Travel southward

Early Saturday morning my trio and I were picked up by one of my associates, who owns a beautiful and powerful BMW, and drove toward the beaches of Durres. There we met the other couple I know, who also has a very comfortable Nissan car, purchased in the U.S. We came from different directions, but met for a coffee stop that is 'the norm here' before embarking on a longer trip.

The sun was shining, the weather perfect, the fresh air blowing in from the Adriatic rinvigorating, and everyone was in a good mood and looking forward to spending the weekend out of the city.

With map in hand that I brought along, my guests could follow our ride southward. Our final destination was Saranda and the Albanian riviera, close to Greece, by following the road that runs along Albania's coastline.

We traveled through the cities of Kavajë, Lushnjë, Fier, and reached the 2nd largest port city of Vlore that offers quite a sight with its large gulf, the Karaburun peninsula on one side, and island of Sazan in front.


Past Orikum, we deviated inland to have a late lunch in the mountainous, national park of Llogara. This was the place to taste the traditional roasted lamb. Everyone was famished and devoured more than one plate of extremely fresh, crunchy salads, to which we added the typical, yummy yogurt dressing. Here we also tasted the local, highly rich, creamy goat yogurt that is served with the lamb dish. It's impossibile to make a comparison of these local yogurts with the commercial ones sold around the world.

On the peaks of these rugged mountains the wind blows fiercely. It was difficult to stand up to take pictures without holding on to each other.

From above the view of the beach of Dhermi, on the Ionian sea, is breathtaking.

I had seen it previously from the park of Llogara, but this time I also enjoyed very much walking on it, with its broken down bunkers, and fine sand covered by loads of small white stones.


From here we drove upward again and had a coffee break in a lovely bar overlooking this long beach area.



Afterwards we reached the town of Himarë, followed by the gulf of Porto Palermo, a fishing area with an old fortification.



Taken a couple of pictures pictures, we proceeded southward toward Saranda, which we reached in late afternoon.


After an hour rest at the Hotel Brilant where my associates had made reservations, we took another car ride in an area of Ksamil, which took us practically to the Greek border. Its was too late to visit the archaeological ruins of Butrint. Here we found the roads unpaved and rough, but under reconstruction. They'll probably be completed before the summer rush of tourists.

By 9pm we were back at the hotel and had dinner at a nearby restaurant, which was quite crowded. Saturday night was the date for the European Soccer Champion match between the Italian and Spanish teams. It was watched by everyone throughout Europe on TV.

This was the place to have excellent fish, and, between outbursts of joy and yells from the soccer fans, we all enjoyed another very good meal and local wines.

After dinner we took a stroll on the promenade along the water, where bars and discos were quite lively and busy. This area during the summer gets jam-packed with tourists that come from Greece, and all the way from up north, especially Kosovars, who now flock into Albania to enjoy the seashores which they lack.

Unfortunately, Saranda is overbuilt and constructions do not follow any rule or urbanistic plan. The result is an overcrowded place that is ruining the beauty of this entire area.

Our Saturady was a long, but interesting day that ended
around 1:30am, when we all hit our respective beds.

First contacts

After breakfast at the hotel, included in the daily price I negotiated with the management for both my cousins and their lady friend, my trio enjoyed Italian coffee at my place before beginning a long stroll that took us to 'Tirana e Re'(new Tirana) where we planned to visit my property before having lunch in that area.

One of my cousins also wanted to make contact with a shop manager on behalf of someone else in Italy, who needed some information about a special brand of clothing. The shop was just one block away from my property, in a very new, modern, fashionable and highly priced center. The woman we were looking for runs a "Versace" shop on the 2nd floor, with imported outfits and clothing for men tagged with astronomical prices!

The visit went perfectly, and by 1pm we were at "La Tavernetta' for lunch. I frequented this trattoria type of eatery for several years now, and both owner and waiters recognize me when I return. One of their specialty is a 'salad bar', which, however, has nothing to do with what we name the same in NYC.

