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Friday 25 March 2011

Hotel Regina Maria, Balchik

I had a delicious meal in this classy hotel/restaurant the other day.I did not know pork and plums could go together, but it sure did.The food was excellent and very cheap for a lovely restaurant right on the harbour, with great Black Sea views.My main course with garnish was 14.50lv, a decent bottle of Merlot was 13lv, and a Shopska Salad 3.50lv. The Hotel is located at the far end of the harbour near the Palace and the Korona restaurant.I thoroughly recommend the Regina Maria as Balchik's premier eaterie. 4 stars out of 5

Thursday 24 March 2011

Glorious Day

I think Spring has already started, its sunny and warm, everything is turning green.Drove to Balchik this morning and the Black Sea looked lovely.Easter is fast approaching and with it the first major tranche of tourists.They will virtually all be Romanian perhaps 5000 crossing the border for a cheap vacation in Albena or Golden Sands.Romania is markedly less value than Bulgaria and the service poorer.The growth in Romanian tourism is one of the more significant events in recent years, bar staff are being offered Romanian language courses and Romanian features on the menus now.
Balchik has always attracted many Romanians, even on day trips, to see the Summer Place of the Romanian Queen Marie (who was in fact English and Queen Victoria's grand daughter) and its splendid botanical gardens.