Mirëdita! (Good Day!)

So, here I am in Tirana, Albania. So far I'm thinking it's pretty cool. First of all, people LOVE me here. Not just people I meet. People I don't even know will stop while they are walking down the street and kiss me or smile at me. Little kids, women, men, all kinds of people! I thought that I used to get attention...but now I really know what attention is!! And, even better, when I go into stores (read 'tiny corner market' or 'tiny pastry shop') they give me sweets...sadly, my mommies often take them away from me before I get to eat them.

So, I don't have a lot of pictures of me in Tirana yet. But I thought you might want to see some photos of the endlessly fascinating place that I'm living. There are so many things to see and look at...

A view of the main street that Mommy Mindy takes me down on my stroller all the time. There's so much to look at! And it's like being on a roller coaster ride with all the ups and downs and curbs that we bumpily go over. Who knew that my stroller could do all that? And why didn't I get to do it in DC?


Another view...here you can see some of the construction cranes, the doors and windows for sale on the street, and the Roma sitting on the curb selling things that I never get to have (like pinwheels). Mommy Mindy only has gotten boring things like sponges and batteries.


Looking down our street.


Part of "The Block" area. During communist rule only party officials were allowed in this area.


Another view off the main street. Tirana is a city of contrasts.


The little Italian supermarket where the people who work there smile at me and pinch my cheeks!


Some of the fun painted buildings of Tirana...the mayor, Edi Rama, was an artist before he was mayor and he made the communist buildings much prettier.


The little green awning store on our street. We get bananas, tomatoes, pasta, and lots of other things here...I think Mommy Mindy goes at least once or twice every day! And they LOVE me and give me candy.


ME!!