Grocery shopping in Albania is kind of like playing the lottery: You either win the jackpot or leave thinking about what you could have eaten if they'd only had (insert food product here). Today's shopping experience was a great example, because Carre Four actually had hamburger buns and sliced white bread for the boys! I swear I get an adrenaline rush when I find things like that. I had the same thing happen the few times I found cilantro and corn tortillas. My love affair with Latin food in well-known among my nearest and dearest, and I am always on the look out for the good stuff. The first time I found cilantro in the store, I could feel myself starting to salivate, no kidding. That said, everything here is seasonal and organic; so you never know what you're going to get (and for how long).
Today, for the first time in months, the store also had blueberries. My youngest son is a berry addict; so I went ahead and spent the 545 Lek ($5.45 about) for a cup of them. I'm sure my husband will be peeved, but I never do that! It's funny to live in a place where I've never seen an artichoke at the store but can find Pantene shampoo and Philadelphia cream cheese daily. Aside from beauty products, American products are all but unattainable on the local market; and, when you can find them, you can expect to pay double.
I do love it here, though. As I write this, I'm sitting outside in the gazebo on our compound--a little slice of 1950s-like Americana. My house looks out at the mountains, and there are little stores outside the front and back gates. Everyday foodstuffs are fresh and almost free, and I still get a little rush when the local grocer rings up my five bags of produce for about $8. Yeah, Albania's a class act.
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