Comfy

I am so happy with my accommodation in Brighton! So I got that upgrade last night to the larger room at the back of the house with a better bed and that in combination with two glasses of wine meant that I slept eight hours straight! I was so surprised when I looked at the clock this morning. I can’t remember the last time I slept the night through.

My host makes me feel so comfortable in her home that mornings are a relaxed thing here, just as if I was on my own. I get up when I’m ready and then go to the kitchen to make coffee and breakfast. This morning, I got ambushed by the ancient, senile, and deaf cat who greeted me in the near darkness with a scream that made me jump high enough to hit the very high ceiling.

Meet Charlie. This is from four years ago, “before he was senile.”

Now, imagine being startled by that meowing, but about ten times louder. That got the adrenaline pumping this morning!

I had a stupidly full day of work to do today and hadn’t factored in the North American time change that made me lose an hour on my deadlines! What didn’t help matters is that I didn’t do the work I was supposed to do when I came in from Lewes yesterday. I’d left it since the jobs for that client are normally super easy and take an hour. What awaited me was a rare difficult file that would take almost two hours! I was just bushed, so I contacted the client and requested an extension, which was no problem. Not very professional of me, but she’s really lax and I know that weekend deadlines are pretty soft. So that meant extra work today.

My host and I had sort of thought to go to a nearby Indian restaurant for their buffet for lunch, but she wasn’t in the mood by the time lunch rolled around. England has been bad for my waistline, so I decided a buffet wasn’t a good idea, plus I didn’t have much time for lunch anyway. So I ran down to the Tesco Extra to grab a quick something for lunch and figured that since I now had curry on the brain, I could get one of their prepared meals for dinner. My host didn’t have a microwave when I arrived, but she asked me if that’s something that would be good if she has Airbnb guests and when I said yes, she ordered one. The machine was due to arrive this afternoon, so I took a chance on Tesco’s 2 for £4 curries that are meant to be nuked, figuring that, worst case, I could heat them gently on the stove.

I came out of there like a bandit since I got two of their pizza-type puff pastries for just £0.62 for my lunch, plus the two curries for £5. So that was three meals sorted for half of what I would have paid for the buffet. Getting ready meals is definitely not as cheap as cooking from scratch, but it’s a good compromise between that and eating out, especially since prepared foods in Europe tend to be fresh and made with real ingredients, just like you’d make at home. Not having a pantry full of spices and other staples, it’s also a great way to get some variety and try new things.

When I came in, I helped my host take apart the bed in the room I was in originally, which she’s been letting me use as an office since the new room doesn’t have a desk. Talk about a double upgrade! That done, I went back to work.

A couple of hours later, she came to ask if I wanted to go with her to Asda, kind of like their Walmart (even carries the George brand products), to go pick up the microwave. I must have been a dog in a previous life because all I could think was, “Ooh, I get to go on a car ride!” It wasn’t until we were in the car that I realised I’ve never ridden in a car in this country, just a bus, and let me tell you, it’s scarier close to the ground to be on the wrong side of the road! 😀 Unfortunately, I never did manage to get to drive here on this trip since all the driving schools I contacted for lessons were booked solid. 🙁

The collection process at Asda was very sophisticated. There’s a touch screen flat panel by the entrance where you can put in your order info and then someone brings it out to you on a cart. He checks your ID and you’re good to go.

I didn’t feel like having a poke around Asda since it’s so like Walmart, so I declined the chance to do that, but I did accept the invitation to pop into a Marks and Spencer a little ways away since I’d heard so much about them. They sure carry some nice things! I was tempted by the sushi, but resisted! We did both stock up on heavily discounted pastries so I have a nice pain aux raisins waiting for me tomorrow and the almond croissant will go to the airport with me on Wednesday (it’s in the freezer, so it will stay fresh).

We also popped into another Tesco Express that she said is a good source of discounted stuff at the end of the day and that I should seriously consider checking out on Tuesday to possibly get food for the plane trip. It’s nice having a local guide!

The outing was a lovely break, but I really had to get back to work when we got in and I finished with a half hour to spare before the deadline! I still had another hour to do for the client who had given me an extension on yesterday’s work, but that would be an easy file. So I took another break to have dinner, breaking in the new microwave to heat up a ridiculously good coconut chicken korma curry with rice. I am going to really miss Tesco. Hope my tikka masala tomorrow is as good!