There are no raw greens on their display table that surrounds a fire place. With the exception of a delicious cole slaw (that does not contain any mayo), all other dishes are cooked. The choices include cauliflower in light winegar, roasted peppers of all sorts, sauted sweet carrots, grilled zucchini, and eggplants, beet salad, huge green olives in oil, small meat balls in tomato sauce, Albanian 'byrek' (phillo dough stuffed with cheese), and the ever present light yogurt sauce (that includes garlic, shredded cucumber, and even dill sometimes). These salads are usually consumed while waiting for the main entree` which could be pasta, or risottto, or gnocchi, or any meat dish.

There is not a place in Tirana where I have not enjoyed the local meat, whether it's chicken, veal, pork, or beef. My favorite is what they call 'bifstek'; not a steak at all, but 2-3, thinly sliced, beef cutlets, well grilled, very tasty, tender, and juicy! For me, they beat any time any bloody and thicker filet!

After our leisurely lunch, we began walking toward the center of Tirana and its main, large square, named after the national hero, Skanderbeg, which is now under reconstruction all the way around, and thus a bit difficult to navigate.

We passed the building that currently houses the Ministry of Defense, but used to be the High Court when I was a baby, and my Father ex-office now display the flags in the picture below.

After some money exchange, my guests were curious to see the little old mosque that has been part of this huge square since the 1700's.

We didn't know whether it was open or whether we could visit it, but, we decided to try since it was not a Friday afternoon, time of high prayer.

We took our shoes off, when a young man that spoke Italian and English motioned that we could enter the main hall. All floors were completely carpetet.


The inside was kind of dark, and there were a few men around (especially young ones), who were praying. One elderly got up and went to turn on the lights so we could enjoy the beautiful drawings and decorations. He even motioned that we could go up the narrow, high step, round stone staircase that leads to the minaret. My trio went up, but I declined since I knew my knees, after all the walking we had already done, would not take this effort kindly.



Then we strolled down the main boulevard, toward the Art Gallery. The entire area was quite busy at the time (almost 6pm), notwithstanding the light rain. It was one of the several events organized by the Italian Embassy in the past couple of months to promote closer relationship between the 2 countries. Its logo, translated, is "two people, one sea, one friendship".

There was a cocktail going on and a large outdoor exhibit of Italian and Albanian books - a real book fair - of which we took a tour. Then, we walked some more to the modern European Tower, where I did some food shopping. At that point a taxi was in order. Everyone was tired, but would not admit it.

The evening continued with drinks and snacks at my place. I invited two business partners who I knew were planning to drive us sightseeing during the weekend.
Dinner at another nearby restaurant concluded this day.

Visitors

Two of my Italian cousins and a friend of theirs arrived well and in perfect time from Milan on Thursday, and I was lucky to have a minivan to bring them in to the city from the airport.

A taxi would have been a bit of a squeeze for 4 people plus driver and the luggage. Instead, an Albanian friend coordinated my needs with the ones of a couple of his family members who were going to Italy on the same plane that was bringing in my group. Thus, we all got a comfortable, and free ride all the way around.

The sun that was shining all morning, disappeared by noon. The clouds rolled in, and a light drizzle accompanied us all the way to the airport and back. My trio was delivered to their hotel in no time, notwithstanding the heavy car traffic in Tirana.

After inspecting the accomodations, which looked clean and comfortable, they accepted my offer to have a bite and did not even open their lugggage. It was 3pm and they had no food served on board the plane. Thus, I took them to a nearby snack bar/restaurant, located in my building, where they consumed a light lunch.

The rest of day went by quickly. They visited my new logdings, took in a view of Tirana from the 12th floor of my apartment, and after a brief rest in late afternoon, we had drinks at my place and dinner at another local restaurant.

Here they experienced their first Albanian creamy soup with small meat balls (a local specialty), good meat dishes with grilled vegetables, and excellent red Albanian wine from the area of Permet.

