Nothing ever gets ticked off a Travel Bucket List. For every place we visit, we learn about four more adventures we want to explore (the Excel spreadsheet has swollen to 104 rows). And behind us, the number of places we’ve fallen in love with and would like to return to grows. We are forever deciding whether to sink back to the familiar arms of an old lover or to dive into a new romance.

Our route from Vancouver to Cambodia zigzags incongruously through Paris and now Albania to finish some discount dental work. (Even with the extra flight costs, Sarah’s dental work is about $5,000 cheaper than in North America.)

So we get to spend an unplanned, uncluttered week walking these familiar happy streets, with nothing left that we Have To Do. We eat $1 spinach burek pastries from our favourite vendor, and a “Very delicate cutlet of beef brains” (had to leave Sarah at home for that feast.) Tirana feels warm and comfortable, and no less intriguing and photo-worthy than our first visits.