by Krista | Apr 26, 2011 | Gulliver Tuesday
It was a wickedly cold morning in Amsterdam this winter as my family gathered in my brother Ryan’s toasty warm flat for breakfast.
Christmas music played jauntily as Ry and his fiancée Melissa bustled about in the kitchen brewing coffee, sauteing veggies, and beating eggs. The rest of us visited and stood in front of their enormous windows watching passersby in the streets below, endlessly entertained by the ever-changing stream of humanity.
Soon we were called to the table and happily gathered round for a hearty repast, eager to fortify ourselves for an afternoon of exploring.
Both Ryan and Melissa are great cooks, and they outdid themselves with a savory frittata filled with cherry tomatoes, spinach, caramelized onions, and pancetta.
I got thoroughly spoiled with Melissa’s fabulous coffee: strong and creamy with a good two inches of decadently dense foam. Swoon.
Warm, full, and adequately caffeinated, we bundled into layer after layer of woolen coziness and headed outside Amsterdam to explore a park full of beautiful windmills and charming old shops and homes.
I’ll tell you all about it next time. đŸ™‚
by Krista | Apr 19, 2011 | Gulliver Tuesday
Although getting lost can be quite an adventure, getting found again is so very wonderful.
After the grand comedy of errors our first night in Albania (click here for the tale), we finally traversed the maze of TiranĂ« – thanks to the finger-pointing, arm-sweeping, head-nodding directions of numerous Albanian gas station attendants – and found our hotel, the Vila Baron.
Words cannot describe our utter relief at seeing the golden glow of lights shining in the darkness, the assurance of a smiling lad at the gate waving us in, and the immeasurable comfort of big welcoming hugs from our hostess.
It was nearly midnight but the dear lady and her two sons welcomed us as heartily as if it were the middle of the day. They hauled in our luggage and beckoned us into the dining room where they served us delicious homemade pasta and glasses of red wine that washed away the stress of the previous hours.
At last we trudged groggily to our rooms, utterly exhausted, pausing to smile at the individual pairs of house slippers laid out for each of us, before falling into bed.
We were asleep within minutes that night, and nearly croaked at our 5 a.m. wake-up the next morning. But the views from our windows were so worth getting our heavy eyes open.
I felt like a fairytale princess on my balcony with roses clambering up the stone walls.
The sun flooded the valley with light, opening up vistas we never imagined on our nighttime meanderings through the blacked-out city.
Hastily packing our suitcases, we arrived blearily downstairs to find our lovely hosts beaming and urging us to dig in to a buffet table lined with trays of sliced cheeses and meats, baskets full of bread, and little white dishes filled with yellow butter and jewel-tone preserves. I couldn’t believe they had stayed up so late to cook us dinner and woken only a few hours later to make us breakfast. Truly, such hospitality goes far above the call of duty.
With my breakfast in hand I found a seat on the balcony, delighting in the cool morning breezes as I sipped my delectably strong coffee and took in the views of the Albanian countryside.
All too soon it was time to load the van and head out to explore Albania.
We bid farewell to our wonderful hostess who gave us squeezy hugs like a beloved mother would, waving good-bye as she watered her flowers.
How to Rest Well in Albania:
- Plan for the unexpected. A 2-hour trip in the day time can turn into a 6-hour one at night. Leave in plenty of time to arrive at your hotel in daylight if possible.
- Secure a good, inexpensive hotel like the Vila Baron. For only 30 Euro ($42 USD) a night, you get secure parking for your vehicle, complimentary breakfast, and free internet. They also have late check-in which is a comfort when things don’t go as planned.
- Choose a hotel with a restaurant included. After a long day of travel, it is so nice to have hot food ready a short walk from your bedroom. Vila Baron serves delicious homemade Albanian and Italian food. Although we’d just spent a week in Italy, we all agreed that the best pasta we ever ate was at the Vila Baron in Albania.
- Take time for a glass of wine or hot herbal tea with dinner. The stresses of travel melt away and you can fall asleep much easier in a new bed.
- Bring ear plugs. I never leave home without them. Every new place has strange noises, construction at odd hours, and random horns honking. Block them all out with ear plugs and sleep like a baby.
- Choose a hotel with breakfast included. Especially if you’re road-tripping, it is wonderful to start your trip with a full belly instead of trying to find a place early in the morning.
- Take time to visit with your hosts. A little kindness goes a long way and new friendships, no matter how brief, are what great trips are made of.
What helps you rest well in a new place?
by Krista | Apr 12, 2011 | Gulliver Tuesday
There’s nothing quite like taking a wrong turn in Albania only to have your vehicle surrounded by gypsies trying to crawl in the open windows.
