So - I am writting this the morning after (the 5th) because we came home a bit last night and did not spend the time to write the blog. I Think this will be a short one as well.
Last night, me and Saya seemed to have quite a good sleep and that did quite well with us. Unfortunately Jannie did not sleep as well. Its a nice hotel, there is enough space in the room, but it becomes hot fast and we had the aircon going the most of the night, and Jannie is not that good with a small draft and it being cold(er). We got up and got a breakfast, that is identical with all the other ones we have gotten so far. I miss my oatmeal for breakfast. There was a slight difference, there was homemade jam to our white bread.
We had promised Saya that we were going to spend some time at the playground, and we did. We went to a big one we had found near the hotel - that actually was outside a five star hotel. It is right next to and outdoor cafe (if there is one thing Albania have, its outdoor cafes)There was plenty room and Saya could play as she liked. We spend some hours there, I tried to figure out about going to Lake Komani, something we have dreamed about since last year. Unfortunately it seems that we have to set aside the whole day if we want to see it, including at least 3 hours drive. We decided to drop it, since it is just not fair towards Saya to put her through this. So maybe next year we will get a chance to go see it. Beside the planning, I did some reading while Jannie played with Saya.
We had a short break where we got some stuff at the apartment, got lunch (sandwiches) and walked around a bit. We did see a lot of small lizards, much to Sayas amusement and interest. Then we went back to the playground. Which we had for ourselves more or less until late afternoon. Saya loved it, several hours dedicated just to play and we took turns playing with her. We stayed there until she said she was bored. We then strolled around the city and had a look. Its very nice here, a lot different then eg. Sarandë, since everything actually is in order here, and it seems to work. After walking around it became time for diner, and after looking for a restaurant we could not find, we decided to go to one on top of a nearby building with view over the city.
The place was, nice, lets say that. They really tried to make it look exclusive, they tried to make it look like a fancy resturant, and they where partially successful, generally it had a expensive resturant fell. But some of the interior design makes you wonder. For instance why all the plastic? Why do you have a TV with sports and news running? Quite a moodbreaker. Besides that we had a really nervous and really nice waiter. We ended up going for the big one, they made a specialty for us, monkfish, and we got the expensive wine (Pinot grigio) And some meat and vegetables for Saya. First Saya got here food, which sparked a very long discussion about food, and gourmet food. The reason for that is that they really tried to make the food look fancy, and it kind of failed. I think that Jannie and me kind of agree, that it's important with good food, and really good food is really good to. I have the good fortune to have been at some really fancy restaurants, and when it works, it works. But when you try to be something you are not, and try to over complicate and overdo your presentation (beyond your abilities) it gets kind of sad. Which they tried to with Sayas dish. Long discussion aside. We finally got our main course - after waiting for more than an hour, the fish was good, not great, but good, i have never had monkfish before and the texture of the meat was interesting. There were tomatoes and potatoes to the meat, and it was good. If they had just added a bit of lemon and some ground black pepper it would have saved the dish and made it great. We paid for our meal - a whopping 13000 lek (600 kr) more than 3 times more then anything else we have had here. Its peanuts for us, but it is just not worth that amount. Nice service and everything.
Well - it was really late, so we got Saya home to bed, and she fell asleep something like 9.30 and we talked for about 30 minutes about going to Marrakesh for the new years this year and then bed time (a very sleepless night, but Jannie will tell you that tale tonight).