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We've chosen to move forward with adopting a little boy with special needs from an orphanage near Sofia. He'll be 3 years old in December, about 9 months younger than our daughter. We've got to submit a second Application to the MOJ (with Notarization and Apostille) and wait for their next meeting to see if we can officially bring him into our family. Assuming all goes well, we will make our first trip to Bulgaria before the end of the year, and hopefully bringing our son home before the end of March.
I know there is another family that has just moved forward with adopting a little girl that was also special needs. Hopefully we can have some reports for the waiting families about the in-country process, travel, etc. We'll be updating our blog (as they will, I'm sure) frequently going forward.
Any hotel recommendations for Sofia? I was looking at the Hilton. It looks really nice, seems to be in a good location, with reasonable room rates. May stay at the Sheraton instead and use points to take care of the stay.
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I would second staying in an apartment. We've stayed in apartment all over Eastern Europe and find they are nicer and cheaper than any hotel. I also found that breakfast was very hard in hotels. Very few breakfast places open in eastern europe and the hotels are so expensive. In an apartment you can use the small kitchen for snacks and breakfast - even if you eat out for all other meals.
AND - most of the apartments can get you internet access through the cable that they already have. Depending on how they charge for internet in the country they may charge you by your usage but it is so much cheaper than $15 a day at the Hilton/Sheraton chain.
Of course if you can use hotel points and the stay is free go for that. BUT you will end up spending quite a bit on food, etc.
Good luck and congratulations! What a short wait time. I've been watching with interest as Bulgaria started to open up a bit.
MenloAve
I would second staying in an apartment. We've stayed in apartment all over Eastern Europe and find they are nicer and cheaper than any hotel. I also found that breakfast was very hard in hotels. Very few breakfast places open in eastern europe and the hotels are so expensive. In an apartment you can use the small kitchen for snacks and breakfast - even if you eat out for all other meals.
AND - most of the apartments can get you internet access through the cable that they already have. Depending on how they charge for internet in the country they may charge you by your usage but it is so much cheaper than $15 a day at the Hilton/Sheraton chain.
Of course if you can use hotel points and the stay is free go for that. BUT you will end up spending quite a bit on food, etc.
Good luck and congratulations! What a short wait time. I've been watching with interest as Bulgaria started to open up a bit.
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Congrats to you! We seriously considered adopting a child that our agency had showed to us. He was also on the SN list. I sent his medical information to our pediatrician & after a long, hard decision we decided that we would not be able to give him the care that he required throughout his life. This is such a difficult process, you see the photos & videos & want to adopt all of them. I am doing this with my heart & my husband is going through this with his head. I guess we balance each other out, otherwise I would have added three more boys to our family. Best of luck to you with you travel plans. I would love to hear how your travel went.
Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted in a while... I have been on the yahoo boards.... hard to keep track of all the groups sometimes... I think I am going to plan to stay in an apartment in the orphanage city and in the Hilton (points) in Sophia.... will let you know because I will be traveling soon. Yvonne
We got our final court date : April 16th. Our agency says we will likley be making our second trip in late May/early June.
We'll be staying in an apartment in Sofia for this trip. We stayed at the Sheraton for the 4 nights in Sofia on Trip #1. It was a really nice place, but we'll need something larger with a kitchen for this trip.
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Congrats! We are adopting 3 w/ special needs from two different regions. This group is incredibly quiet. You should join the Bulgaria-adopt group. Write me privately and maybe we can exchange some info. We've submitted our minidossier, working on homestudy app w/ hopes homestudy will be done by end of April, and also working on main dossier. I'm SO ready to go. This is our last adoption so really ready to go. LOL. Would love to hear from you. Best wishes.
mauserhaus
Question....do you actually go to court in Bulgaria like in Russia, or does someone do it on your behalf? Or what? It sounds like the AP don't actually attend a hearing from everything I've read.
Thanks in advance for your response...
Congratulations. When we got our little boy in Dec. we stayed in an apartment. I loved it. Sophia is such a great place to visit. You will be going at a great time of the year. It will be warm enough to enjoy the outdoor cafes. I know this isn't a vacation but enjoy yourself and the culture as much as possible. Once again congratulations! Kristen
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