The President Has Arrived

I haven't ever heard Tirana so quiet as today. The only noise that is constantly present is the dull hum of jets flying way high above the city. It never leaves and goes away. Seeing on the TV of Air Force One landing on the airport tarmack that we are so familar was a thrill. Sorry the picture is so distorted but it was the only way to give the general idea that it did happen. The news only gave bits and pieces of the where abouts of Bush and so Vera, our good friend, and I ventured out in search of a glimpse of what we might see. We were disappointed to learn that our main access to see anything of Bush was blocked and they were not letting anyone pass through the main boulevard to the buildings where meetings were going to be held. Thinking that we were sure of one street they would have to pass we began walking through the winding park paths over to the next main road called Elbasoni. The police were kind to let us wait near them since we told them all we wanted was a picture of the motorcade. I'm sorry my pictures are so poor because our vision was for just a short way and I had no prelude of what vehicle was coming into view. It was just a small window of opportunity for a clear shot of vision. Seeing the motorcade on TV of all the supporting vehicles is one thing but in a foreign country I was interested to see if there would be any differences. I was impressed by the military escort and several amored vehicles. Unfortunately they were passing too fast for my camera to respond and they passed out of my picture frame too quickly. So my pictures mainly captured the flags on the hood of the vehicle and also the seal on the other black suburban. It seems there will be no opportunity for any people to see Bush out of the vehicles. I just included the picture of the Sheraton Hotel that is nearby our place. Just for you to get a bit of perspective, it is full of our government security forces and has been closed to the public for the last week. This is another example of our wonderful tax dollars at work!