Red Bull Ice Cream ...its the Future

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Last night was horrible and the journey took about four hours longer than it should have done, fourteen hours in total. We drove through the outskirts of Tirana around sunrise which was breathtaking. Tirana is surrounded by mountains in every direction so the scenery is beautiful despite the houses being rather primitive. The bus dropped us near the national opera house which is in a square that is surprisingly picturesque.

To find Hotel Endri we had a simple map and address. We found the street without difficulty however we could not see the number or a sign. We asked someone who gesticulated that we needed to be around the other side of the building we were in front of. The other side gave no more of an indication and even when we were standing outside of what we hoped was the correct door we were massively uncertain. We rang the bell and waited... Eventually an old man answered the door and when I asked about a room he stared blankly and then disappeared to find his grandson. The room was slightly more expensive than we liked but the choice in Tirana was limited at best. At eight in the morning we both collapsed into the bed and slept soundly through our alarm till approximately three.

We finally left our room speeded up by the fact that there was a power cut. We ambled around the main square and the parliamentary buildings and the surrounding streets. We were keeping an eye out for an eatery but nothing in particular caught our fancy. Amusingly but rather dangerous we found that during the regular power cuts the traffic lights don't work so it is a free for all. In England it would have been utter chaos but here it worked without incident. They have only had cars for regular citizens in Albania since 1991 and a traffic code and license more recently and it definitely shows. Moreover, a lot of roads around the centre are being redone and this has added to the chaos.

Unable to find an eatery we liked the look of, we bought the infamous In Your Pocket Guide to Tirana which amongst many other things has listings of restaurants. We found one that we liked the sound of and headed there. We sat under a patio heater and had our meal. My main came out twenty five minutes before Rob's and when I asked for it to be reheated they looked at me like I was crazy.

On the way back to the hotel we saw numerous stalls selling ice cream which obviously Rob couldn't resist. Red Bull flavoured ice cream is definitely a new one and actually worked rather well. The ice creams were scrumptious but cold (obviously) and when we returned to the hotel we were unable to warm up. There is no heater here and the shower runs cold after a few minutes. We have just piled all the spare blankets onto the bed and we're shivering underneath them. Night everybody. Stob.

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Comments

[Brian]

Wings
Hi Stob Cold ice cream what a novelty but at least it should make getting around better, after all doesnt Red Bull give you wings??

[kate]

how to get warm
Hi de Hi Best way to keep warm is to cuddle up close......mmmm! sounds good..........is it bedtime yet!!!