After dinner, I finished my work and then was finally able to take a hot shower to work out the kinks and slip into my jammies before joining my host in her lounge to watch some crap telly. I made sure to confirm that she wasn’t just being polite, but she said that it’s nice to have the company, one of the nicest things anyone’s ever said to me. She got up at one point to grill me a small hot cross bun that she’d bought at M&S a few days ago that I simply had to try as it had caramel and chocolate and was divine. She wasn’t kidding. What a yummy treat!

With the weather being miserable today, I was very happy to stay in and make some money. The next two days are supposed to be sunny… I have quite a bit of work left ahead of being off for a while, so I think I’ll focus on that tomorrow and then go out all of Tuesday to properly explore Brighton. But I might be able to do another wander around Hove for a break tomorrow afternoon depending on how late I get started.

Now, here’s hoping I sleep well again tonight!

Exploring Alicante’s Santa Bárbara Castle

Yes, this post is a little late. I am feeling very run down and have a sore throat. I really need a few nights of interrupted sleep!

Like in Barcelona, it’s insanely loud in this building until just past 1AM, then quiet until about 10AM. I guess that’s just the normal Spanish rhythm… I didn’t even bother trying to sleep until it got quiet on Friday night/Saturday morning and then I slept like the dead since my room was surprisingly dark and quiet. I only woke up because I was cold and had to find another blanket.

I went out Friday night to get some breakfast stuff at a nearby supermarket, so I was all set to make peanut butter with banana and coffee on Saturday morning. I ended up buying a large bag of powdered milk for just 4 euros (6CAD). Twice what I’d pay in Mexico, half what I’d pay in Canada. It’ll last me for months and since I only have one more stop to make before I land for seven weeks, it made sense to get some last night so that I could make coffee here.

I dropped my groceries off and then went out again to look for a fast food supper around 8:30, eventually stumbling on a kebab shop that was opening up for the night. Thank goodness for the Turks! 😀 I could have kebab just about every night and, really, as long as you go easy on the sauce, there could be worse suppers. It’s a very popular late night fast food option all over Europe.

I then had to put in a couple of hours of work before bed. It’s very rare that I leave work for arrival on a traveling day because I’m always afraid of contingencies, but Thursday night was not conducive to working in the public spaces in my Barcelona flat. Since the job was super easy and not due till Friday night, it made sense to take a chance and finish once I’d landed in Alicante.

I pretty much picked Alicante as my stop this weekend by throwing the proverbial dart at a map of the Spanish coast. I couldn’t afford to stay in Barcelona any longer and I also did not want to have to travel straight to Almería in one day as it would have been something like 12 or 13 hours of traveling time. Alicante is about two-thirds of the way to Almería from Barcelona, meaning a shortish traveling day on Monday, and boasts a charming old town and a magnificent castle to explore. Sounded pretty good to me!

So it was a very, very, very late start Saturday morning. It was really nice to stumble into a super clean kitchen and put together coffee and breakfast. After that, I did a bit of my work for the weekend and then headed out to find a town map and the castle.

My flat is located on a public square and is making me realise I do not want to live right on a public square in Mexico!

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My wonderful host here oriented me as to the main street in town and the pedestrian zone, so I had known where to go look for food Friday night and where to find the info centre Saturday afternoon.

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I love how an interior wall became an exterior wall and that you can still see where the old staircase was.

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I thought I’d found tacos on Friday night, but they want 10 euros/15CAD for two!!!

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The tourist info centre was just past the Mexican restaurant. I came in and was sized up by the person at the desk who yelled towards the back, “We need your English skills!” Bemused, I shook my head and said in Spanish, “I just want a map and walking directions to the castle…” “Oh!” was the reply and then aid was forthcoming. The map I was given was pretty terrible in that it’s not particularly portable, being printed on heavy paper, but it is pretty detailed and colour coded. The instructions on how to walk to the castle seemed clear…

I headed UP into the old town.

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I found this wonderful poem on a building. I photographed all of it, but am only sharing my favourite stanza, the one at the bottom: “How many days does a week have? Seven days, and no more. But I would give it eight days, one more to travel.”

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The Santa Bárbara castle is a rather impressive. It started as an Islamic fortress in the 9th century, with the Christian castle built over top in the Middle Ages.

