Northern Greece and the EU Bailouts: Still working, still beautiful, but needs to suck it up Buttercup

Hey everyone, I am glad to hear the prom edition had so many good reviews.  July means summer vacation, and this year has been a relaxing start, which is about to get crazy serious with George and I going to the United States.  This upcoming trip will probably result lots of great blog issues, as George's encounters with America could easily be a reality show when a city boy encounters the farm.

Before I go to the United States, I had to write about Northern Greece and our travels there this past week.  For those who only watch the news, you would think the entire country is falling apart, and that all Greeks are suffering horribly.  While the situation isn't rosy by any means, it is no where near as dire as what you see on the news.  Based on what you see on the news, Greece is falling apart at any minute, people are crying in the streets, there is nothing to do, and at any moment there country could fall apart.

Yes, Greece does need to get its shit together.  The best explanation of the crisis in Greece was written by Michael Lewis in his book Boomerang, as it explains the Greek and German mentality before and during the crisis.  Fantastic book worth reading, and there are some big cultural things people miss out on.  For example, it is still cheaper today to transport every Greek citizen by taxi, then to keep paying for the railroad system to work.

The other issues are you cannot have every citizen be self-employed and not paying taxes, you cannot have people retiring at 55 getting gigantic pensions, they need to pay taxes, they cannot expect massive bailouts for nothing, they need to make reforms they should have done 30 years ago when they originally joined the European Union, and they need to live within their means.  You cannot have a pensioner supporting 3-5 people on his/her pension.  It is meant for one person, not to pay for grandchild to go to the beach and smoke cigarettes.  There needs to be real investment, as Greece seems to make nothing but olive oil and ouzo for export.  They need to have industries besides tourism.

The agreement made this week by the European leaders seemed to take a page out of what the European Union does with Romania and Bulgaria. The weird part is this deal is worse than what the Greek government was offered two weeks ago.  In hindsight, I bet the Greek people did not anticipate Eastern Europe telling them we love you, but you need to suck it up Buttercup, because we do more with less money.  The only way Eastern Europeans would agree to another bailout is if Greece was monitored like they have been.  The Greek governments have lied many times before about their finances, and it's why they've been in recession since 2009.

The current package is a nanny type supervision which Erie County had to go through.  I felt horrible when all the corrupt New York leaders and Hillary Clinton said Buffalo's county government needed 'adult supervision' almost 10 years back, but it was true.  Republicans and Democrats worked in tandem to steal millions from the county government, leaving it bankrupt and not much choice but for towns to raise taxes to keep police forces and libraries.  This is what Greece needs now.  However, I wonder if the Greek people will go for it.  Maybe George and I need Drachmas when we go to Greece next month for Elana's wedding.

That being said, Northern Greece is a heck of a place to visit.  Thasos is a cute island about 5 hours  plus 60-90 minutes on a ferry boat from Sofia.  Few may know this, but this area of Greece was part of Bulgaria until the end of WWI, when Bulgaria was forced to give it to Greece, and then a few million Greeks were transplanted to the area after they were forced to leave Turkey in the 1920s.

While Halkidiki is probably more beautiful, Thasos is no slouch, and offered some beautiful views which reminded me of the Albanian coastline.  There are some great places to hang at the beach and eat, although all the food is Greek.  George joked that Thasos is little Bulgaria as all the food is like Bulgaria, the prices are the same, and the only difference is the Greek flag is flying.

Businesses in Thasos seemed prepared for the event, and they are helped by the fact that everyone seemed prepared for this economic collapse to happen.  My hope is that you enjoy the pictures and commentary, and go visit Northern Greece.  It's a cool place with beautiful beaches at affordable prices.  American peeps and gays, it may not be on your radar, but it should be.  Enjoy the pictures, and be ready for George in the U.S.A. blogs when we get back from the States.

Seagulls following the ferry from Kavala to Thasos.  The ferry ride lasted about 90 minutes, and they followed the boat the entire time.  They loved eating bake rolls, Cheetos, Doritos, and anything else the peeps would give them.

View from the hotel in Thasos.  Great view on a hazy day near sunset.  

Lots of people out for dinner on Paradise Beach in Thasos Island.  This restaurant was full of Serbian, Romanian, and Bulgarian tourists.  Good for the economy, but I hope Northern Greece isn't the only part of the country still working.  

This salad menu includes a Beetroof salad, Grab salad, and my personal favorite, a Variety of Creams salad.  I can only imagine what that salad could be and what 'creams' are used.  

