We’re on our way to Albania this morning. So we had a quick breakfast before getting on the road. I cut up some really flavorful white nectarines and opened a bottle of juice 😊 Coffee and such coming soon… Road snacks​Breakfast/snack – more delicious Burek. Cappucini 😊

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What a cute restaurant! Super fresh salad with fire toasted bread. “Veal in embers”“Pork in embers”- both meat dishes were delicious and super simply prepared. They tasted like they were seasoned with only salt then expertly grilled over a smoky fire. We loved it! It was a lot of meat 😜Espresso, of course. ​

​​We were loving the Albanian radio and the sites on our way into Tirana. I think we’re going to love it here 😍

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We’re getting sick of dining out. The food has been good, but I want to cook and we’re craving lighter, homemade fare. So, we went to the market and picked up a few things for dinner. We don’t have kitchen acces at the moment, but we pulled it off 😊It’s hard to see in the dim light of dusk, but I sliced some amazing fresh-picked garden tomatoes (mom you would’ve Loved them!) and sprinkled them with salt and pepper. We also bought some salami type stuff that was not good. It was super greasy and gooey, not firm and spicy like we expected 😖 But no worries! The tomatoes, chips, and great Serbian beer made up for it. The sunset and lake didn’t hurt either 😊Kotor sights….

Local beer, bruschetta, and local olives All were very good! I had steak with pepper sauce. The steak was great. The sauce was not. I really like the grilled veggies too. Adam had the steak with mushroom sauce. He liked it all! 

Our next destination is a little further inland, Kotor, Montenegro. Another gorgeous seaside-medieval-walled town. ​​Road snacks- we love these crispy flavorful pretzels!  ​

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Beautifully fragrant honey dew melon filled with red raspberries and served with coffee and a killer view. Perfect. 

More wonderful Montenegrin Chardonnay. Fish platter for two. Amazingly fresh sea bass, prawns, mussels, and squid. All cooked to perfection. Super fresh, from the garden veggie salad. Soooo good!!!Maybe my new favorite drink- homemade rakija, basically moonshine. Our waiter explained that each home has a signature distilled product. This was cherry. He said they filled huge glass balloons with rakija and tons of fresh cherries then placed it in the sun for 3 or 4 weeks. It was pure, sweet cherry in a glass. I loved it! 

Our Airbnb host left us an excellent bottle of Montenegrin Chardonnay- the best wine we’ve had this entire trip… so good! And they left more of the amazing Dalmatian smoked ham. I’ve been traveling with a small basil plant like a gypsy as well as some pasta, olive oil, garlic, and lemon. A perfect, light, summery pasta! We love our new Airbnb! Super cool AC and a great pool with a view. Wish we could stay here longer 😍

Yogurt drinks. Fortifying and nourishing. A good start to the day! The border crossing at Montenegro 🇲🇪 More Delicious Cevapi- this one was served with lots of veggies, ketchup, and mustard. It tasted a lot like a really good burger on the grill. Iced coffee with a killer view 😎

Smoked, grilled lamb with chard and potatoes. This was really good and homy. The lamb reminded me of corned beef. Yum! Adam had this ridiculous stuffed steak- Gorgonzola and ham inside thin steak. It wasn’t his favorite. Fritters- like savory doughnuts. Very good, but very heavy. Fried cheese. This was super good and creamy. Served with fries… wow, this is sooo much food! 😳Excellent Greek salad with super creamy feta. Strange little bread sticks with garlic butter. Homemade liquor, a Bosnian tradition, rose and blackberry. Both were excellent! No wonder we were soooo hungry!