Hey there!

Hust a quick post to let everyone know that Desi and I have arrived here in Varna, Bulgaria safely. Today marks our second day (first full day) of adventure and already I’ve seen and experienced many new things. The city is beautiful and old, some areas are new while others seem forgotten. This makes for a very interesting place to visit.

I am writing this message from an internet cafe, which are now far fewer in number than they used to be here according to Desi. Our guess is that this is because many more people in the city have home computers and internet connections. Because we are using fairly locked-down public computers, I can’t upload any photos yet. However, I’ll be able to soon enough.

We’re heading to go see Desi’s grandfather next, and the rest of the day will be a surprise as we haven’t planned out much more for today. I’ll write back when I can, and I already have some stories (but they require pictures).

Tomorrow morning, we leave for Toronto. Later in the day, I board a plane leaving Toronto and arriving in Varna, Bulgaria. As I’m sure many of you are aware, I’ll be gone for a month, spending about two weeks in Bulgaria and two weeks touring Europe with my girlfriend Desi. At this point, I’m extremely excited. I’ve never done anything remotely like this before and it will be my first real adventure.

Yes, my camera is coming with me everywhere.

I will try to make updates to my blog whenever possible, though I can’t promise internet access or the ability to upload photos at all times during our adventure. I will be checking my e-mail too, but the only address I will have access to is don.komarechka@gmail.com . Send any e-mail there if you want me to see it while I’m away.

For a very brief overview, we’ll be traveling through Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and anywhere else we decide to go. Most of it is unscripted, so we’re free to walk our own path. We’ll be traveling my rail so every major destination is at our fingertips. We can’t possibly see it all, but it’ll be life-changing all the same.

Life is as interesting and exciting as you want it to be. I’ll be reporting back whether this is true or not

Whenever we have a family gathering, I always end up taking a family photo in some way, and I’m quite happy with the way this one turned out.

This is my step-dad Walter’s side of the family, right before we all headed down to Toronto (the same day all of the other Toronto photos were taken). I’m in no way educated in taking these types of pictures besides my own experience, but I think I’m getting the hang of it.

Last year, Walter’s family came up from California and Texas to visit and relax, and we made a trip to Toronto during their visit. This year they’ve stopped by again and we’ve be having a blast! Again this year, we made a day trip to Toronto.

We hit up some of the same places, including the St. Lawrence Market and the Steamwhistle Brewery. It was a great adventure, and I took some great photos. Here’s one from Steamwhistle:

Some of the best pictures came from walking down by the waterfront, however. Here are some very tame ducks that let me get 2 feet from them without as much as a second look:

There’s a lot to see in Toronto, even with just a walk down any particular street. Here’s a nifty walkway thats curved to mimic waves (or at least that’s my take on it):

We all had a great time, and there are a ton of great photos in the gallery below. Check them out and tell me what you think!

Okay, well maybe not better than my very first bicycle, but it was definitely near the top of the list.

For my birthday this year, Desi surprised me with tickets to see Def Leppard, Poison, and Cheap Trick at the Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto. We were a little late getting there so we missed Cheap Trick, but from what I am told, we didn’t miss much.

The concert was really quite good, we were thoroughly rocked. Desi had gotten us some of the best seats in the concert, about 20-30 feet from the stage and perfectly center. We only had Desi’s cell phone camera to share the experience, so here’s a small taste:

All of the hits were played, and we really enjoyed the performances. The members of Def Leppard are all around 50 years old, but their age certainly doesn’t show on stage.

Desi and I really enjoyed ourselves, and I’d like to thank her here for the wonderful birthday surprise. Thanks so much!