Birthplace of Enver Hoxha, First Secretary of the Albanian Party of Labor and leader of Albania throughout its 50 year dabble with Communism, Gjirokaster climbs out of the clouds like something out of a vampire movie. Shrouded by mist and surrounded by savage mountains, the stone city is watched over by its castle, a dark, gloomy outcrop of stone, with a chilling history. It’s the type of place dictators are born (see above) and writers dream up dramatic stories and become famous (Ismail Kadare, novelist and inaugural winner of the Man Booker International Prize lived here as a child). We spent a few days soaking up the Bram Stokers atmosphere and enjoying the slower pace of life amongst its steep cobbled streets. It other claim to fame is being the host of the semi-annual Albanian folk festival, which last ran in 2004. No so disappointed we missed that one.
The photos from Italy are up on Facebook, including a pretty cool shot of lightning over the Cinque Terre. There in 2 albums, one Northern Italy and the other Southern. North: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=98652&id=603243044&l=85c56aa8bc (Cinque Terre to Perugia) South: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=100432&id=603243044&l=ab94065c57 (Rome to Sardinia) Love to all Kel and Ryan
See the full Spain photo Gallery here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=88007&id=603243044&l=f76a06632a Spain is an amazing place. Its mix of Islamic/Moorish and Catholic/European influences have given it a truly individual feel. It’s history seemed largely unknown to us, indeed had it not been for Monty Python we may well had never heard of the Spanish inquisition. It amazed us to find that Spain was a fascist dictatorship until recently, even into our lifetimes. But that Spain is thoroughly banished to the history books and tourism is the new big thing. Andulusia, the southern, old Moorish kingdom in the south of Spain quickly became our favourite province with amazing places like Granada and Tarifa. Hugging the Mediterranean coast from there on we missed the capital Madrid, but coastal cities like Valencia and Barcelona more than filled our big city appetite. We finished with a quick trip over to the Atlantic coast at San Sebastian before heading north into France. Havi...
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