Transadriatic Travelers

NARRATOR: When last we saw our heroes, they were enjoying the spectacle of a Christmas fair in Tirana, Albania. What exciting adventures were in store for them afterward?

Thanks, Narrator. I'll take it from here. Saturday was our day in Tirana. On Sunday we caught a bus to Durres. Durres is another Albanian city. This one, like Vlorë, is on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. But we came to Durres not to stay, but to sail. Or steam? Or motor? What do you call travel by ship which isn't actually hoisting sails?

We had planned to see a couple of sites, in particular the ancient Durres Amphitheater which dates back to when Romans occupied the area. But Sunday was not a pleasant day for seeing sites. It was a day for holding umbrellas and finding a place indoors to while away the hours.

Want to hear something ironic. On Saturday, I commented to Alrica that being in Albania would be beneficial for avoiding Whamageddon. For those of you who don't know that phrase, I will explain. The idea of Whamageddon is sort of a competition that runs from December 1 to December 24. How long can you last in that period without hearing the song "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away." (The song was originally recorded by WHAM. That's why it is called Whamageddon. My point to Alrica was that since we were in Albania and planning to travel in other non-English speaking countries, we would find it much easier to avoid being whammed out of the game.

But the very next day, we gave it away. We were in a grocery store in Durres, spending the very last of our lek (the Albanian currency.) And from the speakers overhead, what was playing? "Last Christmas, I gave you my heart, but the very next day, you gave it away." A purist might say we were still okay, but this wasn't the original version by WHAM. It was a female singer, not sure who. But I feel that given our geographical advantage, it is only fair to say that covers count against us. So, fellow competitors, you have two fewer rivals still in the game.

All the bars in various shades of blue

That evening we boarded the Mia, by Adria Ferries. The ship would leave Durres, Albania at 7 PM Sunday and arrive in Ancona, Italy at 11 AM Monday. The reviews of this ferry service were very mixed. Like all review sites (and all voluntary response samples if you want to talk like a statistician, and who doesn't want to do that) only people with the strongest opinions give reviews. And there were some strong ones, robust in their invective, full of sound and fury (heavy on the fury,) spewing the metaphoric vitriol. There were even comments online that were shades of racist. (Wow, racism in the comments section, what a surprise!)

But in the end, if you want to go from Albania to the northern half of Italy, this is your only choice. So we did it. And we had a great time.

For one thing, we got a cabin. The least expensive tickets only buy you a seat. That means you are allowed on the boat and you can sit somewhere (or sleep on one of the comfortable benches or sleep on the floor.) You can also buy cabins. Cabins come with beds and some with a water closet (a toilet and sink) and a shower. Buying a two bed cabin wasn't that much more than buying two seats. So we did that. And our cabin was nice. Nothing fancy, two single bed, a top bunk and a bottom bunk. I got to relive my college days in 315! 315! 315! by sleeping on the top bunk. And unlike those college days, I didn't even step on anyone in the bottom bunk when getting out of bed. (Still sorry about that Jerry. However, I will point out that Jerry's tribal name was Sleeps Through Armageddon—not Whamageddon—because he literally could sleep through anything, up to and including being stepped on.) The shower was tiny, but it worked. So Alrica and I had our own space to lay down our backpacks and to head to when it was time to sleep.

The cabin in all its glory!

Food was average at best on the ferry and way too much money for what you were getting. But isn't that always the way when you're a captive audience? We watched La Ruota della Fortuna in the lounge room of the ship. This was quite amusing. Yes, it is just Italian Wheel of Fortune. But when you don't know Italian, it can be challenging. And given our lack of knowledge of the language, I was particularly happy with our performance. We even partially got one of the answers without any letters yet on the board. The category was Misteri Animati. I guessed this meant Animated Mystery and so it had to somehow relate to Scooby-Doo. And it did! The last word in the puzzle was, in fact, Scooby-Doo.

The weather was unpleasant when we boarded and headed out onto the Adriatic Sea, but when we woke on Monday, the skies were blue, or bluer, and the rain was gone.

The view of Ancona from the deck

Ancona, for us, was a quick jaunt from Ferry Terminal to Train Terminal with a bite of lunch near the train station. But it is a lovely city, especially from the water. There you can see the levels going up and down, and the earth tone buildings all melding together.

Guess what we ate for our first meal in Italy? If you guessed Mexican food, you were on the right track. That actually was our plan, we were going to eat at a restaurant called Good Food, and it serves Mexican. If you are thinking "why would you choose Mexican food in italy?" Well, our reasoning went like this:

1. The food choices in Albania are limited, but one of the choices that is available is Italian food.
2. Mexican food is not a choice.
3. We like Mexican food.
4. Hey, look, Mexican food is a choice in Ancona.
5. Sure, but we should have some good Italian food while we are in Italy.
6. True, but we will be in Italy for several days. We will have plenty of opportunities to have Italian food.
7. All good points. Let's do Mexican food.

I hope you enjoyed that trip into the Alrica/Erich collective brain trust. That's why I say that if you guessed Mexican food, good on you. Except, we didn't eat Mexican food.

Like this site in Ancona, you are probably wondering "Why me?"

You know how Mondays are often dark days for theaters and museums. A lot of them are open over weekends, so they take their day off on Monday. In Italy (or at least in Ancona,) apparently a lot of restaurants do the same thing. I guess it makes sense. If you are a small restaurant, family owned and run, then the owners are the employees. They need a day off too. And weekends are good times for sales. So taking off on Mondays is logical. Well, Good Food is one of those restaurants that takes off on Mondays. So we did not eat, and we are still missing, Mexican food.

We tried to eat Sri Lankan food, as we passed a Sri Lankan restaurant that smelled wonderful. And the sign on the door said Open (in English even.) Maybe the staff inside couldn't read the sign because it was in English. Because when we went in, they said they were closed. (At least, they didn't let us in, and I interpreted what was said as being something meaning they were closed.)

So if Sri Lankan food was your second guess, again, game on! Not to draw out the suspense, we ended up eating Chinese food. Again, if you want to understand why we chose Chinese food in Italy, go to the numbered list above and substitute "Chinese food" everywhere you see "Mexican food."

Chinese food in Italy is not the same as Chinese food in the United States. It isn't totally dissimilar, but it isn't the same either. Still, it did satisfy a taste sensation we have been without for awhile.

From Ancona we caught a train to... You know what, I will have to tell that story in the next post. Because this week of travel and sites is making Erich a tired boy. So, uh, back to you Narrator.

NARRATOR: Tune in next time when you'll hear about The Walkway of Faith, actual Italian food in, well, not Italy, and the World's Oldest Republic.