Their first day in Albania ended well around midnight, and we bid each other a good night without any special plans for the following day (Friday), which we decided to tackle in the morning.

Arrival

Tomorrow I'll have the pleasure of welcoming to Tirana two of my Italian cousins and a friend of theirs, who are flying in from Milan. This is their first visit to Albania, and they will stay here for a week.

Many are the plans in my mind, but, will discuss what they'd like to do when they get here.

Not being able to accomodate the 3 of them in my new apartment, I was happy to find good lodgings for them, in a small, quiet hotel located right behing my building, half a block away.

Although the booking could have been done online, I personally inspected the place, and was able to bargain for a good price that includes breakfast, directly with the young manager, who speaks fluent Italian and English. When I asked him if he wanted a deposit, smilingly he assured me it wasn't necessary. A shake of hands sealed the deal.

The weather in Italy has been bad for a long time, and everyone there told me they were tired of rain and cold. We had a beautiful month in Tirana, and it rained only a couple of days this past week end. Now the sun is shining again and the view of the city is gorgeous, even under some passing clouds.

Cause and effect

For me time flies here in Tirana, although things get done very slowly here....As mentioned previously, I wish I could operate in a quicker way, but daily living here goes on at a different pace than in the U.S.

Yesterday, I spent over 2 hours at a local branch of City Hall just to obtain a number so that I could be on line in another office for a procedure I had to take care of. The cause was lack of simple procedures, the effect an irrational, and unpleasant condition leading to an irritating, and chaotic situation that frustrated everyone.

The worst part is that, like I have experienced many times in the past also in Italy, bureaucracy is the name of the game in government services. Lots of unnecessarily convoluted procedures, lengthy services, and poor dealings. Everyone pushes their way around to get the attention of whomever has to take care of them, and natural outcomes are arguments no end.

The line I was on yesterday (not really a line, but a bunch of people pressed against each other, elbow to elbow, in an extremely narrow space) happened to have been composed mostly of women. All of a sudden, a burly, middle aged man came barging into the group and, yelling to his heart content, pushed his way to the front claiming that men had no chance to get ahead with so many women around!! This is quite paradoxical since Albanian society is known to be man dominated.

The other obvious problem is the fact that the office staff lets itself to be interrupted continuously, and thus the service becomes unsatisfactory, it's prone to mistakes, and it takes more time to complete. Two days ago it took 1/2 hour for an employee of a well known foreign bank to exchange some dollars for me. After all the time I allowed her to complete the transaction she mistakenly gave me 5,000 more leks than due.

The frustration at City Hall yesterday was evident everywhere: one of the customers, seeing my head shaking in disbelief, mumbled that the service was 'scandalous', and one of the clerks, at a certain point, stormed out of her cubicle to take a breather from the yelling and the crowd in front of her!

It is unfortunate to conclude that most state or governmental offices are run this way around the world.

Just like NYC

Garbage collection and disposal in Tirana is very similar to the one in Italy, except that there is no recycling program in effect as far as I know in Albania.
This will follow in due time, I am sure, just like the modernization of today's collection has taken place. The change in equipment used a few years ago, which I described and photographed in my original blog entries on this subject is striking.

The dumping is done into large metal bins, which are religiously emptied by appropriate, modern garbage trucks during the night hours. In my area this usually happens between 12:30 and 1AM. It's also interesting to note that a crew on foot follows the truck to sweep up any indidental left overs that may fall onto the street during the mechanical empting operation. An hour or so later other city trucks make the rounds to water down the streets, thus by 4am the major thoroughfares of Tirana are nice and clean.

The garbage bins, unfortunately, are an open invitation to poor people, who persistently explore them, and, in a way, they actually perform their own differentiation.

In NYC similar actions are taken, although the setup is a bit cleaner because the sifting through is done by opening the plastic bags placed for collection outside each building. Their color identifies their content; thus, these people make sistematic rounds, and quickly collect plastic bottles, and metal cans, which they can return to stores in exchange for a small refund (equal to the original deposit fee paid by the shopper).

