I have spent the last week on holiday by Balchik in Bulgaria by the Black Sea with my mum. We have a small apartment at White Lagoon Beach Resort. With blue skies, sunshine and temperatures close to 30 degrees celsius in the air and 24 degrees celsius in the water, we are enjoying our holiday. It is the first time for us both to visit the country and to swim in the Black Sea. Above is our view from our terrace, where we have enjoyed our breakfasts and part of our evenings.

The standard of the resort is as you can see, tip top. We have tested one of four pools – no, not the one with the slide – the gym (which has been nearly as warm as the beach) the mini market, the two restaurants as well as the mini spa offering massages and pedicures which we could not refuse. Every day we had a morning swim before the pool became too popular and crowded.

Above you see my mum looking out across one of the two bays at the resort, with the white chalk cliffs in the background. We did find a good path into the water which had plenty of sharp rocks, as you can see.

Here I am on our evening walk down to the restaurant on the beach. Our favourite meal is the delicious fried Black Sea Shark. We had some beautiful evening skies. We wanted to see a little more than the resort and decide to take a sightseeing and shopping trip to Varna.

The first stop on our excursion to Varna, the third largest city in Bulgaria – the second largest in the summer – was the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin, built in the 19th century. We were lucky and witnessed a combined wedding and child christening inside. Below you see the photographer from inside the cathedral. The second stop was at the Grand Mall, and yes, it was a huge one. My mum found a beautiful pair of shoes – do not miss Bulgarian designer shop Sara Pen if you go – and I have finally found a new pair of sunglasses. It was time since my old ones are more than a decade old. I do prefer a souvenir I will use frequently.

We also took the shuttle bus from the resort to Balchik yesterday, and had a walk around in the nearest village to our resort. I have seen only one single knitter here, on the beach. But with such high temperatures, I found it too hot to knit on the beach and have knitted very little in the evenings on our terrace.

Unfortunately, I have not found any yarn shops nor fabric shops in neither Varna nor Balchik. But we did find and tested a fish spa, where the “Garra Rufa fish nibbles on our skin and simulating the nerve ends, allowing blood to flow more fluidly”. It tickled less than I thought where I sat on a box with my legs from knees and down into an aquarium tank. Above you see me photographing at the beach promenade at Balchik.

I will miss the 120 degrees view of the Black Sea, as well as the lovely weather, that is for certain. Today, we are heading home feeling recharged. Regards from Bulgaria!