Day 6 (July 24, 2015): Recipe for a day of rest in Albania

Today was a rest day -- the most relaxing of the trip so far, I think we both needed it. We slept in, enjoyed breakfast from the top floor of the hotel overlooking the beach strip, saw the city's few sights before lunch, and then spent six hours sitting on the beach and by the pool. 

Breakfast from the hotel rooftop

The view looking down...

Our hotel from waist-deep in the Adriatic Sea

The view looking down the beach 

Durres doesn't offer a lot in terms of sights, and what there is to see can be easily visited in a morning. We were grateful for that, given the heat again today. 

The 2nd century amphitheater seated 18,000 people and featured gladiators and the like. It was buried and undiscovered until 1966!

The Byzantine walls are all that remain of what was once a huge citadel 

The Venetian Tower

We have never been anywhere where such sights and vendors pass before you as on the beach here today. We even saw a man walking a full size brown bear!  Yes, a real bear!  Only in Albania, I'm sure.

Where else could you get away with leashing a bear on a public beach to sell photos?

A BBQ perched on the tip of a wheelbarrow, cooking corn. 

A donkey on the beach. And we don't even know what item it was selling!

Tripadvisor's #2 ranked restaurant in Durres ended up being across the street from our hotel, so that made dinner an easy choice. Afterwards we walked the beach to a long pier as dusk settled in. 

Dinner at Troy Grill House

The pier 

And that was our rest day in Durres. Tomorrow we head to the capital,Tirana, for an inland day of sightseeing. 

G'night from Albania!