Another sight in Tirana that is very similar to NYC and, for that matter, also in many other cities around the world, is the presence, here and there, of what we call 'bag people'. They live on the streets and sleep wherever they can, depending on weather conditions.

I noticed the one above in a corner of an old building right below me, when I looked out of my balcony the other day. And today another person joined him in the same spot.

Trouble in the dog pen

The other day the caretakers of my two puppies, Pepe and Ina, informed me that this couple wasn't getting along well.

The original idea was to keep both brother and sister so they could enjoy each other's company, but Ina turned out to be a real pest. Superactive and aggressive all the time Ina would not leave Pepe alone, and became also very vocal.

After I observed this situation for a couple of days, I also came to the same conclusion, and reluctantly decided that the pair had to be split. Thus, Ina was donated to someone else, and Pepe is now roaming around undisturbed in my large yard.

The caretaker who donated the puppies is a very caring man. I communicate with him through several gestures due to lack of fluency in Albanian on my part. The other day he was busy building a wooden shack for Pepe so that he would be more comfortable during bad weather. He feeds him, bathes him, and cleans up after him, but I believe a regular vet check up is in order. Last evening, thanks to a local friend who also has a dog I learned of a good vet that she also uses, and it happens to be just a few blocks away from my premises. Everything in Albania is done through recommendation, so I gladly accepted to be introduced to him soon.

I see Pepe every day, but, unfortunately, don't have much time to spend with him. He is very playful and I can see that he responds to some commands. What is interesting is that when he is taken out of the pen and left loose in the yard, he does not venture out of the premises' perimeter, although he has many possibilities to do so. Even when passing dogs come close to the property he does not seem to mind.....and I wonder whether this is a good or bad sign. In any case I know he is a hunting dog.

Happy Mother's Day

Best wishes to all my relatives and friends in Italy and the United States.

Albanian Mothers are celebrated earlier in the year. Their Mother's Day falls on March 8, back to back with Teacher's Day.

Weather changes

Everyone I talk to here, in Albania, or in Italy, or in the States seems to always mention the weather these days since it displays unusual and unseasonal changes everywhere.

In Tirana we are enjoying a good spring with lots of sunshine, but some cousins and friends of mine in northern Italy are telling me they are tired of cold and pouring rain. Floods continue to affect several rivers there, and now even the snow has reappeared at elevations above 1,100 meters above sea level.

When I got up this morning and opened my blinds, the streets were wet and the sky looked ominous......

but a tiny blue patch in the sky got bigger within seconds......


I could not believe how quickly changes were taking place right under my eyes, and then I got thinking that in a tiny country like Albania, weather changes are more rapidly noticable due its size and geographical setting.

Endowed with 3 layers of majestic mountain ranges that encircle the country almost on 3 sides (N-W-S), only a small portion of the country is lowland, and follows the beautiful coastline that is bathed halfway by the Adriatic sea (in the north) and the Ionian Sea (in the south).

With this perspective, it's easy to understand why the clouds travel so quickly, the sun appears and disappears so rapidly, and even showers, sometimes, just last few minutes.

And this is what happened this morning. The above sequence took no more than 15 minutes, and then the sun brilliantly illuminated again the entire city!

Pepe & Ina

The 2 puppies I was recently gifted are getting pretty frisky. It's becoming difficult to keep them inside certain temporary boundaries in a secluded corner of my large yard.

Here they remain unseen by prying eyes from the street, and they can enjoy some coolness during our hot middays because there are shaded by some very old, tall trees, which, however, shed a lot of leaves.

Brother and sister are a pretty pair: he - with a white streak across his head, she - with a totally black muzzle.

Pepe can be majestic and looks much stronger than his shy sister Ina.

Both, however, forcefully compete to attract attention and share offered treats, for which they even fight each other.

Like all babies, their span of attention is extremely short, but they show promise for the needed training.

There is still much to be done to make them feel more comfortable, and must get a vet for them, but, I am told, this needs research just like any good doctor here.