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Getting to the walking path up to the castle was insanely frustrating. I will never again complain of the dearth of signage in the Balkans as Spain appears to be worse. I think that in this case, it is intentional. The castle is free to visit, but there is a new elevator to get to the top that costs about 3 Euro. I think that the walking path is hard to find so that people will choose the paid option. That had the opposite effect on me. The more I climbed up to a dead end and had to backtrack, the less inclined I was to pay the elevator fee! And, yes, I asked multiple people for directions.

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One man finally gave me good directions, as opposed to a more vague, “It’s that way,” response. I started to climb.

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Spoiler: I would end up higher than that little tower you see jutting out of the cliff at the top!

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It became evident as I climbed that there are actually a few different walking paths of varying degrees of difficulty.

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I ended up on what I would, at the descent, confirm as being the official walking path, and it was very difficult as the step risers were super high.

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This is the part where I got really annoyed with the lack of signage. Right through that door.

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From there, I could go up these very scary steps strewn with broken glass or move ahead on a dirt path.

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There was a bunch of us who were confused and it took a local to tell us that the least obvious of the paths, the dirt one, would lead us to the paved access road to the entrance of the castle. On the way back, I came across a few different groups of tourists all as equally confused as I was at that point and I had to guide them to the entrance. What could have been a really lovely walk up was incredibly frustrating because I was expending a lot of effort to climb up things that seemed to lead to the castle but which ended up being dead ends. To meet other people who felt as frustrated as I was spoke volumes as to the validity of my feelings.

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But I finally made it to the entrance!

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Right through that arch, I saw this sign about a sci-fi exposition. Curious..

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I went in and as soon as I started to look at the exhibits, I just gasped. I was looking at case after case of mostly original props from many science-fiction/fantasy movies, some of which I really love! This was such a random and unexpected part of my day! These are just a few of the original props that I enjoyed viewing.

Hydra’s cosmic energy battery from Captain America: the First Avenger.

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Bruce Banner’s laptop and drink from The Incredible Hulk (2008).

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Obadiah’s sonic taser earplugs from Ironman.

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A piece from the Tumbler in Batman Begins!

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I could not stop staring at this original mask, hat, and wig from V for Vendetta, one of my favourite movies of all time.

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What a surreal exhibit, and free to boot!

Then, I wandered around the ruins. You can go almost anywhere.

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At the top here, you can see the café. I didn’t plan my day well and got to the castle at about 2PM, lunchtime. I should have had lunch first and then gone exploring. So I decided to pay a premium for a mediocre burger with a great view and didn’t regret it one bit!

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The castle complex is huge.

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This is that little tower we saw earlier and I’m above it, at the very top of the castle. The view was so spectacular!

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I would not want to be a bus driver having to go around that hair pin turn!

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Here’s that archer again.

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I haven’t had ice cream in ages and 2.50 euros was insane for gelato after an afternoon of wandering around flat Barcelona, but was a fair price for this treat after all that climbing!

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The figures fighting in the background of this picture amuse me immensely.

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Found the elevator. It’s free to go from the 1st to the 2nd level and to go down from the 2nd level to the beach.

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The sci-fi expo is showing off some of the best sci-fi movies of recent years! *snickers*

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As some of you know, I did my BA in medieval history and so I know a bit about the construction of these sorts of structures. What I’m seeing here is that there was some sort of wooden construction jutting out of the stone foundation.

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The Mediterranean at Alicante is just…

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Ruins of Saint Barbara’s Hermitage.

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I thought this was a weird coincidence in that at this time two years ago, I was near Arco, Idaho, wandering through an equally amazing space

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It’s forbidden to feed the cats and the doves. Saw lots of gulls, but no doves…

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The hike down was hard on the knees. Just like after the climb in Old Kotor, I’m shocked that I wasn’t sore the next day!

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I may have yelled to this guy that he was doing a fine job with his painting…

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Ah, a dove!

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I was done by this point and just wanted to get in. I thought to stop at the market, but was disappointed to discover I’d missed my only chance as it closes at 2PM on Saturdays and is closed on Sundays.

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I made two stops before coming in. The first was at a fruit and vegetable store for a tomato and small cucumber, the other at the grocery store for ham, cheese, and yoghurt so I could have dinner in when I was ready for it. I am surprised that Spanish grocery prices appear to be low. Four single-serve containers of yoghurt were about 0.75CAD (about four times cheaper than in Assiniboia). A package of good ham was about 1.50CAD. A cheese similar to Boursin, which was 8CAD last time I didn’t buy any in Assiniboia, was just under 2CAD.