It happened in the spring two years ago when my brother Ryan and I and 5 of our friends were on a road trip through the Balkans, driving a 9-passenger van through countries like Bosnia, Croatia and Montenegro.
We’d already accidentally driven through a Bosnian military encampment, suffered wounds from sea urchins in Croatia, and eaten who knows what in the middle of who knows where, but nothing prepared us for the wild adventures we were about to have in Albania.
Our adventures began at the border between Montenegro and Albania. Thanks to the naughty rental car company we only had a facsimile of our agreement instead of the original. Apparently this is verboten at every border crossing in the Balkans and caused us no end of grief. The Montenegrins didn’t want to let us out because they told us the Albanians would only send us back again.
For two hours we waited as my brother flashed his Cheshire grin and used his halting Russian to try to communicate. Finally they let us through. The Albanians weren’t any happier with the situation, but Stacey, Ryan and I beamed happily at them from the front seat and at long last our passports were stamped and we were in Albania!!!
The moment we crossed the border our GPS ceased to work and our map was in Montenegrin but we didn’t care. We were in Albania!!!
It was dusk and it felt like we had stepped back in time. It seemed everyone was out and about. Old ladies in head to toe black shepherding their cattle, old men in suit jackets and caps strolling along with scythes over their shoulders, and young bucks checking out the girls from their goat carts as they clip-clipped down the street. It was splendid.
(Forgive the blurry shot! Twas a tad difficult to capture clear images whilst careening over potholes.)
Alas, only moments later we missed our first turn and headed straight down a one-way alley filled with gypsy families. The whole crowd burst into laughter pointing back the other way and shouting, “TiranĂ«! TiranĂ«!” referring to the capital city.
Hordes of laughing boys swarmed the van trying to climb in the open windows, reaching their scrawny arms in to grab anything that wasn’t nailed down, and hanging on tight for a ride. Stacey, our intrepid driver, muscled her way through the crowd without squashing anyone while Ben leaped to our rescue, prying off clinging fingers and shutting the windows.
The encounter was unsettling and we laughed shakily as we breathed deep to steady our racing hearts. Our fears were forgotten however, replaced by awe as we drove over a rickety bridge and continued our way to Tiranë, delighting in the rugged landscape, fascinating people, and an ancient fortress atop a hill.
I had read somewhere that it was best to arrive in TiranĂ« before dark since the city’s power supply often quits leaving the city in darkness. Unfortunately our kerfuffle at the border had delayed us two hours and by the time we arrived it was pitch black.
Imagine for a moment a capital city. Instead of paved streets you have dirt ones with potholes so big you can barely drive 15 mph. All the street lamps and traffic lights are out, and there is no illumination from nearby buildings because their power is out as well. There is nary a street sign to be seen, and the road is filled not only with vehicles but sheep, cows, donkeys, carts of every description, and people everywhere. It was sheer glorious madness.
With no street signs to guide us we did the next best thing: stopping at every gas station we could find to ask for help. The Albanians were lovely! They couldn’t speak a lick of English but happily clustered over our map and sent us hither and thither throughout the city, down streets that dead-ended in a crowd of young toughs, through neighborhoods clinging to the hillside, until at last we arrived at our hotel close to midnight.
Our welcome there erased every bit of fear, anxiety and stress that had built up over the last few hours. Beaming smiles and warm hugs from our hosts made us feel like long lost relatives instead of complete strangers.
To this very day, just thinking about our hosts at the Vila Baron brings a smile to our faces and a collective, “Awww, I LOVED them!”.
Next time I’ll tell you all about them. đŸ™‚
How to Road Trip safely through Albania:
- Have original documents for rental vehicle and keep them secure.
- Carry a map AND GPS.
- Have print outs of your hotel addresses so you can show them to someone in case you need directions.
- Drive slowly. The roads can be horrendous.
- Recruit all passengers to help the driver avoid animals, people, and carts in the roadway.
- Choose a hotel with secure parking included.
- When possible drive in day time.
- Carry an Albanian phrase book so you can communicate with the people you meet.
- Stop often to take pictures of this fabulous country.
by Krista | Apr 5, 2011 | Gulliver Tuesday
There’s something about going out for breakfast that always makes me feel like I’ve stolen away for a little vacation.
I love getting up while most folks are still in bed, driving through early morning sunshine, and finding a just-right table angled perfectly for people watching.
That’s just what my friend and I did one morning in Australia. The sun was GLORIOUS, the skies brilliant blue with wonderful breezes blowing inland off the Gold Coast.
