The following morning, we dined at a local café before heading to the Opera House on Skandenberg Square – the meeting point for our walking tour. Our guide Aurora took us around the main sights of the city – Skandenberg Square; the Et-hem Bej Mosque; the Catholic cathedral with it’s statue and paintings of Mother Theresa – the now saint who was born in North Macedonia which was then part of Albania and whose death in 1997 was completely overshadowed by that of Lady Di; the Albanian Orthodox Cathedral located across from the House of Leaves (now a museum this is where the government’s spying headquarters was located).

She explained to us that while Albania is a majority Muslim country (55% of the population) it is also a very non-religious society and there is religious harmony. She also explained the post World War II period in Albania when the country was run as a communist dictatorship by Enver Hoxha for forty years. Unlike the other countries in the Balkans, Albania remained isolated from the Soviet Union and all other states and was one of the least developed nations in Europe by the time communism fell. English light entertainer Norman Wisdom became a massive star in Albania during Hoxha’s regime as his films were the only Western films permitted to be shown. In 2001 at the age of eighty-six he appeared at an Albania-England game and the response given to him by the local crowd overshadowed that given to David Beckham.

She showed us Bunk-Art2 – a bunker museum showing the obsessive nature of the regime. Starting in the mid-70’s Hoxha started building hundreds of thousands of bunkers to protect the population in case of nuclear attack. Thankfully they were never needed and now serve as a reminder of his crazed paranoia.

After lunch in a glass shopping mall, we took the bus to the suburbs to take the Dajti Express cable car to the peak of the mountains overlooking Tirana. It’s he longest cable ride in Europe and quite nerve wracking. The views over the city were beautiful. It is located close to Bunk-Art1 which is a similar but much larger version of Bunk-Art2 in the centre of town.

The following morning we visited the Namazgah Mosque – three weeks old; the largest mosque in the Balkans and fully funded by Erdogan in Turkey. Afterwards we took a bus to the main bus station on the outskirts of town to head to the ancient coastal city of Durres. As it was November there were not many tourists, but it is easy to see what Albania is soon going to be a rival to Croatia when it comes to Mediterranean holidays. The Albanian landscape and food are similar to Greece; the Adriatic Sea is just as glorious here as in another country; the weather is good; the people are friendly, and the prices are low. Tirana is a vibrant city with nearly a million residents and Durres also has an ancient Roman amphitheatre and ruins. A winning combination.

The next day I bid farewell to G as my flight was at 9am whereas his was not until late afternoon. Our friendly host drove me back to the airport where I checked in at the Ryanair desk (no mobile boarding passes allowed in Tirana).

The 8.05am Ryanair flight to Bergamo was departing from Gate 4. The 8.15 Ryanair flight to Rome Ciampino was departing from Gate 5. Passengers for both flights mingled on the tarmac airside ready to board. I made my way to my seat on the plane parked outside Gate 4.

A flight attendant made an announcement. My blood ran cold.

‘This is the flight to Rome Ciampino. If this is not your flight, then please let an attendant know.’

I (and the other 4 passengers on the wrong plane) quickly disembarked and made our way to the plane standing beside Gate 5.

Albania is an underrated gem. I am happy to have seen it now – within a decade I suspect it will be fully on the radar for European summer breaks.