I came in and did more work, then made dinner. I have access to not just the kitchen here, but a whole cupboard full of spices and condiments! I had a few things in Sarajevo, but nothing like this, and I had to build a pantry from scratch in Bulgaria with not much available to me locally. So being able to not only pull out oil and vinegar last night to make a dressing from scratch, but also sugar, salt, oregano, garlic powder, and a few other things to make the dressing extra special felt like an incredible luxury.

Even though I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep that early, I went to bed around nine, just as the noise level in here started. I managed to fall asleep around eleven, was woken around one, then slept from two to four, five to eight, and 8:30 to ten. Not a great night… I have to leave early tomorrow, so I don’t expect much sleep again. It will be a relief to land in Almería!

It’s 1:30 on Sunday now. Nothing’s open at this hour on a Sunday, so I’m just going to wander around, find a nice lunch, and enjoy the Mediterranean sunshine. 🙂

Barcelona to Alicante

My train was at eleven this morning, so I wanted to leave my flat around 9:30. Thankfully, I managed to get to bed almost early yesterday and was awake without an alarm around eight. Packing is still a lot of work because I don’t have any spare room and everything has to be packed perfectly and just so, so I like to give myself lots of time.

I really enjoyed my stay in my host’s flat. Another girl joined us the night before last and I saw that if I had to, I could live with the right roommates, a huge revelation. I felt comfortable setting up my office and working even when they were there and I never felt like I was taking up space or annoying my host by staying in the public spaces when she was home. My stay cost me 175CAD for four nights and the cheapest alternative I found, a bed in a dorm, was over 200CAD. So I was really motivated to make this place work and it absolutely did. The only thing that rather sucked was the loooooong climb up to her flat. Here I am on the landing. That is a scary way down!

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There are so many stairs to climb. I told her she needs to be clearer in her ad about how bad the stairs are and that her listing isn’t suitable for someone with huge luggage.

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One of her neighbours has this great mat that I want for Haven: Welcome to the independent republic of my house.

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I had about a half hour walk to Sants train station. As I ambled along, I checked out menus and prices, looking for a decent deal on a croissant and coffee. I almost stopped at a place that advertised a ham and cheese croissant with a coffee for 2.50 euros, but something told me to wait.

I got to Arenas de Barcelona, a shopping mall.

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Just after it, I found a café that offered a ham and cheese croissant with a coffee for 2.40 euros. Every little bit helps! It was just shy of ten so I felt that I had time to sit and enjoy my breakfast.

A few doors down, I passed a bakery with nice sandwiches, so I thought I’d found my lunch for the train. But all their sandwiches had mayo. 🙁 The clerk suggested I try their “pizza” and pointed me to large squares of dough with different toppings that she began to describe. I stopped her at “barbacoa,” which is BBQ, as it obviously had a BBQ sauce base, with chicken, ham, and olives. 3.50 euros wasn’t cheap, but the portion was generous and I knew the sauce would be a welcome change to my diet.

The train station was just a short distance later.

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I had an electronic boarding pass, so I quickly located which direction I had to go for my platform and then found the bathroom. There was just one entrance for men and women and I overheard an American woman and her husband having an argument over her having to use a unisex bathroom (she preferred to hold it, he said she was being ridiculous). I went through the turnstile and found separate entrances for the men and woman so I called to her that there was a woman’s only bathroom. I’d hate to see her in front of a squat toilet… Personally, when I have to go, I have to go!

I then got in line to go through the check-in desk, and what a long line it was! It was about 10:30 by this point. I don’t suggest getting to Barcelona Sants at the last minute!

Last night, I did some research on Spanish trains and my host confirmed that the fleets have been updated and are super comfy with power outlets and tables for working. So I was very disappointed to find waiting for me a smelly old train with no modern amenities. Moreover, I had to go to car eight and none of the cars were labeled, with just one attendant directing traffic. I was not impressed and will not be eager to take a train again in Spain. Last time I took a train was 16 years ago between Ottawa and Toronto and it was one of those “never again” experiences, with me favouring the bus after. I’m taking the bus to Almería on Monday, so I may feel the same way…

But, thankfully, the train wasn’t full and my seatmate moved to an empty row and I was able to spread out. I was very annoyed that I’d asked for a window seat and that I actually got a wall with a sliver of window behind me. I barely saw anything on the entire six-hour journey. 🙁 But what I did see reminded me so much of Mexico…

Most of the compartment disembarked in Valencia and then we started moving backwards, which felt very strange.

