Vlore

The second stop on our road trip was Vlore. But we spent the morning exploring Durres after a quick breakfast. This mostly consisted of wandering an old Roman amphitheatre. Lewis is an incredibly curious and talkative individual, and it was hilarious watching his brain unravel and question what each section may have been used for. It added to the entertainment value. Although very small, the unrestricted access through all the areas made it super interesting. They had some brief history stuff to talk about, but it wasn't the most exciting descriptions possible. Either way, we spent about an hour here before hunting down a sports bar to watch the Woman's World Cup. Australia played against Denmark, and it was a big game for both teams. Although originally struggling to find a pub that plays the game, the old reliable Irish pub managed to secure an avenue to watch it. We were the only Aussies watching, but we still got very excited about the game. After Australia got the win and secured their spot in the quarter finals, we set off to make it to our accommodation in Vlore. By the time we arrived, we parked up at the hotel briefly and made our way to find some dinner. It was already quite late by this point, so we had a quick look along the waterfront to see what it was all about. There was quite a bit happening. It is summer in Europe, so there are always things going on, it seems, but it was nice to walk through the streets at night and see everyone out with their families. Despite Lewis and Erin getting us lost, I eventually took charge and got us back to the accommodation. This is noteworthy because im shocking with directions, and the two of them are always bragging about their good memory. Although Vlore wasn't as nice as Durres, I think the accommodation we had was much nicer. This meant that for the first time in a long time, we could watch netflix and eat snacks on the couch just like we were back home. We watched 'Beasts of no Nation', and it was very confronting. It was a great movie but not really the movie we should have picked given the occasion. We were far more keen for something uplifting and light-hearted. Instead, we scarred our mental health, causing decades of emotional damage and losing faith in all of humanity and earth before heading to bed.

Seriously, I don't think I have seen a more aggressively depressing movie ever. Despite being very good.Read more