Moustache - HANDLEBAR, PENCIL, HORSESHOE OR TOOTHBRUSH.

There are more men in pink polos, Ts’ and even shorts on the Azure Coast in Italy, than any place on earth.

Well that’s my theory.

Some of them go one step further and match their pink shirt with a pink jumper, of a contrasting shade.

But this all suits the very stylish villages of Rapallo, Santa Margarita Ligure and Portofino.

It’s a picture perfect setting, even with the gloomy skies.

And the splashes of colour, especially pink, make all the difference.

We didn’t get a bad meal in Sofia and were interested to see if the standard remained high as we travelled east, in our hire car, to Veliko Tarnova, north to Russe, on the Danube and then south to the wonderfully named Plovdiv.

Plovdiv is a town endowed with a rich history starting with the Tracian settlement, on Nebet Tepe, through the Roman ruins to the Bulgarian Revival churches and houses. The day we chose to tour the city was a public holiday, celebrating the Bulgarian liberation from the Ottoman Empire, so it was family day in Plovdiv.

Our first night on the road from Sofia was in Veliko Tarnova, a city located on the bends of the Yantra River and famous for being the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire and the medieval stronghold of Tsarevets.

We stumbled across a restaurant that specialised in Bulgarian cuisine and not knowing what this was, we ordered a dish each.

What followed was embarrassing.

When the food arrived we were so dumbfounded by the size and the apparent richness of what was before us, we just sat there, looked at the meal, then looked at each other and then looked back at the meal again.

Both the dishes had been baked in the oven and were full of different cheeses, meats and vegetables.

It was all delicious but just one of them would have been enough for both of us. In fact one of them would have been enough for an entire tour bus.

Bulgaria has not become a major tourist attraction yet and as a result their cuisine hasn’t gone through the food processor of tourist tastes.

The Bulgarians love to eat so it’s not hard to find a good restaurant with authentic food.

Then there’s the Bulgarian beers.

Every village seems to have their own brew and the big companies like Tuborg, Heineken and Amstel also have a local offering.

Unlike the food the weather has been inconsistent, hot and humid one moment and then pelting down the next.

My snaps probably reflect this.

The first time I visited Athens you could climb all over the Acropolis, even the Parthenon, and there wasn’t a crane in sight.

Today it’s a work in progress, with scaffolding, cranes and even a small railroad to move large chunks of marble around the construction sight.

Everywhere you look there is new marble. Columns have been straightened, new pieces put in place and new pediments added. There’s even wheelchair access, via a lift, that runs up the cliff on the north side.

This restoration project has been going on since 1975 and is due for completion soon.

Restoration works aren’t just happening on the big rock, they are all over Athens. Every time they dig a hole, they seem to discover another ancient artifact.

That’s no more evident than with the new Acropolis Museum.

This amazing addition to the world of archaeology is a living display, being built over an archeological dig that’s happening right under your feet. Much of the ground floor and courtyard is made of glass, so you can see the work as it happens.

There is even space in the new museum for the frieze that Lord Elgin purloined all those years ago.

The top floor is dedicated to the Parthenon and built to the same size and proportions, with sweeping views up to the Acropolis. As they find more of the original monument they slot them into place in the display.

Restoration work has been going on in Athens for millennia and in fact the city has always been changing and redefining itself.

Apart from the current work on the Acropolis, the Stoa of Attalos, in the Ancient Agora, was completely rebuilt in the 1950s’.

Even the meat market on Athinus Street has undergone change since I was last here. Now instead of sides of lamb sitting out in the Athenian heat, they are all refrigerated and some are even wrapped in plastic.

Most of the Plaka and Monastiraki are entirely made up of walking streets and the little cafes with bain maries full of moussaka and Greek potatoes are all gone.

Athens is different to what I remember and I am sure that if ever I return, it will be different again.