I did some non-transcription work on my computer for most of the trip until I started to get sleepy, then I just played Scrabble on my iPad. It was a pleasant enough journey, but would have been better if there had been a USB charging port and I hadn’t had to conserve battery power as that would have meant I’d have internet the whole way.

By the time we arrived in Alicante, I had 20% battery power, which on my phone means anywhere from all the time I need to no time at all of map usage, so I quickly plugged in my destination, got oriented, and set off, glad that I didn’t have many turns. My hostel was a bit hard to find (no signage), but once I was there, it was obvious. The host is lovely, and greeted me with a cold beer!

My room is huge and has a proper desk, so it will be a good place to work this weekend. My host says that almost all the museums are free, so I may do more exploration than I expected, although I had planned for this to be a work stop. She got me orientated and told me it’s safe here after dark, so as soon as I finish my current job, I’ll head out and look for food. My pizza (which was fantastic!) is starting to feel very distant. 🙂

Kotor, Montenegro to Prizren, Kosovo (by way of Albania)

It was a late start yesterday since I didn’t have to take the bus till noon. My host brought me coffee and treats for a final breakfast on the deck and I had a note prepared thanking her for her hospitality that I think said what I hoped it said… I had her call me a taxi around 11:15 and was correct in thinking that she’d get one not driven by a scammer. I actually gave her a hug before getting into the car!

There was a cruise ship right in town. I could not believe how huge this thing was and that it was practically parked on main street! Not a single one of these was taken with a zoom!

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I didn’t know how to pronounced Ulcinj, so I had it written down. The ticket seller look at my paper, then up at me and said slowly and kindly, “Ool-seen.” So there you have it! The bus showed up a bit late, enough that those waiting for it were starting to look concerned enough for the guy manning the gate onto the platform to call the driver to make sure he was incoming. I think we ended up leaving five minutes late, at most.

There is so much traffic coming into Kotor, not very practical for busses trying to leave town! Here we are stuck trying to make the left-hand turn.

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I was sent off with a giant bag of mandarins and I promptly tucked into it. This was the best one yet. Some have been super tart.

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It was lovely to do the return drive to Budva in daylight!

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I kept seeing this graffiti in several towns and it made me laugh every time. It says “PFK,” which is KFC (the chicken place) in Quebec. I have no idea what the letters mean in Montenegro, though. All I could find was the Maritime Faculty in Kotor or a Russian sports team.

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We arrived in Ulcinj around 3:00. At this point, I had no confirmation that there really was a 4:00 o’clock bus to Prizren, but there was. Woohoo! But I was disappointed that there was nowhere nearby to grab a quick lunch and that the convenience store was useless, having only junk food, nothing with which to put together a picnic. I didn’t fare any better at the grocery store next door as there was nothing in individual-sized portions.

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As I sat down to have a small snack in lieu of lunch, a stray cat jumped into my lap, burrowed in, and started purring. I was shocked… but not as much as when a second cat did the same thing! Do I reek of cat pheromones or something?! I named them Watson (the one with white) and Holmes. 🙂

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My layover went by really quickly and before I knew it, the bus to Prizren was boarding. I was a little disconcerted when I was asked for my passport by a kid without any sort of ID and it wasn’t returned to me by the time we pulled out. But everyone else had handed over their documents, so I figured it was okay.

We headed into the mountains again.

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The road was twisty and narrow. We frequently had to pull over to let cars pass.

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Before I knew it, we were at the Albanian border.

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We were at the Albanian border for a long time. The kid who had taken my passport kept coming to ask people to follow him into the customs building and the people returned looking a little harried so it was a bit disconcerting. But we were finally cleared and got our documents back. It ended up being just one stop, so it probably wasn’t really as long as it felt. I was really disappointed that I did not get an Albanian stamp in my passport. 🙁

I hope to come back to Albanian properly one day. Because I’m heading to Spain a little early, I had to choose Tirana or Prizren and going to Kosovo felt more pressing.

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I liked the coloured houses we passed in Albania. Here’s a bright yellow one.

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Another land of mosques.

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A Pepto-Bismol pink house.

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Another mosque.

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And another. I never get tired of these, the way I never get tired of beautiful churches.

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There was a fortress on top of this mountain.