My camera ran out of power, and I couldn't get a good pose from Ina today.....besides, Pepe usually manages to prevail!

Berat: an ancient city jewel

Although done for travel business purposes, all the way from another continent, is a wonderful recount of a recent visit to this thousands year old Albanian town, with its towering citadel, many places of cult, and famous icon collections.

The Sydney Morning Herald's article by Gemma Deavin "Smiled Upon by Saints" could not have a more appropriate title!

New facilities

As some of you know, during this stay in Tirana, I planned to relocate from an old, rented apartment that I used for nine years both as lodging and office, and the changes have been dramatic to say the least.

My moving plans never came to fruition, as wished and have already mentioned, but the relocations were eventually accomplished.

As you have seen in my previous entries of this blog, I am now enjoying a gorgeous, free apartment as a residence, while the offices are being setup in a wing of my original property (relinquished by the government after 15 years of struggles), which is situated in another part of the city.

Partial renovations have been made so far in just one small wing of my old house to temporarily accommodate the offices until further plans and funds are found for the larger projects to follow. Suffice to say here that the state in which this property was returned to me last year was appalling, and in no way habitable.

Water, electricity, and new bathroom facilities are now available for the offices, which share a coaxial cable connection already established in the area. Through a wireless router, telephone service is also provided (supposedly to make calls anywhere) and cable TV can be added if needed.

I am using two telecommunications service providers in Tirana; one for the new apartment and the other for the offices. They both use the latest technology for online computer usage and high speed connection.

There is not a soul in Albania without cell phones, of all shapes and forms, and landline units are used only for local calls at home by the older population. I had one of these in the old place, and it was useful to me only to receive recorded messages from them, and to be able to call abroad by using minutes from purchased phone cards.

Now, with the new setups, and the split of locale, I have to adapt to new habits in communication, and, deal with different hardware and software. To complete all these facilities I had to purchase two handheld units, which I am now testing in both places.

The one in my apartment works fine and for the first time last night I was able to surprise an old friend in NY by just dialing her number, and she tested calling me back as if I were home. This unit is attached to a ‘magic jack’ I purchased in NY, which assigned me a NY number and with it I can make any call to the US for a mere $20.00 per year.

I still need to test the other unit at the office, which, instead, is hooked up to the wireless router that provides high speed broadband and telephone service, supposedly anywhere, for a combined cost of $20.00 a month. All I had to do is pay a $3.00 deposit to establish the account, which can be renewed as one needs it, with no long term contracts of any kind.

What's interesting to me is that while dealing with these new installations, I didn't even have to specify what I wanted. The service providers here have dumped the old technology, and automatically furnish now the most efficient methodology.

To all of the above I have to add the completely free Skype service, which I downloaded and also use on all my computers for quite a while. The microphone and camera incorporated in the computer allow the making of phone, video, and even conference calls with the pleasure of seeing the person you’re talking to. Ahhh, modern technology, with all its frustrating experiences can offer great opportunities!

Daily life in Tirana

Some of my American friends write to me privately that they enjoy my blog and some wish they could experience the way of living in Tirana. I agree with them that it’s a nice, overall break to be away from home for a while, and be able to compare customs of other countries.

Based on my own familiarity also with Italy, where I lived for several years, European daily life in general is very, very different from the one in the USA, and in particular from the one in NYC. Once in Europe, I find great similarities in mentality and customs between Albanians and Italians, especially the ones in the Southern part of booth.

Americans are generally pampered when abroad whether they are traveling for pleasure or business. Their time spent in a foreign country, however, must adapt somehow to the customs of the place, and this may add some drawbacks to the pleasure of experiencing new ways of living. There are also big differences if the traveling and visiting is for pleasure or for business, if the stay is short or long, and if the exposure to new places comes in close contact with the real local life of the visited country.

