Blogs from Malta, Europe - page 12

We made it! After planes, trains, automobiles and our fair share of busses we made it! We got to Dulles by 7:15 (sweet!), found out we did indeed have TSA Precheck (sweeter!) and were through security and at the gate by 8:00 (sweetest!) Had dinner at an airport restaurant and then went and hung out by a charging pole to juice up our devices. There was a group of teenagers from an Arab country who were traveling back home (my guess is) and they had most of the charging stations plugged in. It looked like wire trees were everywhere. But we found a free station in the corner. I had gone to look for something at the airport and as I passed by the message board for our flight, it said, “This flight is overbooked. If ... read more

We all went our own ways on the final day. The Other Half and I headed to the Silent City, Mdina. The silence was deafening. Cars are banned in the main from the old walled town and this morning the horse drawn buggys were all redundant. There would not even be the sound of hooves on the cobbles to break the silence. I was keen that the Other Half should see the fortress town high on a hill. We headed through the Mdina Gate in to the town. The weather had been mixed in terms of visibility whilst we had been on the island, but you could see for miles this morning. I took us in the direction of the previous vantage point for a view towards Valletta. A sign on the walls warns of danger. ... read more

Gozo has moved on in the world. The sign "Lidl Welcomes You to Gozo" has gone. The threat of Aldi landing on the island has apparently meant a downsizing in the marketing budgets. We alighted a seriously full bus at the ferry port en route to Gozo. The departure hall was well populated, even on a breezy day in January. What would it be like in the height of summer? A small sign on the counter read, "Please pay for your return journey on Gozo". The return fare remains a competitive 4.65 Euros. In amongst the waiting throng, a number of touts were busy promoting the double decker all day hop on, hop off bus on the Gozo side. The weekly bus pass is now valid on the Gozo system, so there appeared to be few ... read more

The Man in the Middle approached a landmark birthday. After the success of our “warm weather” training mission to Malta in 2014, a plan was hatched for refreshments with football in the winter sun. The Motor Man flew back from the Jacaranda City for the occasion, fresh from relaying Page 48 and Page 49 of the secret manual of success for the natives. They must have been impressed. A return journey to run through Pages 50 and 51 has been pencilled in for March. The Python booked himself on the trip. A rare appearance for the now married man – missing in action since Portugal 2004. He turned up, doing a passable impression of Paddington Bear. A label carefully pinned to his chest in case he got lost – “Return to Meadow Lane, Nottingham. NG2”. There ... read more

Hi Everyone, This weekend was Valetta, the capital city of Malta, a tiny island in the Mediterranean just south of Sicily. Despite it's small size, it's an island that's absolutely full of history, acting as a key point in controlling shipping in the Mediterranean for hundreds of years. It's old cities are often centred around giant fortresses built to defend against invasions by the Ottoman empire - this was Europe's front line defence against invasions from the Middle East. This makes for some great views from atop the walls looking out into the ocean. The walls are usually pretty badly damaged though, since Italy bombed the living daylights out of the place in WWII. Here's the WWII background story: Germany had a campaign going in North Africa that constantly needed supplies - an army runs on ... read more