Holy Cannoli

After being in Vlorë for over two months, we are again on the move. Wow, are we on the move this week! In one week we will be (or have been since we are in the middle of it) in five different countries. Today, I will discuss the first one: Albania.

A ferris wheel? But this isn't London!

Yes, I hear your grumbling, "Erich, you were in Albania for months!" You are correct, and I'm so glad you've been keeping up with our adventures. But on Saturday, December 7, we left Vlorë and took a bus to Tirana. That brought us to the North-South Bus Terminal, and we needed to get to the city center where our hotel was located. So we took the city bus.

You can argue that we got on the wrong bus or that we got on the right bus, depends on your point of view. The bus we took did go to city center, but it diverted to the south side of the city and then came back north toward the center. This was not the fastest route we could have taken. And it wasn't the route we intended to take. So what could have been a twenty minute ride became a sixty minute ride. On the other hand, we got to see a part of Tirana that was very different than anywhere we had seen before. When Alrica and I stayed the first time, we stayed in the neighborhood of Allias, which is in the northeast side of Tirana. The streets were narrow and there was a mix of modern and very old school to the area. You didn't have a lot of variety in food or shopping choices. But it was beautiful and we got to see the people in the way they really live.

This south part of Tirana, at least along the major arterial roads on which the bus travels, is much more modern. There were Asian restaurants, lots of shopping choices, and more variety in entertainment. It was great to see this other side of Tirana, and if we ever return, maybe we will stay in this part of town next time.

Would we ever go back to Tirana? Yes! Let me tell you about the rest of the night.

Government offices decorated for the holiday

We got into our hotel. It was very cute with lots of wood, comfortable beds, and friendly people. We stayed at the Hotel London, which has British paraphernalia strewn about. They have several staff members who speak English.

The walk and don't walk signals are Albanian two-headed eagles

We had a great early dinner/late lunch near Skanderbeg Square. And then we went into the square. That was the amazing part.

Why stop at one tree when you can have five?

Tirana, like many European cities, has a Christmas Market. Though "market" is hardly the best word to describe it. This was a fair. The square (making it fair and square), which we had seen as large and mostly empty on our first visit in September, was now decorated fully. There were "trees" of beautiful colored lights. There were decorations on buildings. There were reindeer frames with lights on them. There was a giant 2025 at the south end of the square.

Look! The zero is an ornament!

There were market stands selling lovely crafts, glass works, leather goods, jewelry, wood work, and fiber arts. There was also a carnival. There were rides (a two-story merry-go-round and ferris wheel among them.) There were games. I was particularly fascinated by the ring toss. In America you toss the rings over empty bottles. Here you toss them over full bottles of liquor or boxes with perfume bottles inside. There were several pistol stands where you shoot at colored cans. And there was food! There were tents with heaters inside and whole restaurants built in temporary fashion on the square. There were smaller carts and stands selling all the true state fair goodies like fried dough (variation on funnel cakes) and cotton candy. And one of the stands was selling cannolis.

Two-story merry-go-round (and-a-lot-of-hyphens)

Now Alrica loves a good cannoli. Perhaps calling her "a cannoli fiend" would be an overstatement, but here are some other possible descriptions:

• A cannoli seeker-outer
• Cannoli intrigued
• A cannoli enthusiast
• Take the cannoli, leave the gun.
• Sorry, that last one was off topic.
• As was the last one which said the one before it was off topic. But I will get back on topic in the next one.
• A woman who likes a good cannoli and let's just leave it at that.

Of course we bought a cannoli. They had a variety of fillings, and we chose pistachio. Pistachios are one of Albania's many crops. So it felt like you can't go wrong with a cannoli and local ingredients. Good news: We did not go wrong.

Alrica declared this the best cannoli she has ever had. Prior to that cannoli, the best cannoli demarcation belonged to cannolis purchased in New York City (in Little Italy.) Now it belongs to cannolis in Tirana, Albania.

We will have to find cannolis in Italy as well, you know, for a full on comparison. But there is no guarantee that they will be better. Sometimes the "best" of something is found in unexpected places. For example, the best macarons we ever had were in Istanbul, Turkey (and we did try them in Paris.) The best pizza we ever had was in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (and we have tried pizza in Italy and in the United States.)

Yes, some things are the best in the place they come from or the place that is famous for them. I've never had better Tom Khat Gai or Thai Basil Chicken than I got in Thailand. I've never had better gyros than those I ate in Lagonisi, Greece. I've never had a better burger than ones I've eaten in the United States. I've never had better tea than... wait, there's no such thing as good tea. All you tea drinkers (my wife included), those of us with taste buds are not falling for your massive conspiracy con game.

But not everything is best where you expect it to be. And that's fantastic, because you never know what is going to surprise you.

The Christmas Market in Tirana was one of those things that surprised us greatly. Not just because of the cannoli (though that is part of it.) Rather, the entire experience was incredibly lively, colorful, and fun.

Lively, colorful, and fun, all right there in picture form!

Tune in to the next blog and I will move from a fair to a ferry.