Rubbing Shoulders with Mother Teresa
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Skopje,
Macedonia
Saturday, October 8, 2005
How dare we call ourself backpackers???? We are a disgrace to those that travel on a shoestring, eating out of dustbins and drinking their own feculence. Today we were tired - carrying around this heavy pack is difficult you know, even when you do leave your coat on a bus to lighten the load somewhat - so we went for a massage. Just a lttle back rub. This follows on from numerous times when we have asked to see the wine list in restaurants..... I think we're a bit too old to be slumming it any more!!!
Martin, an old school friend from back in the day (since 1985) moved to Skopje a couple of months ago, and it would have been rude not to see him, so we took full advantage of his and his lovely girlfriend Biljana's hospitality for 3 days. We were fed and watered well, most notably by Biljana's extremely welcoming parents Ivan and Blagona, given guided tours of the city, including yet more churches, the hilltop fort, and good places to eat. Mmmmmmmmmmm. Mother Teresa was also born here, which is a little factoid for you.
Something that struck me about Skopje was the amount of conkers on the floor. If ths was in England then months ago you would have had kids chucking bricks and sticks skywards in the hope of knocking down their bounty in order to soak them in vinegar and put them in the oven on a low heat overnight. Damn..... I'm giving away all the secrtes that made me so good at junior school. They just don't play conkers. Therefore, I have designated myself as Macedonian Conker Champion 2005 by default. Just in case this status is challenged whilst we are here, I have bought some string and will hang around outside the primary schools to see if anyone fancies a game. If it comes to this, and I do get arrested for interfering with young children then this will be my alibi....
