The Hairy Lemon

We hadn’t researched Albania at all before we arrived by ferry from Greece. Some people that we talked to thought it might be dangerous and said we might not want to go. But after asking them questions about why they really couldn’t say. They just had heard maybe it wasn’t safe. These people had also never been there. So it was hard to believe people who didn’t really know. When questioning people who had actually been there we found the people who did know said it was a wonderful country. So we really wanted to experience this Eastern European country. We took a short boat ride from Corfu, Greece. Albania is so close to Corfu that you can very easily see it across the water.

When we stepped off the boat we had to go through customs and the first thing we looked for was a tourist information booth. After some language struggles we were pointed far down the

beach to a little yellow roofed building in the distance. We started the hike along the shoreline

passing stony beaches, authentic looking shops and restaurants. When we reached the booth we were looking for we stepped into a well-deserved air-conditioned room. The girl at the info booth tried to help but she did not have information about Albania. She actually didn’t even know much about her country. We asked if she knew of an inexpensive hotel or hostel.

She told us of a hotel back by the ferry docks we had just walked from. So off we went, for a few blocks and then broke down and grabbed a taxi. It was just too hot and we were too tired.

The hotel was really nice, too nice. But then again you never know. Possibly it would be a decent price. After some more language issues we learned that the rooms were not too bad but they were all two person rooms and we would not all fit in one room and would need two rooms, which increased the price by too much to be affordable. Plus we really didn’t want to get two rooms and have to sleep separately.

At that time we remembered a little card a girl from our hostel in Corfu had given us when hearing we were coming to Albania. It was a card for the Hairy Lemon hostel. It sounded like a strange name but worth a call. I asked the guy at the front desk of the hotel if I could borrow his cell phone. He passed it over and I called the number on the card and an Irish lady answered the call. Annette said she was right down the road. I asked if she could come and pick us up. She said she would be there to pick us up in a few minutes. Annette was right there in her crazy UK jeep.

We loaded up and she admitted that she had never had a family stay in her hostel, but was sure it would work fine. The hostel was on the eighth floor of a new apartment building. It was beautifully decorated and had three rooms, which she moved a couple of girls out of so we could have the whole room for ourselves.

What a wonderful hostess. She gave us all the information that we needed about Albania and what we would need to see.

She was so informed about the area is like we were in a tourist info booth. Annette had a crazy Irish accent and was fun to be with and cooked a mean breakfast crepe. We bought a metal sieve so we could boil water and use a napkin in it to make coffee every morning. Annette and the other travelers at the hostel loved our "Canadian" coffee. My friend Cindy sent a bunch of individual coffee pkg.s with so we could have a taste of home. It was wonderful.

We spent 4 nights at the Hairy Lemon and had a very comfortable stay and absolutely loved the friendly people and amazing sites. Below is a photo of our backpacks. This is what we carried everything in. Whenever we stayed at one place for longer than one night. I would unpack everything and lay it all out on piles. I think it was the way I nested and made every place we stayed in feel like home.

The balcony gave us a very nice breeze at night because the temp. never really went below 100 degrees till early morning. We had a ceiling fan so we put it on high and left the patio door open to get the wind blowing through. We learned to just go to sleep very hot.