Blogs from Malta, Europe - page 14

What a celebration in a most beautiful setting. Richard and Catherine being married in Villa Rosa overlooking St Georges Bay. Family and friends were gathered from UK , Sweden Malta and Dubai. After welcome drinks the ceremony took place on the terrace with myself and Christer as witnesses signing away my son and his daughter in a happy union. At 5.30 pm as the sun shone down on us we were glad of the fans which had been provided for the ladies!! And so to greet and congratulate the bride and groom we wandered in the gardens by the pool ( 2 swans-not real ones-swimming happily around). Then we were seated for a gourmet 4 course dinner along with toasts of sparkly and lots of wine. The best man , Ben - a friend from uni ... read more

This morning the tour group rode to the south side of the island of Malta to see the World Famous Blue Grotto. I'm not sure how many Blue Grottoes there are in the world, but this is one of them. We didn't get to do the boat ride into the grotto or through the natural arch because the seas were too rough today, but we had a nice view from the cliff (see picture). Next we visited Mosta, which boasts a church with the third largest unsupported dome in the world (see picture). From there we went to view the catacombs in Rabat (see picture). These catacombs are not nearly as extensive as the ones I have seen in Rome, but on the other hand, I was allowed to take pictures. Uncle Jim and I shared ... read more

We ate dinner last night at a local restaurant and I had rabbit, which is a national dish here. They call it "fenek". I'm sorry I don't have a picture of it, but take my word for it, it looks and tastes like chicken. I was a little disappointed because I expected a more exotic taste. This morning the group rode in a bus to the little fishing village of Marasxlokk. The locals still go out and fish in little boats (see picture) and each one has the Eye of Osiris on the bow to ward off evil (see picture). After Marsaxlokk (the "x" is pronounced like "sh" in Maltese), we visited the megalithic ruins of Hagar Qin (don't ask me how to pronounce that one). These temples were erected before Stonehenge and even before the ... read more

Lundi 13 avril : Départ de Kaboom et vol vers Istanbul. 5 heures, OK. Arrivé à Istanbul 16 :00. Transfert de l’aéroport a l’hôtel, environ 2 heures dans le trafic turc. Hôtel a Istanbul, bien correct. Pour diner, un classique local, un Doner, correct. Petite douche. Coucher vers 19 :00. Levé a 4 :00 am. Retour à l’aéroport a 5 :00. Magasinage d’aéroport : The Economist, une bouteille d’Amarula et une genre de chemise qui tire sur le rouge vin. Mardi 14 avril : Décolle d’Istanbul en direction de Malte à 9 :30. Arrivé à Malte vers 10 :30. Petit aéroport. Un chauffeur m’attend avec mon nom. Pas de bureau de change a proprement parlé, c’est une machine, comme un guichet, j’y mets mes dollars, elle me donne des euros. Malte est indépendante depuis 1964 des ... read more

I am indeed lucky that two of my kids live in such lovely locations and so it was time to take a trip see Richard in Malta in November, this time in the company of my dear brother Trevor and Christine. Staying some nights at the Fortina Spa Hotel we had that amazing view of Valetta across the harbour from Sliema. There seem to be two opinions on Malta - a bit like Marmite , you like it or hate it. I can only thinks that those who hate it have had a most unfortunate experience ..maybe they had a bad hotel, bad weather, went to all the wrong places. This is my 4 th time there and each time I like it more... There is so much to do and explore from cruising the 3 ... read more