I feel fortunate that, here in Tirana, where I’ve being traveling frequently to for the past 17 years, I have met quite a diversity of local people for a variety of reasons, have coped with many types of individuals, and, in the process, have made many, wonderful friends, and have become very close to their families. I have seen their children grow up, shared their concerns for them, heard of their aspirations for the future, participated in some of their sorrowful and joyful moments, and continue to enjoy their company and loyalty.

In the past couple of years some Italian friends wanted to experience Albania and came to Tirana for the first time while I was here. They all had a good time visiting the city and its surrounding areas, and vowed to return. Next month, two of my Italian cousins will also come with a friend of theirs, and I hope to bring them down south so we can all enjoy together the area known as the Albanian riviera.

Nothing is lacking in Albania today: from pharmaceutical products to agricultural ones, from brand name clothing to furniture, from locally made stuff to imported one, you name it! In addition to the variety of individually owned and mama and papa stores, six huge shopping malls and parking lots are now fully operational 12 hours daily in the capital’s suburbs and are accessed by the general population also via free bus service from the city center. Some chain stores are open 24 hrs a day, also in the city of Durres, and probably elsewhere. Wherever you go shopping you’re greeted with a smile and, even if you don’t speak a word of Albanian, the servers are eager to please in any way shape or form.

For me the biggest difference in way of living here centers in the work hours, as well as the rest and meal times.

Most business is conducted from 7:30/8am to 3pm with no lunch interruption, especially in state offices. Some people may take an espresso in mid morning or have a quick ‘byrek’ on the go. By 4pm the chaotic traffic of Tirana subsides a bit, because most people are back home to consume their big meal of the day, and then they rest for a couple of hours. The late afternoon stroll is quite fashionable, as it used to be when I was a student in Italy; visiting can take place way into the evening, and the lighter, supper meal can go on even around 10pm.

These schedules can create havoc in someone like me, used to a pretty regular, and different eating plan, difficult to modify after a certain age. I’ve learned, however, to be pretty flexible since the discomfort is compensated at times by pleasant surprises and the networking these disruptions create may turn out to be quite enjoyable.

Perfect example is yesterday afternoon. I was planning to work a bit later since I had a few interruptions earlier, when two friends (husband and wife) dropped by the office and literally forced me to quit! They wanted to drive me to Durres, where they are furnishing a new apartment by the seashore, to experience the sunset from their balconies there. Although brief, this was a lovely and relaxing break!

All my plans for the rest of the day went down the drain, but we ended up not only doing the above, but also loaded the car with some purchases during some leisure shopping in one of the big malls, and, eventually, at 9:30pm had a delicious fish dinner in Durres, and returned to Tirana by 11:30pm.

For me this kind of life may seem disorganized and wasteful at times, but for my friends life is better lived this way with all its unpredictable and unplanned situations. They all work very hard at their own businesses, but they intersperse moments of relaxation as the day goes by. They may not look constantly at the clock and may even arrive late at some meetings, but, this is taken for granted here. They will not try to anticipate unforeseen situations, but will cope with any that may arise, and eventually manage to solve them.

The successful businessmen here will not trade their life with the ones of comparable people in the States, and, some of the ones I know who have also visited the U.S. are adamant in affirming that they would not like to work and play the way we do across the Atlantic.

That’s the beauty in this world: variety is the spice of life, and to each one his own!

Southern Albania

Peter Mandel's article, "A Taste of Albania", that appeared on the StarTribune.com of Minneapolis yesterday whets my appetite too to visit the Southern part of Albania, known as the Albanian riviera.

One of these days I hope to make it down there, but not for a few hours only. It takes at least a couple of days to get a feel for this part of the country that offers, I am told, both beautiful seashore and mountain sites, as well as bountiful agricultural products, in addition to the historical antiquities.

Way back in the early 1930's, my paternal uncle, whose hobbies were archaeology and photography, did a detailed study of the ancient ruins of Butrint, now a UNESCO World Heritage site. This report, rich of pictures taken and developed by him, is saved in Albania's National Archives, and I should go and dig it out before visiting this site.

on this stage modern performances are taking place now during the summer
I had several occasions to make a quick trip there, but decided to go when I'd have a bit more time at my disposal.

