he remembered of the gathering and storing of food for winter months.
He took us past the open air book market and the oldest market in Sofia where people bought in their produce for sale.
He showed us the 'squats' small windows from basement shops opening into the streets at knee hight to sell food and drink items,lots near bus stops,very cheap to rent. He also told us why the houses were built overhanging the streets, money of course as they are taxed on the ground floor footprint . Makes sense now,I thought it was some traditional practice.
Our next stop was a very attractive rustic looking restaurant , called- wait for it: Hadjidraganovite Izbi which served us three local cheeses on breads and served with a local herb drink made there and served in tiny thimble like bowls .It  reminded me of a liqueur.
Our group was a nice mix too so we enjoyed their company along the way,we even found a fellow Kiwi,a young woman from Cromwell would you believe.
To finish the tour we were given a sweet soaked in sugar syrup on a stick. Lucky us to find this tour.
We ended our day with a trip down the fashion street looking for something for Brad to wear to a wedding before eating El fresco in a garden bar beside the museum and it's old Roman  artifacts . History everywhere you look here .
For a town that started with a seedy look two days ago  it slowly revealed itself as a place of rich history and culture as you explored the historical sites and gained an appreciation of the diversity of culture and heritage in a little known part of the world.