AmaWaterways Excursions Vidin, Bulgaria, a look at AmaDante & Veliko Tarnovo and Plovdiv, Bulgaria
AmaWaterways Danube River Cruise Excursions to Vidin, Bulgaria, a look at the luxurious Amadante River Cruise Ship, and then touring of Veliko Tarnovo and Plovdiv in Bulgaria before heading to Istanbul, Turkey on an AmaWaterways Danube River Cruise that began in Budapest, Hungary.
Vidin is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin (since 870). As of February 2011, the town has a population of 47,138 inhabitants. An agricultural and trade centre, Vidin has a fertile hinterland renowned for its wines.
Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the City of the Tsars, Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists with its unique architecture. Until 1965 the name of the town was Tarnovo, and this is still the common name. The old city is situated on three hills, Tsarevets, Trapezitsa and Sveta Gora raising amidst the meanders of the Yantra. Tsarevets housed the palaces of the Bulgarian Emperors and the Patriarchate with the Patriarchal Cathedral, as well as a number of administrative and residential edifices surrounded by thick walls.
Trapezitsa was known for its many churches and as the main residence of the nobility. In the Middle Ages it was among the main European centres of culture and gave its name to the architecture of the Tarnovo Artistic School, painting of the Tarnovo Artistic School and literature. Veliko Tarnovo is an important administrative, economic, educational and cultural centre of Northern Bulgaria. As of February 2011, the town has a population of 68,783.
Plovdiv (Bulgarian: Пловдив) is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after the capital Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants as of February, 2011.[1] It is the administrative center of Plovdiv Province and the municipalities of the City of Plovdiv, Maritsa municipality and Rodopi municipality, whose municipal body had a population of 403,153 inhabitants as of February 2011.[1] It is an important economic, transport, cultural and educational center,[2] as well as the second-largest city in the historical international region of Thrace after Istanbul. It is the tenth-largest city in the Balkans after Istanbul, Athens, Belgrade, Bucharest, Sofia, Thessaloniki, Zagreb, Skopje and Tirana.
Plovdiv's history spans 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC,[3] ranking it among the world's-oldest cities. Plovdiv was known in the West for most of its recorded history by the Greek name Philippopolis, which was introduced in 340 BC.[4] Plovdiv was originally a Thracian city before later becoming a Greek and a major Roman one. In the Middle Ages, it retained its strategic regional importance, changing hands between the Byzantine and Bulgarian Empires. It came under Ottoman rule in the 14th century. In 4 January 1878, Plovdiv was liberated from Ottoman rule by the Russian army and was within the borders of Bulgaria until July, the same year, when it became the capital of an autonomous Ottoman region of Eastern Rumelia. In 1885, it and Eastern Rumelia itself became part of Bulgaria.
AmaWaterways is celebrating its 10th Anniversary by looking back on an award winning 2011 which saw their fleet expanded to 15 of the most luxurious river cruise ships in the industry. In 2012 they will add the AmaCerto, with a host of amazing new design features, and the Zambezi Queen, which will ply the waters of the Chobe River in the Chobe National Park during AmaWaterways African Safaris and Wildlife River Cruises.
While adding new ships every year, AmaWaterways is always retrofitting existing ships with the latest amenities, upgrades and inventions. With a commitment to bring the best in river cruise vacations, AmaWaterways' has always and will always lead the way in unparalleled on-board services that are constantly fine-tuned for the highest customer satisfaction. These factors, combined with a slate of new itineraries and specialty programs such as extremely popular Wine River Cruises, which were launched in 2010, had made AmaWaterways the front runner in this burgeoning new segment of the travel business.
Over the years AmaWaterways garnered a number of Magellan Awards from Travel Weekly, picked up an Award of Excellence form Luxury Travel Advisor, a Cruise Passenger Readers Choice Award in Australia for Best River Ship and was recognized for its Twitter account that put AmaWaterways on the list of The Top 25 Online Cruise Vacation Influencers by Influencers in Travel.
For more info about river cruising with AmaWaterways in Europe, Russia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Africa go to AmaWatewaysPR.com.
Richmond Qué Pasa Latino Festival May 4, 2013
An exiting cultural blend and mixture of America's Latino population in Virginia to experience the music, folklore, traditions and foods of the Latin American community. A once a year opportunity to participate in a highly dynamic event with live music and entertainers, dancing to different rhythms like Samba, Vals, Bolero, Bachata and Salsa that originated from the Afro-Antillian people of Puerto Rico and New York, where the roots of Real Salsa are based. Ten years ago, Virginia's Latino population has doubled to almost 700,000, according to the 2010 US Census. Enjoy this canal ride to the flood gates of the James River.