Albania: Tirana

Tirana, Albania: with my bro on top of skytower
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My second day in Tirana did not turn out so well.  When I woke up my stomach felt upside down.  My head was killing me too.  Since we didn't drink much the previous evening, I wasn't sure what was going on.

Well, it seems as if the Corona I consumed at the jazz bar poisoned me.  Or, more accurately, the lemon in the Corona.  Since I ate the same food and drank the same as everyone else, with the exception of the Corona, I knew that had to be the culprit.  I had food poisoning.

Curse the Lemon Wedge

Tirana, Albania: national museum at night
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Basically my entire day, from morning until early evening, consisted of myself in bed or in the bathroom.  It was not a pretty sight.  As a matter of fact, I would have to say I've only felt physically worse on two other occasions in my entire life - when I got food poisoning on the Italian Riviera during my first European adventure (from a lemon that was sprinkled over another hotel room's discarded room service french fries at four in the morning), and when I busted my face on the pavement on the Greek isle of Ios in a story I won't pursue any further.

Tirana, Albania: hotel balcony view
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I felt like I wouldn't be leaving Tirana anytime soon, nevermind the following morning when we planned to take a bus to the coast.  My brother, Richie, and Brian did some sightseeing during the day as I lay ill; apparently I didn't miss too much, except for a stunning meal at a high class Tirana restaurant.

Sean did, however, manage to obtain some medicine for me from an Albanian pharmacy.  No one knew what the stuff was, since the labels weren't in English, but, whatever it was, it seemed to work.  Sean mixed the formula into a drink that tasted like communion put through a blender.  In other words, disgusting.

Tirana, Albania: downtown panorama
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I began my rally though, and, by the time midnight came around, I was ready to rock Tirana.  My brother and I met up with Richie and Brian who were having drinks at the revolving restaurant on top of the Skytower, one of the tallest buildings in Tirana.

The views from the top were excellent, but the bar was closing so we only had time for one Tirana Beer, the local brew.  We made it over to a lively street that had a fairly packed outdoor bar with live music.  There was a decent band and we hung out for a little while.

Unfortunately, Richie and Brian had to get a taxi to the airport for their early flight, so we didn't stay out too late.  They had previously been in Croatia and Montenegro; now their vacation was over.  Tirana undoubtedly the highlight of their trip.  My brother stayed with me for the following week, so we had more Albanian adventures in front of us.  It ain't easy...