-"Dream of Europe" is made possible by... -At Regent Seven Seas Cruises, we believe that personal space is essential to the luxury travel experience.

With no more than 732 guests, our ships allow you to explore the world and discover the freedom of having space at sea.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Custom privately guided travel.

Kensington -- see the world differently.

♪♪ -I'm Kathy McCabe.

In this series, we'll explore the stunning landscapes, unearth the centuries of history, and discover what makes Europe one of the most captivating continents on Earth.

Join me as we dream of Europe.

♪♪ ♪♪ Rich with historic towns, Roman, Greek, Byzantine, and Ottoman influences, as well as gorgeous and secluded countryside and hundreds of miles of beaches, Albania is rapidly becoming the next hot destination The welcoming locals and affordable prices make it even more enticing.

While the world is just waking up to the beauty of this Balkan state, I'm letting you in on the secret early.

♪♪ I became curious about Albania years ago because of my makeup artist, Arby.

She was six when her family immigrated from Albania to Italy, but she came back often to visit her grandparents.

Today we are visiting the city of Sarande in the southern part of Albania and are stopping at Lekuresi Castle, which has stunning views of the sea, city, and countryside.

We have worked together for many years.

You are the person who makes me look beautiful.

You do my hair every day and my makeup.

For me, you're like my family.

You're like my little sister.

I met you in Italy because you lived, since you were six years old, in Florence, but you were born in Albania.

And that's why I wanted to come and see this beautiful country, because of you.

But first, Arby, you need to teach me a few words of Albanian so I can meet people and talk to them.

The first word that we should start with, of course, is "hello."

-Brava.

-How about "thank you"?

-Bravissima!

-Thank you.

Wow.

What is this?

[ Singing in Albanian ] Iso-Polyphonic singing is a profound expression of Albania's musical heritage, particularly in the south where a cappella voices come together in a powerful, resonant harmony.

[ Singing continues ] In ancient times, these songs were a way to record their history and to call to one another over vast distances.

Wow!

Incredible!

Thank you.

That's a wonderful surprise.

It's time for me to get some sun, so I'm exploring the Albanian Riviera.

Sarande is the unofficial capital of the area and a great base.

This stretch of coastline along the Ionian Sea offers one of the most affordable beach vacations in all of Europe, and one of the most breathtaking.

Turquoise water, white sand, and dramatic mountains are the backdrop as I soak up the sunshine on a boat trip.

Although I'm enjoying all this relaxation, there's a local culinary experience I'm eager to try.

Just a few miles south, Butrint Lake is famous for its blue mussels, and I'm going on a mussel tour -- a first for me.

-This is the most beautiful part of Albania.

-My tour guide, Soraldo Nebo, is taking me out on a handmade Albanian boat to show me how these little gems are farmed.

What's unique about these mussels that we're going to find right now from any others in the world?

-The conditions of the lake itself are different and special.

Lake Butrint takes water from two directions.

On the north part, freshwater.

And on the south part, the channel brings saltwater, so a mixture of them make the perfect condition for growing up mussel natural here.

Now we'll stop a little bit here to pick some mussel.

♪♪ -Wow!

That's a lot of mussels.

-Look at how beautiful is it.

Pool of mussel.

So it's an interesting process.

To start them grow, they need to stick somewhere.

-Yeah.

-So what the mussel farmer do, they put a rope on the water, and mussel love it.

All of them go and stick on it.

-So that looks like about seven feet of mussels.

How many pounds of mussels is that?

-I think around 26 pounds of mussels.

-That can feed a lot of people.

-Yes.

-So how long does the process take to make one mussel?

-14 months in total.

-That is amazing!

It's a long time.

-A long time.

-How many do you think are produced here?

-Tens of thousands.

And now I will gather some mussel and together we'll do the last process before cooking them.

Are you ready?

-Yes.

I'm ready.

Okay, so how do we clean mussels?

-Great, so, the next process will be taking over the beard.

So this direction and squeeze it down like this.

-Oh.

Got it.

-Yes.

-Okay.

-We can throw it on the water.

Feed fish.

-Oh, bye-bye.

Okay, so that's the beard and I'm going to pull it down.

-Okay, perfect.

-And then I give it to the fish.

-Yes.

-I'm pretty sure these are going to be delicious.

-For sure.

-I've never seen anything like this -- Mussels kebab.

-Grilled meat mussel kebab.

-Lemon.

-Olive oil.

-Olive oil.

-And harmonize them together.

We do the -- -Harmonize.

-There is the rhythm.

-It's a great way to say it.

-Yes.

Will be a sauce now.

-Yeah.

-You can put on top of the mussel.

-My God, is there anything better than this?

Really.

This is like a dream.

And now my favorite.

Okay, I call it oregano.

-Oregón.

-Oregón.

-Perfect.

Take my mussels, I put a couple in here.

-Perfect.

-My God.

Mmm!

So juicy.

-They're perfect.

-Mmm!

Oh, my God.

-A little bit white wine, local white wine.

-My God.

It's so good.

Lemony, olive oil, oregano.

What a unique experience in an absolutely stunning place.

-Happy.

-Mussel farm to table.

