By the seaside.....

On my second Sunday in Albania I was driven to the port city of Durres, where some of my friends took me to lunch in a new restaurant, owned and run by a young Italian chef, who married an Albanian pianist, and they are now parents of a beautiful baby boy.

The weather couldn’t have been any better, although the clouds looked ominous early in the morning in Tirana.

After the hot days of last week, during which time another friend of mine went swimming into the sea in Durres, yesterday’s thunderstorm cleared the air. A pretty strong wind, kind of unusual for Tirana, brought in quite a dip in temperature of about 20F degrees within 24 hours: today’s 65F was a really delightful climate, for my taste!

After a short car ride along the new highway we arrived in the center of Durres, and, not too far from its port, we reached the restaurant on the 3rd floor of a new building along the sea coast. The ambience was lovely and it offered great views of the Adriatic on 3 sides of the large floor regardless of where one was seated.

In typical Italian style the owner, who knew my friends, came to our table to discuss everyone’s wish. No need for a menu - all we had to decide was whether to have meat or fish for the main course and which kind of wine. We all opted for meat and white wine, and warned the owner that we didn’t want big portions of any kind. He offered to provide a small assortment of antipasti, a taste of his home made ravioli with truffles, followed by a veal dish as the main entree.

[my hosts]
Each course was a surprise, beautifully presented, and very delicious. The raviolis (3 large ones for each portion) were served in a very delicate buttery-lemony sauce with tiny bits of tomatoes, sprinkled with abundant parmesan cheese, while the grilled, sliced filet of veal topped a fresh arugula salad with cherry tomatoes in balsamic vinegar dressing: every bite melted in the mouth! After a while a luscious dessert also appeared on the table: a ‘millefoglie’ puff pastry topped with extremely light whipped cream and assorted berries. An Italian espresso was a must after such delights!

Nearby many restaurants in Albania there are always some sort of playgrounds for children, and this was no exception.

We took a leisure walk along the sea coast promenade and ended up at a café known for its home made ice cream (‘gelato artigianale’). It was impossible to refuse a small taste of some of their varieties……

[hill top 1930's villa, still property of the royal family today]

[one of many cafes along the boardwalk]
By late afternoon we walked back to the car and rode back to Tirana, as the sun was beginning to set in the west and a full size moon was appearing on the east.

What a treat for me to spend a day in the outdoors, enjoying good company, conversation, food, and soaking in sunshine and a fresh marine breeze!