There's just something about spring that calls us out of doors, am I right?
On top of that, John has been with us for nearly three months now and the combination of winter and a busy schedule have meant that we have literally taken the poor guy no where outside of our village and Tirana. We were way overdue for an excursion to show him more of Albania!
When the forecast called for weekend temps reaching 80F, it seemed perfect for a little road trip and a picnic outdoors. We decided to invite friends and visit Bashtove Castle, about 45 minutes southwest of us, near the coast.
It was overcast thanks to Saharan dust that has been hanging in the air and casting a strange color on everything. The upside was we didn't have to worry about sunscreen.
As we pulled up to the site Ellie remarked that she should have brought her archery set!
Castles here are pretty much a free-for-all which is fantastic for little explorers with imaginations...
... however it's not so fun for nervous mothers when there are no guard rails for safety!
It was really nice to have John with us to have an extra set of eyes on the kids!
For the majority of our visit we enjoyed the entire place to ourselves!
A warrior at heart (below)
Our friends from Tirana joined us and we enjoyed a bountiful picnic...
...and played games
...and sports
... and just relaxed with no agenda. It was just what we needed.
Unlike most castles in this country which are built on defensible locations like mountain tops or hillsides, this particular fortress is on a flat field. That flat field was great for some football. Not every day do we get to play soccer in castle ruins!
Reni had some great saves serving as goalie!
I was so glad Nathan brought the drone because traditional photos alone don't do justice to sharing the scope and setting of this potential UNESCO World Heritage Site listing. If you're interested, check out this footage Nathan edited into a minute-long video :
Overall, it was a special afternoon we won't soon forget. Thanks, Albania, for such great treasures for us to enjoy! We made some wonderful memories!
1 comment:
WOW! We are so jealous! And how did we ever miss this castle? We thought we saw them all while we lived there. You guys are the world's best at discovering the most wonderful places to visit! Thanks for sharing your special day.
Gordon & Carol
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