I asked for a lemonade at Captain's restaurant.  They said they had lemonade, and brought me a Sprite (a lemon-lime soda) telling me this was indeed the fresh lemonade I had.  Not what I was expecting, but hey, you cannot win them all.  

This one is just for my mom.  Despite the crisis, they had bread and butter at most restaurants we went to.  Yes mom, this is something Bulgaria could learn from.  

George was not very excited about going to the beach in Greece of all places.  However, this rabbit got his attention and he loved how it got to hang out in this person's yard.  There's hope we'll make him a farm boy yet family when he goes to Clarence Center.  

The pottery shop in Thasos with an amazing view.  

Buying pottery in the shop.  

Sunset in Thasos.  On a hot day, this was just what was needed.  

Salmon was also a nice treat, and perfectly cooked.  Hmm, hmm, good.  Great seafood in Greece at affordable prices.

Probably not the safest way to have electricity run through Thasos.  This was in the exact center of town on the main touristy walkway.  But with the government in crisis and no money, it is going to stay this way for awhile as I doubt they're going to have the money to fix this.  

A beautiful watering hole overrun by Eastern European tourists.  Rebecca mentioned there were few people last year, and how cool, relaxed, and awesome it was to spend the day there.  Not this year.  It was insane this year, and it was like a typical Eastern European traffic jam at the lagoon, in the people did whatever the hell they wanted to.  If someone got hurt, oh well, as long as it wasn't me.  There were babas bathing by the side refusing to let people out.  There were small children in rafts while people were diving in.  There were people diving in from opposite sides and hitting each other every once in awhile.  And yet, no one got hurt by some miracle in pure Eastern European fashion.

Men showing off for the ladies by jumping from the top.  I did not jump from that high, as one of our mates jumped from there and said he touched the bottom of the lagoon.

This is one of my tests of putting me in the picture on the seaside.  As you can see, I'm highly skeptical I will pull this off, as I am 'Detroit Lion 0-16' horrible at taking selfies.  This is definitely another loss, as this was the best of the selfie pics. 

Great cliff side views that reminded me of Albania.  Thasos reminded me of Albania and what the Albanian Riveria could look like in 10-15 years.  Luckily, I got the chance to be a passenger most of the time on the island, rather than driving in Albania.

Rebecca honking at Rachel and I to get our butts back in the tank while we were taking pictures.

This cat is watching his garbage cans near the hotel, hoping for egg mixed with hot dog scraps.  He is definitely saying, "Touch my garbage, and I will kill you in your sleep!"

George's Tavern near the beach.  George did not find this so funny.

The 56 stair workout to get to our hotel room, as this was built on a hill.  Had some great views from the room as a result.  Definitely a mini workout when you're walking up this 5-6 times a day.

Prom 2015: Go Big or Go Home

Good evening peeps.   Summer vacation is underway, and I have spent the first week of vacation spending time with great friends visiting, cleaning out and rearranging stuff in the soon the be fabulous classroom, and spending four days with a sore throat and minor stomach flu.  That's right, Mr. Joseph got sick either from students, staff, or part of some X-file plan to pay me back for writing about driving in Bulgaria.   Since I am feeling a tad better after feeling like leftover rubbish even the gypsy horse carts pass by, I am finally writing the issue I've been meaning to write about:  Prom.

A high school prom may be quite the event in the United States, so of course Bulgarians have decided to taking celebrating prom to cray cray levels.  As I was speaking with one Bulgarian friend, she said there were things we'd do at 18-19 that we'd never do when we're 21 or older.  In Bulgaria, that is definitely the case.  There is the strong belief (especially outside of Sofia) that the end of high school is the high point of your life, and afterward your life will pretty much amount to nothing.  While it could be watching too much My Sweet 16 on MTV, Bulgarians really 'go big or go home' when it comes to prom season.

Prom in Bulgaria:

For a prom, it is not unusual for some families to take out a $3,000 - 6,000 Euro loan to pay for prom expenses for their son or daughter.  This is what 3,000 - 6,000 Euros could get you for a prom dress.   In the past few years, prom has been about showing your friends that you family has the funds to purchase the most fabulous dress you could ever want to wear, even if this dress is never easy to wear.