-Faleminderit.

-Incredible experience.

-Faleminderit.

I'm traveling a couple of hours north toward the Adriatic coast to visit the ancient city of Apollonia.

Founded as a trading colony by the Illyrians, the city became home to the elite of Greek and Roman society in 300 BC, and was called a free city, as residents were not taxed by the emperor.

Most of its buildings are still being excavated, but what is now above ground is impressive.

I'm so surprised to arrive here in Apollonia and see all these exquisite ruins.

They're really well-preserved.

Who built these buildings?

-We know that Illyrians, local people, was living here since the 12, 10th century, before Christ.

The city was called Apollonia, after Apollo, the god of the sun, and played a very important economical and cultural role for the Illyrians.

In the ancient times, for example, Apollonia was having a very important school of philosophy and rhetorics.

Apollonia was connected to many roads with the inner lands, so it seems that it was easier for Romans reaching Apollonia, then reaching Athens.

So it was preferred by the Romans to send their children to study here philosophy and rhetorics.

-So there's an amazing building behind us.

Tell me about it.

-Well, it looks like a temple, but indeed it is this bouleuterion that nowadays means the parliament.

-So right over here, it looks like a beautiful place for walking or to take a stroll.

-Well, indeed, it's really interesting because we know that in the Roman times, people were not sitting home, they were getting information from what was going around exactly at these buildings.

-Of course, they didn't have the internet to write to each other.

They had to come out here.

-Yes.

That's why we say that they were so social in the old times.

The strong earthquake struck Apollonia at the beginning of the third century A.D., and that had a very bad impact to the architecture.

Gradually Apollonia started to decline.

-Despite the earthquake, there's so much that's still left of Apollonia.

And you've only really rediscovered 10% of it.

So I look forward to what else you discover.

An hour southeast of Apollonia, through the vibrant green mountains of the Albanian countryside, lies the Uji Ftohte springs.

Throughout history, people from all over Albania came to this area to fill their water bottles from the natural spring.

Industrious nearby residents have set up roadside stands to sell their wares.

One of them has a pet goat named Tusha.

So I had to stop and say hello.

-How old is she?

-[ Speaks native language ] -Seven.

-Seven.

-Hi, Tusha.

Can I give her some chips?

-[ Speaks native language ] -I know.

I know how good those are.

Those are my favorite snack in Albania, especially oregano ones.

-[ Speaks native language ] -She sits here with you every day?

-[ Speaks native language ] -Smart man.

Smart man.

Good marketing.

Let's go shopping, Tusha.

-Ah, thank you.

-[ Goat bleats ] -You have honey?

What else do we have here?

-Mint.

-Mint.

Mountain tea.

-Oregano.

-Oregano.

So you can just stop at this stand and buy everything fresh and you can meet a goat.

Bye, girlfriend.

♪♪ Across the street from the spring is one of the most beautiful places I've ever stayed -- Hotel Uji Ftohte Tepelene.

And a night here would cost at least four or five times as much anywhere else.

Nestled into a bend in the river, this modern and magnificent lodging was designed to pay homage to its surroundings.

Floor-to-ceiling glass windows take full advantage of the scenery, and the sound of the water puts you into a meditative state.

We were driving through the beautiful Albanian countryside, it's so green and lush in the mountains, and we came upon this hotel and I couldn't even believe it.

It's right on the river, beautiful glass, views forever.

And I think it's also one of the most beautiful places to have breakfast in the world with a view like that.

The food is also very good, very gourmet, fresh, very innovative and modern.

So it's very quiet here, but then you can go easily, quickly to other places to do all kinds of things like rafting, visiting the castle, enjoying the water.

I feel like it's a secret and I can't wait to share it, especially with our American audience.

Great.

They are gonna love it.

♪♪ A 30 minute drive south from the hotel is the UNESCO World Heritage city of Gjirokaster.

Inhabited since the Bronze Age, this hillside town was under Ottoman rule for 500 years, which is reflected in its architecture.

Our first stop is the Castle of Gjirokaster, which towers 1,000 feet above the town.

Cultural expert Eraldo Breshani is showing me around.

So Gjirokaster is one of the largest castles in all of the Balkans.

-It is.

It has 500 meters in its length and 50 to 100 meters in its width.

So it's kind of looks like a ship, which in a winter night, somehow it's stuck into the stones.

And the fortress itself has a documented date of the fourth century before Christ.

-Wait a second.

-Yeah.

-That is really long time ago.

-24 centuries that.

-It's seen a lot, this castle.

-This castle is a complex of many different monuments.

-Now, I have to ask you about this plane, this American plane that you have here.

It's unusual to find something like that, and there's kind of two stories to it.

Was it a spy plane or wasn't it a spy plane?

-It was never a spy plane.

But during the communism regime, the party told people that we fired at this American plane and it was forced to land in the nearest destination possible, which happened to be Albania.

But anyone can see that the plane is fully intact.

-It is, yeah.

-It is fully intact.

-It's intact.

Well, it's storytelling is interesting.

-It is, it is.

-I've really enjoyed Albania.

I've really enjoyed the people, the monuments.

The food is really good.

-It's true.

