Mark and I decided a not-too-far-from-home, relaxing getaway was the perfect thing for Valentine's Day, so we booked a room at a nice hotel right in the center of Elbasan, a 30 minute bus ride from Tirana. Mark met me at the university Friday night after walk and we walked the 15 minutes to the bus station (one I had never been to before!) We boarded an almost full charter bus, and 30 minutes, plus 150 lek later, we were being dropped off in the center of Elbasan. We were less than a 10 minute walk from our hotel, which was a good thing because the temperature dropped quite a bit Friday evening. After a quick check in we walked to a restaurant one of Mark's co-workers had recommended, Gjahtari 2, for dinner. I had carbonara with amazingly delicious meat pieces and Mark had a spicy penne.
After dinner we went to a partially enclosed canopy bar with Christmas lights hanging from the ceilings. The lights were lovely. After scanning the menu I had my eye on a coffee with Bailey's and orange liqueur, however, the waitress told me that the barista had left for the day so no coffee cocktails. What? So sad. I settled for a glass of red wine instead. Mark, bless him, is determined to find a good margarita somewhere in Albania (it's yet to happen) so he ordered one here. In case you were wondering, the indoor/outdoor bar with the Christmas lights in Elbasan is not the place for a good margarita, but I'll keep you posted.
I could barely keep my eyes open, so after one drink we headed back to the hotel to netflix some of our new favorite show, The Good Place, before falling asleep without setting an alarm 💤😀
After waking up well rested and rejuvenated, we headed downstairs for breakfast. The cafe was filled with sunshine and coffee clubbers, chatting away. The hotel breakfast included a croissant filled with chocolate, ham and cheese toast, and white cheese-- a definite vacation brekky. After sneaking back to my comfy hotel bed to read my new book, I got ready and Mark and I headed into town. The sun was burning brightly and we just had to take advantage of the vitamin D. We walked around and found the ruins of a byzantine church. How do we know it's Byzantine you ask? Great question. Because google says so. I think the ruins could've been a bar, or a hair salon, or any number of things but Mark swears they were a Byzantine church. Yeah, ok.
Anyway, we continued on into the part of town that is surrounded by fortress walls, built during the 15th century. We wandered the cobblestone streets and came upon a lush sprawling garden with cafes and coffee tables scattered throughout. We sat in the sunshine and enjoyed a coffee (it's the Albanian way) For the record, I've decided I still don't prefer coffee anywhere near as much as I prefer tea. But shhhh, don't tell my local Albanian friends that one.
As the sun started to set we moved inside to a quaint stone hotel that doubled as a restaurant. We both enjoyed traditional Albanian dishes, tave kosi and roasted lamb, for dinner.
After, we went to a two tiered indoor/outdoor bar with live music. Mark and I enjoyed it, but since the singing was in Albanian, we weren't able to sing along as much as we (I) would've liked. We had our deck of cards though, so we got in a few good rounds of rummy before heading home. On our way, we passed a creperie, and since it was valentine's day, I figured I deserved at least a little something sweet. We shared a nutella crepe with bananas and nuts before heading back to our hotel for the night.
On Sunday Mark and I went walking. We found a most delicious breakfast place, nestled on the other side of the city, inside of an Italian wine bar. Not only were the breakfasts delicious, but sitting outside enjoying the sunshine was delectable.
After, Mark and I walked back to the castle, where I enjoyed a rooftop tea (and some amazing views!), before boarding the bus back to Tirana.
In 30 minutes we were back, but since the weather was so nice we decided to take one of the walking paths through the park to get home. We were so lucky to spend such a wonderful weekend relaxing together. Love you, Mark 💑
No comments:
Post a Comment