There are lots of children here trying to sell you things, they come up to you in the street and ate quite persistent . An boy of about eight years old conned me out of about 70p for this pen, it's got a kind of roller blind inside. I just felt that he was trying so hard that I had to buy one from him.
In the centre if Tirana there is an area called Blloku or The Block, this was where the Communist leaders lived and the rest of the population was prevented from entering. I've read that it was so well guarded that not even a bird could get in or out.
This is Enva Hoxha's house, it's rather more luxurious than the concrete flats that the rest of the comrades were living in.
It's being used for some government purpose today because it's bristling with security and there are some big black american cars near the front door. I tried to take a photo but was stopped by a man with MP on his tunic. So I walked around to the back and took some photos there, as I walked a bit further a Man in Black suddenly popped out of nowhere and waved his hand to indicate that I had to get away from the fence, I had minor palpitations for a moment as I imagined myself being bundled into the back of a van and having all my electronic equipment confiscated.
This is the lake in the centre of a park in Tirana and it seems surprising that there are no boats but an old man has been explaining to me that this is because the communists banned boats to stop the population escaping. This makes sense because I've noticed that there are very few boats at the harbours I've been to, there is certainly not the collection of gaily painted ancient boats that you would see at any greek port. I also noticed an absence of fresh fish at the coast, I will investigate some more when I next get to a harbour.
All the embassies are along here and it is very noticeable how tidy it is, not a single weed in the pavement, no missing manhole covers and no graffiti.
