What a feeling

*Please note: I linked the cities to their various wikki pages so if you click on one Ohrid link, you don't need to click on the next link*

On this election day, I give you two pictures from my first visit to Ohrid with Manuel and Maria. Um what is up with this guy? I wonder if he looks like this in real life or if he is a total disappointment. The other picture is part of my Tito series. The series lives, more than you can imagine. My parents and I found a picture of Tito laying in a parking lot! So I am going to clean it off and see if it can be saved. No, I am not a communist, I just collect Tito pictures/images. I know, it is strange. But he is everywhere. Any how Kej M. Tito is the pedestrian street along Lake Ohrid.

So let's begin with my parents and I's trip to Ohrid. We stayed in an apartment about a block from the Lakeside and we walked and walked and walked. Our first evening, we had dinner at a place called Belvedere and it was quite an experience. There were musicians playing Macedonian folk songs and the restaurant was smoky, much to my parents chagrin (I am used to it since something like 70% of the adult population smokes). Despite the smoke, the food was delicious and the company excellent. We arrived in Ohrid around 7ish in the evening so dinner was our main and only event. The next day was the day of the eternal walking and church viewing. Ohrid has 365 churches. We saw 5 or so. Our day started out at a cafe on the square near the old city and my Dad was overjoyed when he asked for an americano, and, after some explanation, received said drink. We saw churches, went up to the fortress on the hill looking over the city and ended up at a restaurant where we had Ohrid trout for dinner. At the fortress, there was this older man playing what I can only guess were Macedonian bagpipes. The problem was there didn't appear to be any sort of melody to his playing. He was on top of one of the overlooks of the city and lake so there was no escaping the music. I offered to my Dad to see if there was a CD of this painful music and my Dad reassured me that his music collection was just fine sans poorly played Macedonian bagpipe music. I respect anyone who is going to go out there an perform, but please, make sure you know some songs. For some reason I am reminded of Dao and I's Gloria Estefan marathon in Kotor. Remember? We were sitting on the bay in Kotor, Montenegro enjoying a drink after a day of roaming the streets when this cafe played non-stop Gloria Estefan. After an hour or so, Dao and I could take no more and left. We would have happily stayed for dinner had the music been a bit more varied. Any how, back to Ohrid...I need to upload pictures of the place - it is the pride of Macedonia. You will see why. The bus ride between Ohrid and Skopje goes on the outskirts of Mavrovo National Park. The trees are changing here and Maria described the changing colors best - it looks like an old rug with oranges, rusts, browns, some reds and greens. The rolling uneven trees look like a worn out shag carpet and it is beautiful. You can look down into the valleys and see little villages with reddish clay roofs and wonder what in the world people do in these places, not just for work, but in their spare time. I have the same questions when I go through the little towns off I-70 in Colorado that are not ski-related...

In other joyous news, I am excited to report I found, with the help of Dao, a brand-new American style coffee shop here in Skopje! They even have bagels! Granted, you can't get just a bagel and cream cheese - you have to get the whole sandwich, but you would not believe my joy. They have brewed coffee, not just espresso or Turkish coffee! They have flavor syrups from a company I recognize! Brownies! Chocolate chip cookies! Carrot Cake! I have yet to experience the coffee shop, but I assure you I will let you know if it is remotely like sitting in the Green Line (Philly shout out!), Higher Grounds (Golden shout out!) or any other local place to grab a coffee. It may have wireless too. Part of me feels guilty about being so excited about this coffee shop. That little voice says, "you didn't come to Macedonia to go to American style coffee shops; you came to Macedonia to experience their culture." Oh well, I figure there will be Macedonians in the coffee shop!

Ok, back to work, but I will write more about my parents' visit and try to upload more pictures soon. Don't forget to vote! I sent in my federal ballot weeks ago so here's to hoping it counts :)