The name "Oxford County" may sound familiar to you. This wouldn't be the first time you've heard me praise this region! Oxford County, in the southern part of Ontario, Canada, is world famous for its cheese and even has a "Cheese Trail" that visitors can explore. Dairy farming attracted early pioneers to settle in the area and the nearby town of Ingersoll even boosts a cheese museum - something we were thrilled to visit and write about.

Don't do dairy? Not to worry! Oxford County's amazing cheese is just the tip of the foodie iceberg. Whether your passion is history or food (or both!) you will be very content to spend some time exploring Oxford County, visiting a wonderful collection of restaurants and sampling great local flavors. From classic chicken salad to fiery vindaloos to gourmet grilled cheese, Oxford County is a foodie's dream destination in the making.

My last time in Lake Placid, New York, I was close to death with undoubtedly a very unusual, very exotic ailment befitting a travel writer. Okay, okay I had an ordinary, everyday, run of the mill virus that I defeated with rest and ginger ale! But I digress...

The gap between what I wanted to do in Lake Placid and what I was actually able to accomplish was so big that the circumstances felt much more tragic than they were. I felt I had spent so much time in the city but I really hadn't had a chance to properly see it, to really connect. So when I had the opportunity for a last minute do-over, I jumped at the chance! And this time, I took Ryan along for the adventure.

"Good grief. What WAS I thinking?" This panicked thought must have flitted through my head a hundred times as I made my way from Istanbul and into Bulgaria by bus. It was my first time visiting Eastern Europe, my first time visiting a country where I didn't recognize the alphabet, and my first significant solo trip in nearly a decade. I suddenly realized how long it had been since I had undertaken a serious adventure by myself and, despite my travel plans being executed with nary a hitch, I couldn't help by repeatedly ask myself what had I gotten myself into, again and again.

But, as with all previous big adventures, I came to fall in love with Bulgaria. It felt like I had made a new friend, a destination I'd happily return to again and again. So when it came time to spend my last few nights in Sofia, I was glad I had booked myself into a special hotel for one final travel treat. Here's a behind the scenes look at my time at the Sofia Hotel Balkan.

"Um...... Does that include lodgings?" Skepticism and doubt are the hallmark of any good $200 Travel Challenge and when we told people we were planning to go to Providence, Rhode Island, for two days and spend just $200, they were skeptical. VERY skeptical. 

And I was more than a little skeptical myself. This challenge was a last minute addition to a pre-existing trip. I had only a few days to plan, research, and build lists, a sharp contrast to my usual long planning marathons. And while Providence isn't an outrageously expensive city, I worried that true budget travel opportunities would be few and far between. I was sure the trip would be fun, but I didn't know if it would be easy.

So how did we do and, more importantly, did we stay on budget? Here's how our weekend went down.

(A word about pricing: Past $200 Challenges have been in Canadian funds. Given the fluctuation in currency rates, it seemed easiest to work with US funds for this particular challenge.)