Sisters Vacation with spouses to Italy and Albania

Early October my two sisters, Judy and Susan came to Europe with their husbands, Chuck and Jack. Our 17 day vacation had three parts.

PART 1 was a week on a houseboat north of Venice by about an hour. Traveling at 3-4 mph, we navigated this comfy boat through quiet canals and out into an open lagoon. Along the canals, occasionally we would run into these electrically fishing nets that were lowered and then raised into the flowing water. In addition we saw Vermont style "hunting camps". These are thatched roofed spartan camps built on tiny lagoons.

                        Out on the open lagoon, there were posts clearly marking the water "highway".

At night we would dock our houseboat at small Italian fishing villages and walk the streets. Each morning it was my job to rise early and go find the one bakery in town. They were only open from 7 to 12 each day.

In one town we ended up in a very local bar that makes its own wine. Being Friday night the locals were rolling in to either sit and make music or bring their gallon jugs and fill up the containers with wine from the casks.

In another cafe we sat next to an unusual woman and her "baby"!

Another town where we moored had amazing ruins spanning the last 2,000 years. While some sites had be excavated, whole fields were cordoned off, yet to be uncovered. Some sites were in people's back yard.

Although it was overcast much of the trip, a few sunny breaks warmed my Mediterranean bones!

Our comfy home with expert captains, Jack and Chuck. Peter was, alas, working in Tirana.

PART 2 of the vacation:
We had two days in Venice. Not very long but we packed in lots of walking and eating and watching the boats navigate the big and little canals. You expect people to be transported, but building materials, garbage and casks of wine share the canals.

You can see that Venice is sinking a few millimeters each year. Flooding like this is common. Below is the famous Basilica at San Marco Square. It was flooded as well and we had to walk single file on wooden platforms.

Sister love

One of the many famous bridges

Many little squares with musicians playing wonderful classical music and narrow alleyways that may lead somewhere or may dead end at someone's doorstep.

PART 3
On to sunny, warm Albania and glad to get back to Peter.
A day of sightseeing in Tirana that included the National Art Museum showcasing the many chapters of Albanian artists. People especially like the room with Communist era painting. Red, white and black, strong men and women with hoes, running big machines and everyone is happy, happy, happy.

Peter took the wheel of the project car and drove us 500 miles around the perimeter of the bottom 2/3 of Albania. The mountains were ever changing, the rural lifestyle in view, the leisurely meals of fresh fish, veggies and fruits and always a continuous banter, much of it US politics. Lucky for us we are all on the same page!

The first stop was Lake Ochrid on the eastern border. Macedonia is in the background.  Then we spent the night in Korca, a very picturesque city. We know this young couple who live there and are involved in tourism. They joined us for dinner and we peppered them with questions about their memories or their parent's memories of the dictator's time.

Of course we saw many of the dictator's 700,000 bunkers that don't disintegrate! 

                Roads were not this bad but many twists and turns - up mountains and down.....

The second night was on the Ionic Sea in the city of Saranda. We visited an amazing UNESCO archeological site, Butrinti. The stones three photos below are from 3 periods in history. The big ones are back before Christ in the Illyrian times.

After picnicking on the beaches, we drove north from the Ionic to the Adriatic Sea and settled into a very small hotel hanging off the cliff. Plenty of stairs to carry your bags up and down but the sound of the waves right outside your door was sublime!

I am biased, I admit but if you asked my family which part of the trip ranked supreme, it was our wonderful country of Albania. Thanks to Peter who is such a good driver/host and flexible family willing to share adventures with us!