A Visit from Kansas City

My brother, Tom, and his wife, Anita, came to visit us in Tirana from Kansas City, which is where Tom and I grew up. It was wonderful to spend time with them! I have a total of four siblings who all have spouses and three or four children each so usually when we get together there is a whole herd of us. Having a large group of us together is fun but it is not always conducive to really getting caught up with each other. After spending a week with Tom and Anita we really reconnected and enjoyed our visit together.

On their first full day in Albania Tom and Anita met me outside the school gate and then we walked across the street to eat lunch at LeBon. The beautiful desserts shown here, are as delicious as they look.

After lunch I took them on a tour of the school.

The next day we drove 2 hours southeast to the town of Vlore and stayed at Hotel Liro. The hotel is literally built into the side of a mountain overlooking the Adriatic Sea.

That evening we enjoyed a delicious meal at the hotel as the sun set, so lovely!

The next day we drove south along the Albanian Rivera.

We toured Ali Pasha’s Castle in the Port of Palermo. We decided it seemed more like a fort than a castle.

Lunch across from the castle.

We are spending the night in a small beach village called Himare. Many of the Albanians that live in Himare are of Greek descent including the hotel owner. When we checked into the hotel we were served the Greek treat pictured above. It is basically an orange peel that has been soaked in something that made it taste unusual and delicious.

The next day on our drive back to Tirana we stopped in Apollonia, an ancient Greek city founded in 588 B.C.

More pics from Apollonia…

I never get tired of seeing a shepherd out in a field with his sheep.

The day after we returned to Tirana we went on a free walking tour of the city. Even though this was the second time I have been on this tour I thoroughly enjoyed it and found the information about the city we are living in to be very interesting.

 

We shared a yummy dinner at Mullixhiu (serving traditional Albanian food) with friends Edlira and Aldo.

Our  last night with Tom and Anita before they head home. We are walking down our street on the way home from having dinner together. Thanks for coming to visit, Tom and Anita. We loved having you here!

Josh, our youngest son, arrived last week for a month long visit. Yay! He will be working remotely and getting to know Albania. We are loving sharing our Albanian life with another one of our kids.