Traveling by car from Tirana now, when most of the roads have been fixed and repaired, it takes about six hours, thus, an overnight stay is a must for me. At my age, and used as I am having to meet deadline most of the time, I don't want to look at the clock while touring around; I like to fully enjoy sightseeing at my own pace. Hope that day comes soon.

New acquaintance and site

The mother of a business partner of mine that I just met today is a jolly and peppy 81 year old lady with beautiful white hair. She greeted me in Italian when I entered her apartment on the 2nd floor of a large establishment that includes more than one business of her family.

She comes herself from a well to do family that includes a laywer and several medical doctors. One of her 3 sons is a pharmacist that also owns a medical tests laboratory, right on the premises. She surprised me when she told me of having been, as a teenager, a student of my paternal uncle, whom she remembers very well.

Another son has built a kindergarten, nursery school on the 2nd, 3rd, and top floor of their property, which is quite large. He gave me a tour of it, and it was a delight to see the various rooms, where children (from 3 to 7 years of age) are taught, fed, and cared for Monday thru Friday, from 7am to 5pm, and on Saturday from 7am to 1pm.


The whole place is set up with great care and taste. It's bright, colorful, and very practical, from the building entrance, all the way up the floors, with pretty large paintings in vivid colors on the walls everywhere.


It's furnished with a complete kitchen that feeds the children 3 times a day, bathrooms fit for babies, and even a couple of rooms for napping.



Drawings and children's work are displayed everywhere.


On the top floor there is a huge, fenced in terrace, and a roomy playroom surrounded by large windows on 3 sides.


This was an interesting and pleasurable afternoon and visit.

Saturday tasks

This is the first Saturday since I am in Tirana that I could dedicate mostly to domestic needs.

My cleaning lady came yesterday, and she left me a spotlesss apartment, as usual, at the end of the four hours it takes her to do all chores, at a price that in NY would cover only one hour! I offered her a bit more for a bathroom rug she took home to wash last week, but she firmly and politely declined and added a big smile!

Speaking of rugs, I might add that a local laundry specialty service also picked up, cleaned, and re-delivered back within a week, a large woolen rug I own, and didn't use for a long time, for a mere $12.00!

Yesterday, I also had 2 small venetian blinds and one large roller shade installed in my new apartment, and the total labor cost amounted to $9.00. After I chose the materials and colors in their beautiful store, the company went out of its way to have one of their workers that spoke Italian come to do the measuring and the installation so that I would feel more comfortable. Since the apartment cleaning was going on at the same time, everything was done quickly, efficiently and no trace of dust was left from the drilling.

It rained during the night, but this morning while a batch of laundry was drying out in the balcony, I went out to shop locally for food. All I have to do is to walk across one of the small pedestrian bridges of the Lana canal and within 1/2 hour I purchased all I needed.

At the intersection of a couple of small streets (visible from my balcony) there is small park where every morning many elderly people congregate to relax. The men usually occupy two round tables to play cards, while the women exchange news on the benches.

Many are the shops in this area, and a full size produce 'bazaar' is just nearby.

Let me tell you what I bought today. All veggies just out of the ground for a few hours and meats freshly cut and put together (in a gorgeous butcher shop!). Six zucchini, 6 large scallions, 6 carrots, 1 large head of green salad, 1 cauliflower, 1 huge loaf of dark bread, 1 bottle of red wine (from the town of Permet), 2 chicken breasts and 6 round, freshly made, veal burgers (called 'qofte'). My total food bill this morning was $16.15.

It's afternoon now, and under the shade of the trees that now display their baby green foliage, someone is resting.

As I zero in with my camera I notice the luggage used as a headrest. It must be one of the many backpack young tourists that I have noticed around Tirana, where they use quite a few hostels.

The rest of my afternoon will be spent visiting the mother and aunt of one of the people I deal with in business. They wanted to meet me and I've been invited to their home across town.