Sarande, Albania

Who here has ever been to Albania?  (Mom and Dad, I'm not talking to you... you've been everywhere!!!)   Now I know the tiny coastal town of Sarande isn't exactly "seeing Albania" but it's a nice introduction.  And this was the second day of our cruise that we were able to go onto land without our kids.  Because having older kids is pretty much the most awesomest thing of all time. Hashtag perks of getting older.

Lordy, y'all.  I can't even GET to Albania without this happening.  This was on the boat before we even left!

Albania reminded me a lot of Macedonia, but a little cleaner.  Todd said this was his favorite picture, and I have to agree. The man has good taste in pictures.  I also spy my babies on the ship (no I don't. I just see the ship, which makes me think of my babies.)

Strolling along the promenade in Sarande.  Those palm trees are fabulous.  

We tried to get off the beaten path a bit to get some food - including some things I needed to scratch off of my scratch off food map.  So we stopped at Restaurant Rustico.  Kostas the Athens cab driver was the cab driver equivalent of this waiter.  Man, I wish I had gotten his name because he was really great!  He wanted to discuss American politics and said it had been a long time since Americans had been in his restaurant.  He also delivered a giant beer to our table.

My Tave Kosi from my scratch off food map.  It's a lamb and rice casserole with yogurt.  And my beer. And my sweaty husband who was eating delicious stuffed peppers.

This beer and meal is delicious but I still can't believe this weird beer contraption.  The center is filled with a pipeline of ice covered in plastic to keep the beer cold.  And do you know how amazing it is to have a meal with your husband without the kids? I love my kids.  More than my own life.  But a kid free lunch is where it's at.

I swear this is only the kind of thing you would see in Europe.  Maybe only in the Balkans.  These two fellas are riding along and suddenly run out of gas.  They leave the scooter and disappear for a while, returning with a bottle of gasoline.  They fill'er up, then dump the empty bottle in those bushes you see on the other side of the fence.  Because... the Balkans....

Views of Sarande from the Restaurant Rustico.  Not bad at all.

The nice waiter was like, "Do you want any dessert?"  (Are you kidding?  We just drank the tower of beer!)  He brought us vanilla and strawberry ice cream anyway... for free.  Or at least he claimed this was strawberry.  I'm pretty sure it was bubble gum or something.

We spent a good two hours here.  It was worth it.  Good food, beer, conversation and ice cream.

Sometimes you look up and think... wow, that building is fabulous!  I want to live there!

And then you realize Sarande forgot to finish it's sidewalks.  Don't fall in the holes, folks.  

Does anyone else think it's winter in Boston?  Anyone? 

 As we strolled along the streets of Sarande, it reminded us a bit of Greece.  This building is completely hollowed out.  But the good news was they were working on it, hard at work on improving a cute little coastal town. 

 Maybe someone could fix the hairs on my forehead.  (Side note: I spy my babies in the background!)

As we walked around Sarande, we found the archaeological remains of a former church/basilica.   It dates back to the 4th-5th century BC.

Somewhere around the 5th/6th century AD, it was turned into a synagogue.

The archaeological remains were discovered in the 1980s (not by this guy) but the entire area wasn't unearthed until 2003/2004 since Albania was under communist rule in the 1980s and wouldn't allow the excavation of the site.

The synagogue was eventually destroyed at the end of the 6th century AD as a result of the invasion of the Slavs.

I spy my babies 2.0 and I also spy some sailboats and beautiful water in a beautiful Adriatic coastal town.

One of my friends said, "This should be in their advertisements." Yes. Yes it should.  Birra Elbar, if you're listening, I will sell this to you for the price of my son's immunotherapy from his peanut allergy.

This man is relentless.

The promenade boasts a Nicolae Iorga statue.  He was a "historian and Romanian politician who contributed to the establishment of the Albania modern state, founder and head of the Romanian Institute of Archaeological Studies and Research in Albania, Sarande."

We got a big kick out of this. "Cultural Monument."  Thanks!

We really enjoyed kids doing crazy jumps off of the stairway to heaven on the beach in downtown Sarande.

Boom, splash!

And for his next dive, this young man will attempt the jump known as the "Flip into the Adriatic."

"And there he goes... it's a perfect jump so far..."

"And with the MSC Poesia in the background, he perfects the Flip into the Adriatic!  A 10.0!"

When you travel, do you look for the absurd as I do?  This tree grew here, and they just built the buildings around it.  No need to cut trees down, folks.

Swim lessons (or swim team drills) going on in the harbor.

We were only slightly sad that we had to end our last "day date."  We missed our babies terribly, but a day together in a new country is just so much fun!  I have (grand!) intentions of getting back to Albania... especially Ohrid Lake.  Stay tuned... I think next summer's grand adventure will either be a Baltic cruise, or the remainder of the Balkans!

Until next time, Sarande!