We stopped after a few hours of driving in Prizren, Kosovo. It is the cultural center of Kosovo and the perfect lunch stop on our way to Prishtina, the capital. Tasty Kosovoan Cabernet Sauvignon. We bought some delicious apricots from this sweet guy. He came around to our table and told us he picked them today… how could I resist?! He asked us where we’re from. After telling him, he thanked us for ending the war in 1999 and commented on how great Bill Kleentone was for Kosovo 😃😂👍🏻Cute grill master. Amazing bread! Like a mix of ciabatta and Pita. I loved it!!!Some pretty weak “vegetable” soup. Ugly, but very good veal soup. Adam made the better choice in the soup category for sure! We shared the mixed grill platter. We loved all the veggies! They were all fresh and crunchy and lightly dressed in vinaigrette. Yum! The perfect pairing with the smiley grilled meats. Tsatziki. It was super tangy and garlicky! It was slightly fermented and almost sparkling. Unique and delicious. We really loved this quaint city! Antique car show 😍

We had another great day in Tirana. We really like it here, glad we decided to stay another night. Eddy, Adam’s barber recommended Era, a restaurant that serves typical Albanian foods. It was very good! Thanks Eddy!!!Starter for two- too many things to list. But we loved the beet salad, cheese stuffed spicy peppers, and the stuffed grape leaves. Mmmm! I had the tasty stuffed peppers. I loved the fresh mint, such a nice contrast with the rich, earthy flavors of the rice and veggies. Adam had the grilled Kopca meatballs. They were similar to Cevapi, but a little less flavor. Still very good though. We liked this cool “cloud” art installation Imposing communist era architecture, now a university. A piece of the Berlin Wall. Delicious fresh squeezed orange juice and peach tea with actual fresh peach juice. Yummy!What a cutie! He loves ice cream 😍 🍦 I ❤️ Tirana 

I told Adam to pick a lunch restaurant and take me to it… he chose Mexican! 😳👍🏻We started with margaritas and “nachos”. The “nachos” were seasoned, Doritos like chips, with melted cheese, beans, “hot sauce”, sour cream, and guacamole. Not bad, not really good. What we should’ve expected from a Mexican restaurant in Albania 🇦🇱 I had the pork “tacos”. It was pretty good. Not tacos, more like BBQ pulled pork, Cole slaw, and beans in a tortilla bowl. It tasted more like American BBQ than Mexican. I didn’t hate it. Adam got the steak fajitas. The steak and rice was really good. The “tortilla ” on the other hand was pretty funny. Like some looked at a picture of a tortilla and thought, “oh you just roll the bread really thin”. 😂After lunch espresso is always in order. 

After a big meal last night, we wanted something light for breakfast 😊

We asked the sweet grocery store attendant where we should go for authentic Albanian cuisine and what we should order… she nailed it! Refreshing Albanian beer. I had a local white wine, but forgot to take a picture. It was very good. Wonderful naturally carbonated water. We love this stuff!!!We loved these delicious grilled veggies drizzled with spicy Albanian olive oilTraditional dishes. Fegese- Roasted tomato and eggplant with ground lamb and cottage cheese. Tave Kosi- yogurt, cream, cheese, and eggs baked with thinkly sliced lamb. We loved the Fegese, it was like lasagna without the pasta. The Tave Kosi on the other hand was a little strange. We liked it, but definitely didn’t love it. All that for under $22!!!The abandoned Pyramid building. It was completed just before the fall of communism and was never used. An ottoman bridge… the river was rerouted. Locals passing the time with a little gambling. Beautiful hand-woven rug. Skandergerg square

So, we tried to go to an Albanian restaurant with local fare.  Unfortunately, the restaurant we went to was out of all the local, traditional dishes; however, the Italian dishes were really good. Albania is just across the Adriatic Sea from Italy (just 45 miles) and they have been long time buds. The Italian influence here is palpable and the food is a perfect representation of the friendship. Our meal was delicious! Mango and avocado salad with arugula and romain lettuce. The avocado was sadly underripe, but the mango was a really nice pairing with the bitter, peppery arugula. Adams salad had thinly sliced fresh beets, candies almonds, and a delicious pesto dressing. We shared the tagliatelle porcini- thick, homemade pasta with a creamy mushroom sauce, and the penne pomodoro- simple penne pasta with fresh tomatoes and Parmesan.  Both were well prepared and delicious. Almond semifreddo and espresso for dessert. Excellent. 

Sorry, I almost forgot to take a picture…

We checked into our excellent Airbnb then headed out to explore a little before dark. The sunset was gorgeous. We had some nice snacks and drinks at a bar nearby. We were both pretty full after our huge meaty lunch, so some snacks were all we needed for dinner. ​