Hotel Argenti Shkoder

... we walked out of the bathroom, we noticed a feral cat really different than regular feral cats- this one reminded me of my cousin Tracey’s- with really long back legs, no tail, and a different build. (I think they are Egyptian cats?) The cat’s back feet were even much larger than normal. I’m sure he could jump really high. We tried to pet him but he wouldn’t let us. After this we knew we were ...

... with neighboring Budva. They have a fortune at their finger tips and they don&#8217;t' even see it. What a shame.<br><br>Anyway, this is a great town that is seriously under rated. They have great beaches, incredibly nice locals, a beautiful harbor and an intriguing history. It's too bad their not marketing their city for all its pluses.<br><br>This evening we had pirates and winch&#8217;s theme party. It was fun.

Started the day pretty enthusiastically. We had carefully put ourselves in a position to get through Montenegro and Albania in a day. The first hurdle came at the Montenegro border. We left Croatia with now trouble and then we were accosted by a woman selling a compulsory &#8364;80 Eco-Tax. We played the stupid tourist card and said we didn't have any cash and when the credit card machine didn't work ...

... that Budva at one point boasted more millionaires per capita than any other city in Europe due to its property explosion in the first half of the 2000s. It is also the smallest city in the world to have hosted a Rolling Stones concert, coincidence perhaps? Budva itself consists of several coves of beaches supported by a strip of lively bars and restaurants with a beautiful old town at one end.    The place was very lively ...

... pretty limited in their amusement potential really. It's not even a fantastic bridge. If you only get to see one bridge in your life, make it Charles Bridge in Prague. If you only get to see two, add the Latin Bridge in Sarajevo. If you get to see three, there is quite a nice one in Rome. Even if your life isn't judged by some weird bridge quota, I still can't say this is a must see. Nevertheless, I took an unhealthy number of ...

... another dizzying ride to Cetinje, four of us shared a taxi to the top of Black Mountain. It is said to have given Montenegro its name. Well Black Mountain was white today, it was snowing. We climbed the 461 steps (I did with difficulty after yesterday's mountain ride). And visited the mausoleum of Njegos, the previous Montenegro ruler. Supposedly view were spectacular ...

... my interest. Over the next week and a half we traveled to a lot of interesting places (more later) and I had pretty much forgotten about the Albania thing. Then the invitation once again presented itself on our way to "sunny" Dubrovnik, Croatia (more about "sunny" later). Apparently these brothers were serious in their desire to go to Albania. I learned later that they were half Albanian and had promised their Grandmother they'd step on ...

... as plenty of windsurfers. I knew I would have to take a minibus back to Ulcinj from the Copacobana Beach since it was the first big beach I would come to. I settled close to Copacabana but not in it to avoid the charge. The minibus back was only 1.5E but we just sat in traffic the whole time. The little 2 lane coastal roads are not built for all of the beach traffic. We just inched along. I wondered where all of these people were staying since there are just ...

... internet cafe full of kids playing computer games. Why they won't turn on the AC unit on the wall just by the door is beyond me. A shower - preferably cold - is sounding really, really good right now. Tomorrow I head to Ulcinj, just up from the Albanian border. I'll spend one night there and then move on to Shkodra and, quickly after, Tirana. Time to check out a new country - one that's not especially well-known or understood worldwide. Ought to be interesting.

... finish guys gove me the idea to go to the capital to montenegro. As in the book it showed a road heading down to Albania. I caught the bus at 9:30 to Pordgorcia and then thats the next story. This may be a generalisation, but the montenegrons werent that nice to me. I asked about 5 people to take my picture and they were so rude, ignored me, gove me evils. Only a young girl took my photo. It was about half half i guess. i think what made it was that i went back the ...