If you think the dresses are extreme, so are the cars.  In the U.S., you get a limo, but here it is you must get the fanciest car possible, and limos aren't the thing to drive around town hanging out the windows.  ,It is quite common for people to pay lots of money to rent out an expensive car for the evening.  This girl arriving to prom in a Lamborgini is very normal.  So are people counting to 12 and dancing away in the streets.

Prom season during the Peace Corps was nowhere near as pricey, as people didn't have the ability to take out large loans to do such things.  In the past 7-8 years, people want to show off and do, even if it puts them in debt forever.  In small towns, the prom is one of the big events of the year, and people will line up to take pictures of the outrageous dresses, cars, and drunken debachary.  Three years ago, George and I observed prom weekend in Plovdiv, and there were about a thousand people milling about the Princess hotel to see how cray cray people were willing to do, and they delivered like Dominos Pizza.

Sadly, I cannot find the pictures, but the videos below give you an idea out of some of the outrageously funny things we saw that weekend.  I strongly suggest we do a May 2016 prom trip to Pazardjik or Pernik next year.  Sure there is the Rose Festival and Kukeri, but how can we miss out on ALL THIS:

Arriving to Prom in a Tractor

Arrive to Prom in Style

Prom on Journalist Square May 25th, 2015:

This year, I was fortunate to have a high school class or two from Pernik has one of their stops actually be on Journalist's Square.  It's an unusual stop for a group out of town, as usually we're just a stop at 1am or 2am for drunken high school students to get alcohol for their after party.  New in 2015, people actually need to stay in cars, and cannot hang out like mad fools driving 180 kph driving around town.

While I was woken up from a nap and thrilled, it was not as funny the call I got from Rebecca, our librarian at school.  There was a 70s/birthday party that some people got quite 'happy'.  Rebecca was having a peaceful Sunday hibernation, only to be disturbed by serious honking and expensive cars.

Last year we were the drunken pit stop, so I was thrilled to grab shots of these Pernik kiddos celebrating their graduation.  Enjoy the picture show and the commentary, and notice how the prom dresses are much classier than they were a few years ago (I guess no one wants to be an internet sensation anymore).

The first signs something was going to happen on the square when a Corvette honks and parks on the street with three ladies wearing classy dresses.  

This son was driven by mom in the family Audi.  Kudos for not spending money on an outrageous car and for driving the family car.  Sadly, mom wasn't the best at parking, and I thought her car was going to be taken out by the 12 tram.  

10 tram driver in the back easily got behind schedule due to the entourage from Pernik.  The bell ringing on that tram lasted a good bit of time, all to no avail.   

The lead girls (the girl in the turquoise dress was riding in the Corvette, so her family had money, or took out quite the loan) heading their class up the hill to either Forno Cippolini or to play board games with Boris and Marinella.  I am going with board games.

The photographer recording events of the evening.  I was quite impressed that all the girls were in somewhat classy dresses, and there were no hoochie mama dresses to be found.  

The ceremony of counting to `12 on the walk up to play board games with Boris and Marinella.  I sure hope they had enough wine and whiskey for them.

The still sober crowd walking up the hill.  

The Pernik peeps even had a camera man to record the night's festivities.  That way, when they're 40, they can relive the memories with their families, or be shamed for what they were doing on the internet in future years.  

The traffic jam caused by the entourage of cars were not pleasing the tram 12 or 18 drivers.  There were lots of tram bells ringing to no avail.  For these Pernik kids, this was their moment and that tram is going to have to wait, no matter what.  

This guy was the 'I'm too cool to be with the rest of the group' from Pernik.  While he wanted to be participate in prom, he obviously did not want to walk with the others.  

The 10 tram has moved about 100 meters in 15 minutes, and is ticked off by the Mercedes driver parking in front of the tracks.  

The owner of the Corvette was proud to show off his engine to the other luxury car drivers.  

Allegedly, a 28 year old man in the blue shirt escorting his 19 year old girlfriend to the prom.  

These two were my favorite, because it's 6pm on Sunday, and they've done a half a bottle of Jack Daniel's each.  But, it isn't enough for one of them, as he has to take the bottle to play board games with Boris and Marinella.  Please note these two weren't rude, just funny.  

The boys realizing they've lost the rest of the group, and cannot share in the festivities at Boris and Marinella's.  Allegedly, they're calling their friends, but like Owen, appear lost even though their friends are about 100 meters away. 

Since the phone didn't work, they managed to get it together and politely asked a guy for directions.  He showed them the correct way to get to Marinella's to play board games.  

