31 October 2023, Kazanlak, 53.2km
Rose Valley Guest House 50.4lev [R504]

16km of climbing and 40km of not brought us from Banya to Kazanlak which is "located in the Rose Valley of the Great Balkan Mountains in the central part of Bulgaria".
The roads, though a tad busy, were in excellent condition and the weather ideal.
We broke for cappuccino and a grilled cheese sandwich, and later for ice-cream, arriving at our accommodation at around 15:00. There is a washing machine in our red bathroom, always a welcome luxury. We are spending two nights...
--
This evening, just 400m from our beds, we dined at Bar & Dinner Escape, sharing a Shopska salad and a tagliatelle carbonara, both delicious. I have mentioned the Shopska salad before; here is a little more information:
"Served throughout the Balkan region, with many neighbouring countries claiming it as an integral part of their cuisine, you may be forgiven for not immeditely recognizing it to be "as Bulgarian as it gets" - but once you realise that the colours of the salad reflect the Bulgarian national flag (white, green, red) there should be no more doubt.
The truth is that in the 1960s, the salad was created as a signature dish by the top chefs at Balkantourist (state owned tourism monopoly) and  then presented at their hotels across the country. And thus, this patriotic creation has become one of the most popular salads in Eastern Europe, ranking first in the 'Taste of Europe' initiative back in 2013, beating the likes of Swedish meatballs, Italian spaghetti and others. Saltibarsciai (cold beet soup) from Lithuania took 2nd place and Sarmale (the stuffed cabbage roll) from Romania came 3rd."