A change in latitude, does wonders to my attitude.

My last stop of the great Balkans escape is the capital city of Sofia  . A woman's name for a not so demure city. Best summed up as a city with an ancient history and being one of the oldest countries in Europe. Who would have thought? City Centre Marinela Hotel  We flew from Sarajevo into Sofia via Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, which happens to be one of my favourite airlines. Arriving into Sofia, we were greeted by our good friend Francois who had made hotel reservations for us at a special hotel. Corridors We arrived at the Hotel Marinela Sofia. As we got out of the car, I felt instantly punished for looking like "what the cat dragged in" in my yoga pants, hoodie and sneakers. This is no ordinary hotel, the as the line of luxurious cars parked in the driveway screamed monied.  At once you are greeted by the gleaming marble floor in black and white stripes. The lines run vertically along the huge lobby that you get giddy just by walking on

Milijacka River Runs through Sarajevo " Craggily beautiful Bosnia and Herzegovina "  Lonely Planet's description of BiH is spot on. " Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its countryside is home to medieval villages, rivers and lakes, plus the craggy Dinaric Alps. National capital Sarajevo has a well preserved old quarter, Baščaršija, with landmarks like 16th-century Gazi Husrev-bey Mosque. Ottoman-era Latin Bridge is the site of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which ignited World War I." The city of Sarajevo, a east meets west xanadu,  is encircled by mountains and ironically it was in these same mountains that snipers hid and targeted civilians. "Sniper Alley" (Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: Snajperska aleja / Снајперска алеја) was the informal name primarily for streets Zmaja od Bosne Street (Улица Змаја од Босне; Dragon of Bosnia Street) and Meša Selimović Boulevard, the ma