That means Thank you very much, Albania!

We’ve wrapped up our time in Albania, and it is evident from our past several journal entries that we found it to be wonderful. Our last few days in Tirana were no exception.

Last Sunday we had another outstanding experience on our journey. During the trip I made up north a couple of weeks ago, Fjori (our guide) mentioned the possibility of Sandy and I meeting Fjori and her husband, Erand, for dinner in Tirana. They were kind enough to come to our apartment and then take us to one of their favorite restaurants very close to their house. The restaurant is called Dy Luanet and it sits up in the hills east of Tirana with a gorgeous view over the city. And we arrived just as the sun was setting. We arrived and I think Fjori and Erand must have ordered one of everything on the menu. It was a complete tour through Albanian cuisine, and everything was so good. On this night, I think for both of us, the lamb really stood out. But everything was amazing and we were stuffed. Oh, and then the tri leche (tres leches in Spanish) came and we found room to enjoy that for dessert. Through the evening, we also had salad, cornbread with sour yogurt, spinach, traditional Albanian casserole with meat, tomato, garlic, and onion, grilled beef, potatoes, and beer. It was a perfect night, filled with great food and conversation. When we were finished, they took us back to our apartment in the city center and it was a little sad saying goodbye, but we are hopeful that our paths will cross again in the future.

Monday and Tuesday were spent with our usual enjoyment of our workouts in the park and hanging out in the park. We worked on various logistical things during the day. Monday night was spaghetti for dinner at home and Tuesday night was our last trip to Fitfood for dinner. I had wanted to hang out in the soccer bar (Champs) by our apartment, and it worked out that Arsenal were playing in the Champions League that night against Atletico Madrid. That was fun – an Arsenal win, 4-1, and many of the other matches from the night on at the same time – great bar to watch soccer.

Wednesday was our last workout at the gym and the timing worked out well because as we were leaving, I met James, who had just arrived in Tirana and he is from Los Angeles. He and his wife are full-time global nomads, and we decided we needed to get together for dinner before we leave. We made plans to do that tomorrow night. Lunch was at Organic Corner – our last time there. This was our first meal when we arrived in Albania and the owner has always been so friendly – he gave us each a piece of the Albanian rice pudding dessert to go with our very healthy lunch.😊 After hanging out at Mon Cheri café by the lake in the park, we went to Artigiano restaurant for dinner. This place is always busy when we walk by and now we know why – delicious food (we had bruschetta and lasagna) and a nice environment.

Yesterday (Thursday) was our last time working out in the park. Other than the people of Albania, I think the park is what we are both going to miss most about our time here. For our last dinner in Tirana, we planned to eat at Era, which is where we ate our first full day here when we arrived a month ago. Era offers a diverse menu, but we liked it for the traditional food. James met us there and unfortunately his wife, Gabriela, was not feeling well, so we didn’t get to meet her this time. We all shared three traditional dishes (casserole, lamb with baked yogurt, and chicken with rice). The food was good, but the conversation and getting to know James’ and Gabriela’s story and hearing about their travels was the highlight. We learned many things related to how they make their travel easier and got tips on some places we may get to in the near future. It’s not too often that we come across others living the same lifestyle we are living, and it was such a great experience getting to know James (and Gabriela through James). We look forward to crossing paths with them down the road. The pull of Your Brownie Guy was too strong to not go back one more time. We almost talked James into joining us, but he headed home to check on Gabriela. We picked up two cookies each and I had a brownie. As a parting gift, Arjol and Sebi also gave us one more cookie that had just come from the oven. This young couple has also been one of our highlights from Albania. We love their story, their passion, and their ambition for their future. We want to keep an eye on them because their approach to their business model seems like they are going to be very successful with what they want to do. And they are some of the nicest people you can hope to meet.

Today, we bid farewell to Albania. Our taxi picked us up at 8:20am and we arrived at the airport at 9:10. Check-in and security went smoothly, and we were sitting in the airport lounge at 9:40. We boarded the plane and wheels were up at 11:40. We landed in Barcelona at 2:10 and then figured out the bus/train process to get to our apartment. Upon arrival at our apartment at 4:30, we took a walk around the area to find something to eat. We are staying west of the city in a place called Santa Coloma de Cervello. We are only here for a few days, and Sandy found a nice apartment in a great area outside of the city, so the price wasn’t as expensive as the lodging within Barcelona. After walking around and forgetting about siesta when so many places close for the late afternoon, we grabbed a croissant and quinoa chips at a bakery. Then we went to a sports bar to get Estrella beers and eventually when their kitchen opened, delicious burgers. The burger reminded me of the burgers I used to get at a bar that my grandfather would take me to for lunch during the week before school started when I would go with him to help him get his classroom set up for the school year.

That’s it for Albania. We didn’t go in with expectations, and we found that we loved it. We learned how important hospitality is to the people of Albania and the reverence they have for guests. I think that is a big part of why it felt so good to be in the country. Everywhere we went, we always felt welcome – much like we felt in Jordan. I don’t believe I have any kind of Albanian heritage in my lineage, but I strangely felt some kind of connection here. I can only guess that the feeling comes from the warmth of the people we met. Albania is a beautiful place, has an incredibly interesting history, offers surprisingly delicious cuisine (the produce was so good the whole time we were there), but it is the people we met who will stand out most in our memories of the country.