This is our second visit to (Googles location again) Veliko Tirnovo in Bulgaria, having been here last September, when I worked for LaunchPad Recruits and sat along side my work colleague Izzy. Back then, I told my bosses that I'd like to 'work from home', I just didn't say who's home that would be.

One of the downsides though, was having to sit at work all day, while the sun was splitting the trees outside, and that was in September, so I didn't really get to see much of the country then, apart from the hell that was the journey from Sofia to Tirnovo having been drove here by here by Izzy's brother! You would have sworn he'd stole the car and we were being chased cross country. Apparently, they all drive like that here we were told. When we (I keep saying 'we', I should say, my wife came with me) left, I politely declined the offer of a lift back to the airport, with said brother, and got the bus.

I left LaunchPad in February, as I wanted a bit more freedom to do things that interested me, such as photography (obviously), video projects, and my newly acquired skill set of Massage Therapist. Which means I can work from home a lot more supporting my wife's business over at Foyle43.

We're back in Bulgaria, this time, purely on holiday (but still staying with Izzy, who is still chained to her desk), but she's taken a few days off this time, so that we can go do a little bit of exploration, show us some of the sights of this great country. We've ventured out on our own too, with my camera's and drone in tow, having hired a car for this trip, it's given us an opportunity to be a little more independent. It's taken us down to really worrisome routes on the GPS, roads which can only be described as concrete farm tracks with the classification of a A-Road back home. You're arse certainly grips the seat when a HGV comes in the opposite direction, let me tell you that for free! Also, for the record, they all don't drive like Izzy's brother (there are some that do, and good luck to them).

I'm not one to just sit about, which is why I always travel with a bit of kit with me. I brought a DJI Osmo+, Canon 600D, and a DJI Mavic Pro. My Canon camera thus far has been used for food photography for a local restaurant already (I didn't even get a discount on the food), tourist stuff, and tonight, I'm photographing a live gig in a local bar. I'm trading my skills for room and board here with Izzy. The local currency is Lev, which equates to 2 Lev for 1 Pound Sterling, however, the food here to so so cheap! We've had dinner and drinks at restaurants and the bill has been roughly £15 for the two of us. It's ridiculously cheap here! The quality is still top-notch though. The only place where you'll see a like for like in terms of costs is in McDonalds, where I wouldn't recommend the chips/fries as they've not travelled well. I watched them being cooked, and they still tasted stale.

One of the things I enjoy doing when on holiday is read. I hardly ever get a chance to do that when I'm at home, there are just way too many distractions to even attempt to focus. I'm a massive fan of the film 'Arrival', I even love the soundtrack to the film. Having watched the extras of the film, I found out it was derived out of a short story by Ted Chiang, and some of the book's story had to be adapted for screen, I won't say what, but the short story is pretty close to the film. My daughter knew I liked the film, and I must have mentioned that I was going to get the book when I had a chance to get some peace to read it. Well, she bought it to me, and I'm writing this blog with the book half read already. The book itself is a collection of short stories, each independent of each other, but the writing is phenomenal. I love this guy's style, the detail and the journey he takes you on. I'm actually nearing the end of the 'Arrival' short story, and knowing the film, but seeing the differences has made this story all the more interesting.

I'm determined to finish the book before I finish this holiday.

Check out some of the pictures from our trip so far (you'll need to visit this webpage to see them if you're reading this via email), we're getting further away from the town with each day trip, my only concern now is, what's Bulgarian for 'Petrol'? If only we could drag Izzy away from her many jobs to come join us.