-What's your favorite dish?

-Qifqi.

-What is a qifqi?

-So, qifqi, it's a rice ball.

-Oh!

-It's a meatball, but with no meat at all.

So it's made out of rice and herbs and eggs.

-Sounds good.

I have to try some.

-It is very delicious.

And one of the highlights of Gjirokaster that you definitely cannot miss is the bazaar.

And then in the areas of the Old Bazaar, you can find someplace where you can try the qifqi.

-Well, two of my favorite things when I'm traveling -- shopping and eating.

♪♪ So this is the qifqi that my friend Eraldo told me about.

It's very similar to the Italian arancini, the rice balls they have, especially in the south.

Mmm.

Very hearty.

Good to eat when you're drinking something.

♪♪ Now that I've had a little sustenance, it's time for some shopping in Gjirokaster's famous Old Bazaar.

Since the 17th century, these cobblestone streets have been the focal point for artisans and craftspeople.

I was walking by and you have the most beautiful wood carvings.

-Thank you.

-How long have you been making these wood carvings?

-What's your favorite piece to carve?

I can tell Albanians are very proud.

Can you show me how to wood carve?

You're not sure.

First lesson.

Sure.

Uh-huh.

And again.

Is that good?

You're impressed?

I'm impressed.

Can you believe I'm wood carving in Albania?

You have to watch where your fingers are.

I found something I'm good at.

Stop here?

-Stop.

-Look at me go!

Lower, right?

Lower?

Slower and lower.

Oh, now we're trying a new tool.

Yeah.

Oh, boy, it's a big one.

Okay.

I found my calling in Albania.

Wow!

I did that.

All right, maybe I can take over the business.

How long should this take to make?

That's very impressive.

Oh, wow!

Look at this.

"Dream of Europe," the name of my show.

Thank you so much.

It's been a dream to visit Gjirokaster, a beautiful city.

And to learn some wood carving.

I think I found my hidden talent.

40 miles east of Gjirokaster, is the beloved Vjosa river, known as the last wild river in all of Europe.

It became Europe's first national river park in 2023, protecting it from development.

Home to 1,100 species of flora and fauna, the banks of the Vjosa are teeming with life.

This extraordinary area is so untouched that naturalists know less about it than the Amazon.

Her beauty is easily viewed from the safety of the shore.

But I'm stepping out of my comfort zone... Oh, boy.

...and onto a raft today with Irma Tako, the first woman to bring rafting to Albania.

Whoo!

-Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo!

Amazing.

-Nice.

Working hard here in Albania.

Whoo!

It makes you feel really alive.

[ Laughs ] -It makes you feel free.

Vjosa is nice and wild.

-I can tell.

It's a "she", of course.

-She could hug us, she could push us, or she can slap us.

-[ Laughs ] -We saw it with the water, no?

-We did, yeah!

She wakes you up.

-Yeah, exactly.

-Ooh!

Whoo-hoo!

Whoo!

Wow.

Incredible.

Why is this water this exquisite turquoise color?

-It's because spring is almost finishing, and so the water is calmer.

So all the sediments go down... -And you can see the color.

-The color of the water itself.

-It is just so beautiful.

And as you're traveling through the canyons, you see it.

It's like beckoning to you.

-Yeah.

The vegetation is amazing.

Aquatic world is very rich.

Just has everything, really.

-What made you decide to bring rafting to this river?

-To show the people and to the world the beauty.

-They're all coming to this little corner of Albania.

-Because, of course, system of this river is important for the earth.

So we must take care.

-It really reminds you of what something pure and beautiful can be.

-Yeah.

-[ Laughs ] -Here is the stop point where we'll have a little local snack.

-Wonderful.

No better setting than this.

-Walnut.

-Walnut.

-Yeah.

Walnut when are still not matured, unriped.

-Oh, wow.

-So the shell preserved with water and sugar.

-Oh, my gosh, I have never seen walnuts like that.

But I bet it's soft.

Okay.

Mmm.

Delicious!

It's really good.

-Would you ever think... -No.

[ Laughs ] -...that you were gonna eat once in your life the shell?

-Never, and never alongside a river in Albania.

So, dreams I didn't even know I had come true.

I'm so glad, honestly, that you were able to preserve this river.

Because I think when you come here, you understand how important it is and how rare this is.

-It is.

For us, it's fundamental, the river.

It's our heart.

-I can see why.

From its green mountain scapes to its rich cultural tapestry, Albania is like a breath of fresh air for travelers like me.

The beauty and spirit of this incredible country has given me a new appreciation of this part of Europe.

I'm so grateful to my makeup artist, Arby, for inspiring me to visit.

Whoo-hoo!

-[ Laughs ] -Yeah!

-"Dream of Europe" is made possible by... -At Regent Seven Seas Cruises, we believe that personal space is essential to the luxury travel experience.

With no more than 732 guests, our ships allow you to explore the world and discover the freedom of having space at sea.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ -Custom privately guided travel.

Kensington -- see the world differently.

-For more about visiting Europe, additional videos, and a companion travel guide, visit dreamofeurope.com/tv.

Follow "Dream of Europe" on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.

♪♪ ♪♪