Board games are over, and now it's time for the next stop, which is probably to take pictures in front of Parliament and Nevski before the sun goes down, then to a club to dance the night away. 

The first to enter, and the last to leave.  These ladies are showing their peeps they're going to take care of their tribe for the night, but forgot to stop at Avanti for discounted spirits and wine.

Leaving Journalist Square

This BMW made up for itself by some great balloon coverage.  

The red car could have racing stripes, but no balloons sadly.  

I wonder how much it is to rent a Corvette for the night with a driver.  

The entourage leaves Journalist Square around 7:30pm, and luckily didn't come back for alcohol around 1am to wake me up.  Asante Sanaa prom, and until next May 2016.

Fury Road: Sofia Style

This is a blog issue which I expect may cause some death and anger, as I will be writing about all the insane drivers in Bulgaria.  If I somehow die or get into a major accident after this blog issue is written, I blame 'insert you most hated rich guy here driving a Mercedes, Audi, or Porshe' or a driver from the Sofia oblast driving a 1995 Volkswagen Polo.

When driving in the Balkans, here are some tips I have followed that have helped me out and kept my sanity:

1.  At anytime, you could be killed by a 15-20 year old Volkswagen Polo or Opel:  

That's right people.  The average age of a car in Bulgaria is around 10 years old, which means Sport Skoda, aka my car, is still young and vibrant.  Some of the worst drivers own 15-20 year old cars, and spend a lot of time recreating Formula 1 scenes on the streets of Sofia.  On the way to watch Mad Max, George and I noticed a 15+ year old Volkswagen Polo weave past two Mercedes, almost break an axle, and then almost knock out a tram while going about 80 km/h in the center of Sofia, or about 50 miles per hour. 

A few years back, I saw a old VW Polo driven by a 20ish year old man smash into some lady turning left, as he was trying to pass 6 cars going about 100 km/h in a 50 km/h zone.  Luckily, the lady with two kids were uninjured, but the VW drove off as if nothing happened.  This Easter, this VW Polo driver made all the news channels for his creative driving skills.

Pretty much, if you see one of these cars with a male driver behind the wheel chain smoking coming at you at a high rate of speed, you never know what might happen.  Just hope you get by unscathed, but accidents deaths number between 550-700 per year, with thousands injured.

Lesson Learned:  Old cars are high speed death traps ready to kill you at any moment.  

2.  You can drive whatever speed you want to drive:  

Pretty much, you can drive however you want, whenever you want, and there is a 99% chance nothing will happen to you, unless by some miracle there is a policeman who actually decides to do something besides check car documents and smoke cigarettes.

So, if you want to drive 30 kph in a 90 kph zone and create a 30 car traffic jam behind you?  No problem here.  Drive 180 kph in a 90 kph zone?  No problem.  Pass on the right?  No problem.  Zig Zag through traffic to be one car ahead and cause two accidents?  No problem.  Drive 250-300 kph on the highway?  No problem, as the driver in the link in one of the many to drive so fast on the highways here and not get a ticket.  Ever.  This motorcycle driver proves you can go over 200 km/h

Knock out and kill someone on the highway?  Might be a problem, depending on your income.  If your accident makes the news, and then you're definitely in trouble.

Lesson learned:  Drive at whatever speed you want, and tell the others to suck it.  

3.  Stop Signs Are Optional in Local Neighborhoods:

Stop signs?  Optional depending on the intersection, any some intersections on the smaller streets do not have them.  People have an idea who should get the right of way in these instances, but sometimes both parties feel they have the right of way, especially more expenisive cars.  In Iztok, there have been numerous fender benders as no one really bothers to stop at intersections without stop signs.

Long ago in August 2009, there was this accident in from of the Azerbaijani Embassy involving a 'businessman' and some poor person not realizing he needed to stop.  Why?  Because there is no stop sign there, even after this accident.  Here is what you need to know about this accident.

1.  If you check out the Googles Map site for this intersection, there is only about 100 meters maximum on Metodi Popov between Charles Darwin and Metodi Popov.  That is about 343 feet, or 0.06 of a mile for those imperial measurement users.
2.  The Mercedes flipped a Toyota SUV crossing Metodi Popov from Charles Darwin.
3.  Think about the rate of speed the Mercedes driver was traveling at on this minor side street to flip a Toyota SUV like this.
4.  The Mercedes driver totaled this car, but had a new car in ______________.  (my answer below)

Lesson learned:  Stop at all intersections without a stop sign in Bulgaria, as stop signs are optional in Bulgaria.  

