About

DISCLAIMER: This is not a foodie/winey type of place. Which is not to say I won't ever mention those!

Hello! My name is Violeta Nedkova (a.k.a. Lyn Midnight), and I'm a Bulgarian traveling round the world. I started this blog because I wanted to try my hands at travel writing. I'm loving it so far!

"Bulgarian RTW" is mainly aimed at budget travelers. If you don't know, Bulgaria is an almost-third-world country (we're working on it), and so I often find myself jobless and penniless. I was even living on benefits and homeless not so long ago! How do I travel then, you ask?

I travel by finding awesome opportunities round the world, of course!

Now, many people find any and every excuse to explain why they travel so little, but the most popular one is 'I don't have enough money'. Well, guess what: I don't either! But I've learned that if you really really want something, you'll find a way to achieve it. True story!

So when I graduated from Uni (2011) and started looking for jobs to match my skills and enthusiasm, I was one of those poor graduates who crashed and burned rather viciously. My dream of finding a glamorous job with enough holiday space to allow me to explore the world crashed and burned with me.

But I've always known that I was afflicted by "wanderlust". And I'm glad for it because I happen to believe that travel is the greatest education you'll ever receive. Beats sitting in old classrooms, being lulled to sleep by monotonous lectures, and power-eating through your exams every semester...

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for higher education. I went through all of it myself. ;)

But I did find it hard to apply that education to the "real world". More than anything, employers are looking for life and work experience these days. So when I realized my dream of "luxury travel" was impossible, I had to look for alternatives, which is how I discovered "alternative travel". 

The term "alternative travel" is hard to pin down, indeed. Here's my own interpretation:

1. Traveling with purpose: soul-searching, volunteering, etc. 2. Actively exploring the culture, customs, and language of a place. Living as a local, not a tourist. 3. Literally, finding alternatives to luxury and holiday travel. That is all.

So far I've worked as an AU PAIR in the UK & Italy. You can read about it on my personal blog.

In the future, I plan to try other things, such as: house-sitting, work exchange, volunteering, couch-surfing, and digital nomad'ism. Basically, if I find anything that could help support my travels, I'll share it on this blog. Along with tips and tricks to spend as little as possible while having as much fun as possible.

Do you love me yet?

Also, I enjoy taking photos on the way, so you'll have to bear with me.

I'll try to post regular reports from every place I visit. Currently, I live in ROME, Italy. As I discover La Citta Eterna, I will do my best to show you what I scouted, spotted, and scored. Mi blog es su blog!

P.S. If you like what you read, let me know of any freelance gigs, and I'll love you forever!