A Quest For Culture, Cuisine, And Connection.
Around The World On A Motorcycle | The Journey Continues
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Pickleball: Peace, Paddles, and PerseveranceJanuary 20, 2025 - 12:28 pm
A Rain-Soaked Journey from Monforte de Lemos to León: Discovering the CaminoOctober 21, 2024 - 4:24 am
Are You Deep or Superficial? Thoughts From A 9th Century Benedictine Monastery In SpainOctober 19, 2024 - 4:45 pm
Returning to Portugal: The Journey ContinuesOctober 4, 2024 - 2:28 pm
13 Rules To Live By—From A Life On The RoadMarch 15, 2023 - 8:19 am
Lost & Lucky—The Continuing Saga of My Greek Tragedy—No Bags Or Bike— Limbo on ParosMarch 8, 2023 - 11:09 am
Albanian Hospitality & New Friends In Tirana
/2 Comments/in Albania, Europe, Travelogue /by allanThe Dinasty Hotel in Tirana meticulously built, with beautiful wrought iron accents, hand laid stone tile floors, handmade furniture, and beautiful stone walls. Tables on the patio are all made by hand with beautiful mosaics. The four-story building looks nothing like other buildings in the neighborhood. Bay windows, stained glass, and curved balconies fitted with iron […]
Paradise Tucked Into Tirana: Uka Farm & Winery
/4 Comments/in Albania, Europe, Travelogue /by allanI’ve been looking forward to meeting Flori Uka for many months. He’s a sommelier turned winemaker and along with his father and brothers, is focused on sustainable and organic farming for not only wine grapes but for fruit and vegetables. After the fall of communism in Albania, a 2-hectare parcel of land outside Tirana returned […]
Berat—On the Castle Trail
/0 Comments/in Albania, Europe, Travelogue /by allanWhen I tell Muharrem the hotel I’m thinking of staying, he picks up his phone and makes a call. “You will stay in a traditional hotel, not a modern hotel.” But the hotel he called was booked. He makes another call and books me a room at Hotel Muzaca, a hotel in a traditional stone […]
Another Ali Pasha Fortress? Gorgeous Gjirokastër Albania
/0 Comments/in Albania, Europe, Travelogue /by allanI face more Sarande traffic madness to get out of town; I find myself more bold and aggressive, which isn’t always a good thing when riding a motorcycle on foreign soil. But I make it out of Sarande and head down to the valley through the same mountain pass I arrived two days earlier. To […]
Forging Change And Excitement In Albanian Wine
/2 Comments/in Albania, Europe, Travelogue /by allanI take nearly three hours to ride from Gjirokastлr to Cobo winery, just outside the village of Berat. I still fight with Google Maps, and once inside the town of Fier, I pull over at a roundabout to look at my phone to make sure I don’t miss a turn. Two men drinking coffee at […]
From The Romans to the Ottomans: Butrint, Albania
/0 Comments/in Albania, Europe, Travelogue /by allanJust about 10 miles south of Sarande is Butrint, some of the most incredible ancient ruins in Albania and the Balkans. So with most of my gear unpacked and safe in my hotel room, I follow the coast south to Butrint. I’m told that to explore and experience the ancient site, I’d need to plan […]
Finding Hope & The Future For Albania
/4 Comments/in Albania, Europe, Travelogue /by allanI wander the promenade after sunset, catch a group of local musicians, and then settle in at a nice restaurant for my first Albanian meal. Mare Nostrum has a large covered patio and tonight is teeming with lots of people. The buzz in the air is a mix of languages, some Greek, Italian, and various […]