Day 345, From Shkodër, Albania to Dubrovnik, Croatia
We woke up to the sound of cats mewing for their breakfast in the courtyard. Much to Madi’s disappointment, no ghosts visited our 400 year old room overnight. All was quiet, except for the cats.
The motorcycles from the night before that Paul was admiring, were gone. He wants to do Europe like this sometime in the future. As long as I get my own machine.
While the girls slept in, Paul and I walked over to the dining room in search of coffee. The fire was already roaring in the large hearth.
They had breakfast tables already set up for the hotel guests. We had the one that was closest to the fire, just where I like to be. On the table were two different kinds of unfamiliar jams; one was red and the other was made from dark berries found on the mountain, and the other was red. 
There was also a bowl of hard boiled eggs, slices of soft cheese, and yogurt with fresh parsley and garlic. On another plate were two large balls of freshly-churned butter, that looked like scrambled eggs. So yummy. There was tea on the table which seemed typical, but they also brought us coffee on request. The milk for the coffee was fresh from a cow, who was probably hanging out in the back field.
When the girls eventually rolled into breakfast, we all ordered eggs. A fresh loaf of bread also arrived, with a pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice. All their food is made from scratch and when you are sitting by the fire, everything just tastes better. This is the way we are supposed to eat, I’m convinced. Fresh food, herbs, dairy products, fish, juice, meat. Nothing is processed.
Good food and a fire makes people want to linger. We sat together talking for a long time before deciding we best be on our way to Dubrovnik. I would make my way back to Shkodër just to stay here again. What an experience.
Madi and I went out to pack the car when an older woman approached me to ask for money. I didn’t have any cash on me, but we do keep a bunch of euros for tolls, which adds up to a bit. Madi gave a handful of those to her. After she put those in her pocket she motioned that she was hungry. The only food I could find was a package of cookies. I shrugged that it was all I had. Next she pointed to my jacket. Honestly, my lulu was the only jacket I have with me, so I declined to give it to her. She was annoyed with me and pointed toward the bags in the car, I’m not sure what she was saying. Perhaps it was, “you have so much stuff, entitled tourist, please be more generous.” We tried to communicate with hand signals; she was like, “come on” and I was like, “that’s all I’m willing to do right now.” In the end she was annoyed with me, even with her pocket full of Euros and cookies. It was one of those awkward experiences that felt like a no win.
Leaving Albania we went through numerous small towns, with many creatures crossing the road, lots of sheep herds, goats, geese families, donkeys pulling carts or carrying firewood. Many people on bicycles, especially older men. There were lots of people walking, biking, or just hanging out in the road talking.
We took a ferry through a beautiful mountainous area. A German family laughed and pointed at our red tourist license plate, and then stared at us. That’s a first, I mean the license plate mocking, not the staring. 
When we crossed into Montenegro, the scenery continued to be stunning, especially the orange roofs dotting the mountains. There were wild boar crossing signs and the roadsides were lined with yellow wild flowers. Beautiful place.
At some point when we entered Croatia, the trees changed. There were so many types of trees, tall thin ones, short bushy ones; we all noticed the variety. There were also crimson red poppies along the road. More beautiful scenery. Next we drove along the Adriatic. Again, some of the most breath-taking landscapes. The water was a deep twinkling turquoise. The twisty road hugged the mountains revealing new stunning vistas around every turn. There were adorable tunnels, yes adorable. They had window cut-outs so you could see the sea. Truly stunning. Stunning, I tell you.
When we arrived at our place in Dubrovnik, we were thrilled at the view. Paul topped another booking, once again. The house is toward the top of the mountain and we look out over Dubrovnik, and are a 12 minute walk to the city center. There are three full bathrooms and the girls have the entire second floor loft. Here is the house and the views from the balcony.
We understand the raves about Dubrovnik. We’re already glad we came.