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Yet another mosque.

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Yet another pink house.

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We eventually got onto a proper motorway and then what I noticed was the number of gas stations. It was just one after another after another. And then, it got too dark to see anything. 🙁

The boy passed out candy at one point and when I saw that they were coffee-flavoured, I accepted. Yum!

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He also passed out Coca-Cola, but I refused that.

We finally reached the Kosovan border and a very surly officer came on board to get our passports, then promptly returned them. It was a super fast crossing! I didn’t get a stamp again, but this time it made more sense, because having a Kosovo stamp can cause problems with entering in countries that don’t recognise Kosovo’s independence, such as Serbia and Russia.

Prizren was right over the border, so my journey was almost done. But when we got to the bus station, I didn’t know if I was really there because there was no signage. As I looked around trying to figure out if I was at the bus station or just at a bus stop the gal in the seat across from me said we were in Prizren, so I got off.

I was immediately accosted by taxi drivers. I told them no because I had seen food coming into the bus station and I was really hungry, but once I realised how cold it was, I just wanted to get to my hostel to find more layers before going to search for food. So I finally got in a cab and did not get scammed! 🙂 It was only a 1KM ride, but it was late and dark, so there was no way I was walking.

The owner of the hostel, a fairly young guy, immediately came out to get my luggage and take it up to my room while he had another guy get me a beer. WOW. Welcome to Kosovo!

They let me drink most of my beer while we chatted and then invited me to join them for dinner. Oh, awesome! I assured them that I eat meat and off we went to a nearby restaurant that serves typical Kosovan food.

The official language of Kosovo is Albanian and I’d been warned about how different it is from the other Balkan languages and unlike any other language on Earth. Well, that’s complete horse hockey. Visually, I can see a lot of French, Italian, and even Spanish influence to the language. The menu at the restaurant made more sense to me than most Serbo-Croatian or Bulgarian menus ever did. But I had my host order for me as this was my first time going out for dinner with locals and I wanted to see how they do it.

First, a giant salad came. It had two kind of marinated cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, potatoes, and more. The guys (five of them) told me to help myself and that they would just eat off the plate together.

Then, French fries topped with shredded cheese came. I had a few of those.

Then, our mains came. Mine was a huge steak stuffed with ham and cheese and topped with a creamy sauce with a side of carrots and broccoli! Wow! I hadn’t had a nice piece of meat like that in ages and dang was it good! The meat was marinated so it was flavourful. There was a basket of flatbread as well for mopping up the sauce.

We were there for a long time, which explained to me why people in the Balkans eat their food tepid to cold — they linger over it so long. I would never have thought I could get through that steak, but I found my second wind. 🙂 I had a nice glass of white wine with dinner as well.

The guys then decided we were going to move on to a bar for more drinks. I wondered how the bill would be split and the guys told me I just had to pay 5 Euros for my steak and part of the tip and they were covering the rest. WOW!

We went to a nice little bar not too far away and I had a few beers and shooters. We gabbed, mostly about Canada and my travels, and it was a very nice time. But as we got close to 2:00, I knew I had to get in. I only have the one day in Prizren and didn’t want to spend all of it in bed!

Prizren is small and, like the rest of the Balkans, safe, so I had no issue with the thought of getting back to the hostel on my own without an escort. My host gave me the most foolproof directions back to the hostel, not the most direct, and made me repeat them to make sure I’d get back okay. Sure did! And, get this, the guys said they would cover my bar tab!!!

I got in, had a shower, and lost consciousness. 🙂

This is the artwork in my room. I get such a giggle out of it as this is from a show, La Linea, that I used to watch as a kid. It is really good and the link takes you to a compilation of segments.

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A Lazy Morning on the Adriatic Coast

I got a big work project for today! This is my office!!! I’ve  never worked outdoors before, but this terrace is covered and the furniture is perfect for typing. I will be very happy here as long as my computer battery holds out.

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I brought down some breakfast stuff and rather hoped to be offered coffee again. This showed up within minutes of my setting up shop.

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I was really disappointed with this hostel when I arrived the other night. Now that I know I do have a private bathroom even if I have to go into the hallway to access it and I have such a wonderful workspace with my coveted view of the Adriatic, I am so happy. Coffee and fresh mandarins are just a bonus.

It will be a mostly staying in day. I will go out in a bit to find the food store to get lunch and dinner fixings since the kitchen is usable.