There is a particular sartorial style here among overweight men, to roll up one’s shirt to just below the nipples and display the full hairy splenour.
Ugly concrete block appartments have been painted with red, orange. mandarin, vermillion, lavender, lemon and violet stripes. All these colours above one shoe shop.
We are evicted from the National Library [...]
Archive for the ‘Albania’ Category
Shkodra (1)
Posted in Albania on July 19, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Tirana (4)
Posted in Albania on July 14, 2008 | 5 Comments »
I asked a very stylish young Albanian woman today where we could buy shoes similar to the plastic clogs we are wearing (starting to get holes, but our toes remain unstubbed). “No-where in Albania yet,” she sighed enviously, “but they they are starting to become available in Italy, so Albania will only [...]
Tirana (3)
Posted in Albania on July 14, 2008 | 3 Comments »
During the night on the ferry I didn’t sleep a wink. Partly because there were big black horrible freaky cockroachs crawling round everywhere, partly because everyone else was sitting on deck talking really loudly and there were really bright lights on and lastly because I didn’t want to. Eventually we got off the ferry at [...]
Tirana (2)
Posted in Albania on July 14, 2008 | 6 Comments »
Ten things that are different in Albania from NZ:
1. beggars around every corner
2. some people use 2 year olds as beggars (gypsies)
3. police have little lollipop signs to signal to the traffic
4. you can buy ice creams for 30 Lek (= NZ 50c)
5. they don’t care about pedestrian crossings – or even traffic lights much.
6. [...]
Tirana
Posted in Albania on July 13, 2008 | 6 Comments »
Arrived this morning after 2 hours sleep but everyone very good tempered, tho rather sooty. I continue to be amazed by how much the children put up with (perhaps I could have worded that differently?!). Ellen and Paddy just play continuously and happily together, while J plugs himself into his mp3 player. [...]
Albania
Posted in Albania on July 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
We got off the ferry and slowing made our way through customs in 40 degree heat. Straight out of customs the first thing we noticed was the beggars – Patrick and I saw a man with no legs scrambling up a wire fence, beggars in wheel chairs and with crutches tried to get money [...]
