Today is a day of adventure. I tried mish koke, soup made with the meat from the head of the animal. Mine was from the head of a cow. I ate pieces of meat that were brain and pieces that were tongue. I felt very brave and determined to eat it. This is a common meal in the morning to fuel your day, and I wanted to join in. I finished my bowl with the assistance of multiple pieces of bread to dip into it. It wasn’t too bad once I got over the mental hurdle.

We were in Përmet. Ensuid took a bus to Tirana, Juli drove back to Korça, and Ilir and I hitchhiked to Gjirokastra. I would not have hitchhiked alone, but Ilir was an experienced hitchhiker. After a few cars driving by, one stopped and drove us part of the way since he wasn’t heading there. Then we were picked up by another nice driver who was driving to Gjirokastra. It was an adventurous day!

The castle in Gjirojastra had some vendors selling items. I made friends with a mother and daughter duo selling handmade Albanian crochet items. They told me it was called “qendra” or something like that (similar to the word “qendër” meaning center), but when I try to google for more information, I can’t confirm the name. Anyways they were selling beautiful doilies and tops. I bought a few items.

There were a few vendors also with storefronts set up in the castle tunnels.