Mercedes knocked this car into entrance of the Azerbaijani Embassy.  This probably put the price of natural gas up a few hundred leva.  

The large rounds stones could not protect the embassy from a businessman driving a Mercedes.   My bet is the Mercedes driver had a new car by Monday, and the delay was that this happened on a Friday afternoon.

4.  If you drive an expensive luxury car, you can park pretty much anywhere: 

If you have an expensive car, you can not only drive fast and furious, but you can be a total jerk and park wherever you would like.  In the picture below, this Porshe SUV from Plovdiv is parked directly in front of a mall entrance.  Why?  Because they have lots of money and simply don't'care what you think.  If this was a 20 year old VW Polo, it would have been towed, but luxury vehicles get to do whatever they want without penalty.

Lesson learned:  A few rich people really suck.  

At the entrance to the Sofia Ring Mall.  This person is very special.  

In the next picture, this business lady parked her very large Mercedes SUV in a spot that was not a spot, and threatened action on the people daring to call the police because this is where she parked her car.   

Mercedes parked illegally

Woman who can't be bothered to park legally and shamed rightfully on social media.

5.  Merging is a skill that makes you a big wimp:  
In the United States and Canada, merging is a process that everyone learns to do and respects.  In Bulgaria and the Balkan Peninsula, merging pretty much means you suck at driving or you're a gigantic wimp if you let someone merge in front of you.  Despite what would make logical sense when merging off a ramp, drivers will either not let you in on purpose, and make you force your way in with lots of honking.  Other times, they speed up to get into the space meant for merging.  In construction zones, rather than taking turns, people will create 8 lanes which will merge into one, and one driver will try to plow through 30 cars just to be first, and create accidents.

Lesson learned:  Merging means you suck, which means you must furiously plow ahead to prove you can drive.

6.  Ordinarily nice people turn into raving maniacs when driving:

For some reason I still cannot figure out, some of the nicest people turn into stark raving maniacs when driving.  There seems to be a belief that one must be a Mad Max driver in order to survive in the streets here.  There tends to be a lot of road rage, such as this incident in Mladost.  Rather than waiting patiently and have the traffic jam go smoother, drivers cause massive traffic jams where a 5 minute wait turns into a 20-30 minute rage fest.

One time when I was on quest for a fun filled evening of Swan Lake, I saw two driver duke it out in the center during the middle of a snowstorm.  They both got a few punches in, probably left a black eye or good bruise on the cheek, then hopped back into their cars and drove off.  No police report done.

The two videos below give you road virgins an idea how one drives here in Sofia.  You can fast forward through the boring parts.

Lesson Learned:  Pretty much anything is legal here in Sofia, even though there are rules.

Driving in Sofia

Passing on a 2 lane road in the Mountains

7.  At least Bulgaria is not the Middle East, Africa, or China:

That being said, there are a lot worse places to drive, even though people here think Bulgaria is probably not the best place to drive.  For those in the USA, you get why I have to behave myself when I drive in Buffalo in the summer.  Hope you enjoyed this issue.  Remember in case I die, you can blame the Plovdiv Porshe SUV driver whose picture I put in the blog, or an 20 year old VW Polo driver who took out my car.  

Cine Grand Tsar Lounge

Chestita Baba Marta!  I hope all of you have martenitzas and are ready for the coming of spring.  Some of you have experienced one cold, bitter winter full of six feet snow drifts, -30 degree temperatures, and are completely ready to tell winter to 'suck it' and move forward to spring flowers.  D.C peeps had their usual 'let's close because we cannot plow roads' and have 3-8 fake snow days, while Sofia peeps have had a somewhat normal winter instead of the 'let's piss off all skiers and be 55-60 all winter long'.

During the winter season before Baba Marta announces it's time for spring, it is a time to chill, be fat and fabulous, and do winter activities.  In the U.S., I would be watching tons of hockey, but my team really sucks, and the Olympics last year were my only chance to watch decent hockey on T.V.  Instead of hockey, we watch movies at the cinema.

