SJ9 - Relaxing day with a trip by the sea

Today, Tom had quite a bit of catch up work to do at the office, since he has chauffeured us around so capably over the past few days. Tami and I enjoyed a relaxing morning reading and reflecting on the journey so far.

Vjollca and Tami

Around noon, Tom picked us up and we headed out for a special lunch. Vjollca, a member of the Church of Christ in Lushjne, wanted to take us to a restaurant near the coast. Vjollca (pronounced Vy-OHL-tsuh, meaning Violet in English) has been studying English and Bible with Tom for the past seven years.  She now also teaches in the English program which Tom directs. She is very involved in the church as a faithful believer, and plays a vital role in the outreach and English teaching program Tom started through church in Lushjne.

Fenick's Restaurant - notice how it is built to look like a giant ship.

We ate lunch at Fenick's, an upscale restaraunt near the coast of the Adriatic Sea.  On our way to eat we enjoyed talking with Vjollca about her daughter and two grandson's who currently live in Sweden.  Her daughter is both a Psychiatrist and Cardiologist. Her son-in-law is also a Medical Doctor. Vjollca is clearly a proud Grandmother as she had photos and videos of the grandson's to share.  It was so nice spending the afternoon with her and getting to know her better. 

When we got to Fenick's, I asked her to take the lead in ordering lunch.  We had a generously large, fresh, mixed salad with  olive oil and vinegar - a delicious standard here. There was also fresh baked bread with a yogurt, cucumber, garlic sauce - so savory and creamy that when I close my eyes and think of it, I can still taste it. Along with the salad came this beautiful plate of fresh grilled shrimp and calamari.  It was delightful! At least I thought it was, Tami is less thrilled with shrimp and even less so with calamari. She is a trooper, though, and gave it a shot.

After the salad, bread, shrimp and calamari, I was so content. . .
then came the main dish.  Fresh grilled and seasoned fish. I saw the waiter bring in this plate of five whole fish grilled to a golden brown, the smell was amazing. Then the fish just kept coming. There were four of us there for lunch and they brought out a plate of five grilled fish for each of us! It took a bit of work to get at the meat on the fish with  all the tiny bones, but it was quite tastey!  Tom assured me that in Albania it was alright, in fact even expected, for a person to eat fish like this with his or her fingers.  I managed to get through all five of my fish, but Tami did well to eat three of hers.  Tom wasn't far behind me in finishing his five. Vjollca, on the other hand, was so involved in conversation that she only got through two of hers.

Coming back to Lushnje we went to the church office to drop off Vjollca and see how the teaching for the day was going.  Tom brought us home and then went back to the office.  All in all it was a delightful day, but I really don't think we will be needing dinner - thank you very much!