We secured a spot at Milan on Main, a splendid little Italian Cafe in Main Beach, Queensland, and ordered coffee. Delighting in the palm trees and tropical flowers blooming lusciously, we visited happily, content to chat and observe passers by before perusing the menu.
I started with a delectable cocktail of fruit juices: passion fruit, strawberry, mango and I know not what. It was wonderfully refreshing.
My friend and I happily plotted out our day as we sipped our drinks, choosing the beach we wanted to sun ourselves on and the park we wanted to hike through later that afternoon.
Soon our meals arrived and we eagerly tucked in.
My friend had a fluffy omelette stuffed with ham and cheese and served with buttery rye toast.
I had a smoked trout crepe filled to bursting with tender trout, spinach and tart feta cheese and topped with an avocado and tomato salsa. The proverbial cherry on top was a decadent balsamic reduction that both surprised and entranced me. We both agreed that the oh-so-rich reduction took our breakfasts from delicious to absolutely fantastic.
We lingered long over our meals and coffee, visiting contentedly as we savored every last morsel.
At last it was time to leave and begin our adventures on the sublime Gold Coast.
What is your favorite thing to eat when you go out for breakfast?
by Krista | Mar 29, 2011 | Gulliver Tuesday
It can be a dangerous business founding a new settlement, especially when that settlement is Budva, Montenegro and you have a few skeletons in your closet.
Budva is one of the oldest settlements on the Montenegrin coast, a beautiful fortress-like warren of twisting alleyways, steep stone staircases, and red tiled roofs.
According to legend, Budva was established by Kadmo (Cadmus), son of the Phoenician king Agenor, ruler of the Illyrians. Exiled from Thebes, Kadmo and his wife Harmonija set out to find the Enhealeans – the eel people – and arrived in the region on a team of oxen. Their mode of transport – bous in Greek – formed the basis for the name of the new settlement: Budva.
What happened next is a bid of a muddle, with differing legends.
In one a murder committed in Kadmo’s youth finally catches up with him, and Zeus makes him pay for it by turning both Kadmo and Harmonija into blue-spotted snakes.
In another, Kadmo is cursed by the gods while at sea with his wife and turned into a dragon. To keep themselves from drowning, the pair turn into fishes, each holding the other by the tail to stay together forever. Awww. đŸ™‚
Their fellow Budva residents suffered neither fate, and continued building the settlement into a thriving port city with vineyards and olive groves.
Unfortunately Budva also became a target for conquerors that ravaged and impoverished the tiny region. First the Greeks then the Romans followed by the Slavs, French, Venetians and finally the Austro-Hungarians.
Big changes were in store with the arrival of World War I, and I’ll tell you all about that next time. đŸ™‚
by Krista | Mar 22, 2011 | Gulliver Tuesday
Once in a while life hands out little surprises that are so beautiful, so unexpected, they leave you glowing for days. I was given one this weekend.
Many months ago Canadian Breanne Mosher commented on one of my blog posts. I popped over to her blog http://thevintagebox.blogspot.com/and soon we forged an online friendship through our blogs and Facebook that grew to include her splendid hubby, Jared.
I liked them instantly as we connected over delicious food, great music, good books, and all sorts of adventures in travel.
When Jared contacted me last week saying he and Breanne would be in Vancouver, Canada for business, I was delighted to be his partner in crime in surprising Breanne with an evening of exploring, eating and talking in downtown Vancouver.
I was excited all week until Sunday arrived and little niggling fears crept in: what if they don’t like me? What if I don’t like them? What if our online friendship doesn’t pan out in real life?
I needn’t have worried. đŸ™‚ Jared and Breanne were not only just as fabulous as they were online, they were better.
After hugs and smiling so big our cheeks ached, we secured scarves round our necks and headed out to explore Vancouver, talking a mile a minute as we walked.
We talked about their adventures working in orchards in New Zealand and mine as a nanny in Portugal.
We rattled on about foreign food and the scary things we’d made ourselves eat, and laughed about the marvelously quirky people we’ve met on our travels.
We’d be in an animated discussion of favorite authors when one or the other would stop mid-sentence and point out a gorgeous old building that we then would have to ooh and aah over.
I loved it. đŸ™‚
Our rambles ended at Chambar, a splendid restaurant on Beatty Street that is so warm and cozy you want to sink down onto a leather banquette and stay for hours. So we did. Lingering long over Trapiste Beer and French wine, plate after plate of exquisitely prepared and presented food, talking about anything and everything that came into our heads.
At last it was time to head home. We moseyed through the lamplit streets, hugged good-bye, and went to our beds with memories of a beautiful evening spent with true kindred spirits.