In fact, George and I have gotten so bad that we treat ourselves to the Cine Grand TSAR Lounge to watch movies, and only go some other theater if we have to.    We will watch anything in the TSAR Lounge, except for 50 Shade of Grey (I am determined to watch 50 Shades once in front of straight people and laugh at all the bad crap some gay guy already wrote about and did a much better job writing about, yet didn't get paid for like E.L. James)

What?!?!? my American and Bulgarian friends might ask?  How can you afford all that money on movies and go on average once per week, especially the TSAR Lounge?  The answer is simply elementary as Sherlock Holmes would say.  Here is why the TSAR Lounge is such a deal, and so worth going to:

CINE Grand TSAR Lounge:  The only place to go see a movie.

Reasons 1-3 for Cine Grand TSAR Lounge:  

1.Only 32 Seats in the theater. 

2. Tickets cost between 14-16 BGN( 7-8 Euros, or about 8-9 USD). 

That's right people.  Tickets for this theater are expensive for Bulgaria, but cheap for the U.S. and Western Europe.  In Seattle, I went to one of these theaters, and paid $25 USD to see Bridesmaid in a fancy lounge seat.  It was a blast to sit in the seat, but with a snack my movie bill was around 40 USD.  When my cousin and I took my nephews to the movies a few years back, we paid $65 USD for tickets and snacks, and this was for a 2pm showing of the Smurfs with two kids tickets being bought.  

At TSAR Lounge, you pay 14-16 BGN for a movie.  For  ... a ... reclining ... seat.  

3.  We are a 15 minute walk from the City Center (Shitty Center) Mall

Cine Grand is centrally located in the middle of the Lozenets neighborhood between old, established, classy Lozenets, and the over-the-top, mafia, I need to prove myself, new money, and home to many 21-25 year old business women driving Porshes and Audis in new Lozents by the U.S Embassy and Kempenski Hotel.  

Yes, we are a 15 minute walk from this theater.  No driving needed.  No dealing with idiot Bulgarian drivers with 15 year elderly, small, deathtrap Opel/Volkswagen cars being Formula 1 drivers racing to the next place to prove they have a penis.  No dealing with Audi, Mercedes drivers who think their shit doesn't smell so they can literally get away with anything, including killing a baba crossing in a crosswalk(you laugh, but it happens).   The grocery store and CINE Grand theater have given this mall some life for grocery shopping and movies, and people come to this mall just to go to the theater, plus it helps it is at a metro stop.   

A few of our lovely lady friends visiting the TSAR Lounge

Reasons 4-6 to Visit Cine Grand Tsar Lounge:

4.  They give you a free bottle of water

5.  They give you a free glass of orange juice or champagne

6.  They put free 3-D glasses at your seat to watch a 3D movie

That's right people, for the price of your movie ticket, you get all three things for FREE.  Let me repeat that, FREE!   So instead of paying an extra 3-4 BGN for glasses and water, we get it for free.  Most times, we get there to enjoy the free glass of champagne before the movie starts.  Being raised by my grandmother, I'm all about free stuff.  Free is good.  :)

Baba Marta even likes it:  this is us with martenizas on from last year enjoying the seat reclining.  Now, I always take my shoes off, and pretend like I'm at home watching a movie.  

Reasons 7-9 to visit the TSAR Lounge at CINE Grand:

7.  You can order food and drinks and they deliver it to your seat.

Correct, you have a waiter who will brink you snacks, drinks, and alternative drinks to your seat for a reasonable price.  My favorite is bring a glass of white wine for 6 BGN, while others enjoy their popcorn being served in a bowl, not the cardboard container.  

8.  Seats recline

As you can see from the pictures, the seats are awesome, and you can recline as much as you want.  Most times, I am greatly tempted to show up in my pajamas and bring a blanket.  While I have never done this for the looks I might get from other theater attendees, I may just start doing it once I turn 40 and say F it, I can do what I want people.  

9.  Free laughs at Indian English

CINE Grand is an Indian company running cinemas in Bulgaria, and some of the English used is hysterical.  The movie ticket says on it: "We thanks for business.".  While if you ever go with me to TSAR Lounge, I will tell George quite loudly to put his camera away and stop pirating the movie on his phone when they are showing the advertisement silently saying pirating films is criminal.  Saying this is like Charlie Brown, Lucy, and the football.  It never gets old, always gets a good laugh, and supports the U.S. Embassy policy of combating piracy.  

In fact, you can recline all the way back if you'd like.  

So the next time you want to see a movie in Sofia, you should definitely go to the TSAR Lounge.  Totally worth the price, and we're happy to go with anyone, anytime to the TSAR Lounge.  Treat yourself, but don't mind me if I bring my Sabres onesy blanket.