After a very early morning, and full day of planes trains and automobiles travel (train to Bristol, flew Bristol-->Malta, funny old bus from airport-->Valetta, Taxi from Valetta-->Sliema), we arrived at our hostel/guest house, which was by far the nicest hostel I've ever seen. I'm not sure how we stumbled upon it though, as we were the youngest guests by about fifty years. Seriously, when we walked into breakfast the first monring, there wasn't a head in the room that wasn't either bald or gray. ...and they all turned to stare at us. But it was a lovely place, and the breakfast every morning was giant, delicious, and free.
The first night, we headed out to the water , and found a cute little restaurant with delicious food.
To which Liz became immediately attached.The next day we jumped on an open-top tour bus, and were taken around the south side of the island. Our first stop was the great harbor in Valetta, where we saw some beautiful gardens and gorgeous views of the water.
Then after some walking tours of the surrounding cities, we went to the Tarxien temples, which are apparently the oldest free-standing structures in Europe (or something like that). Here's the bottom half of the "fat lady" statues--though we learned that archaeologists believe that the statue was top half man, bottom half woman, and made to pray for fertility.
Post-temples, the bus took us to Marsaxlokk, a wee charming fishing village on the south side of the island. We stopped there for lunch, and to check out the adorable fishing boats.
The rest of the bus tour was lots of fun--we went to a place called the blue grotto, a series of caves in the side of the island that we got to check out on a teeny tiny boat (we tried to forget that they found giant sharks near this part of the island whilst on the boat), and then we drove back to Sliema by way of some beautiful coastal towns.
Post-temples, the bus took us to Marsaxlokk, a wee charming fishing village on the south side of the island. We stopped there for lunch, and to check out the adorable fishing boats.
The rest of the bus tour was lots of fun--we went to a place called the blue grotto, a series of caves in the side of the island that we got to check out on a teeny tiny boat (we tried to forget that they found giant sharks near this part of the island whilst on the boat), and then we drove back to Sliema by way of some beautiful coastal towns. Day 3 in Malta we did the north tour with the same bus company, which took us first to a catholic church where a WWII bomb fell through the roof, but didn't go off. Here's the roof, now patched (and that I think rather looks like an eyeball).
The rest of the north tour took us through some craft villages, to the old capital city of Mdina, where we had lunch, and then through the Maltese countryside and north coast. Both days it was just lovely to sit on the top of the bus, feel the (crazy, hair do-destroying) breeze, and soak up the sun while we saw the sights.
Our final night malta we returned to the restaurant from night 1. I got soup that came with...
A CUP of bacon. And with that, Malta will always have a special place in my heart.
Okay, so then it was on to Roma, la cita eterna.
The Trevi fountain! We knew, of course, that we'd find it eventually, but it was such a wonderful surprise to just stumble upon it. Claud took a picture with it (and so did we, many, many times over). I think Liz and I both fell in love with the fountain that night, as we returned each night we were in the city.
Day 2, Saturday, was Vatican day! This was 17 years of Catholic education in the making for me, and Liz was curious to see what all the fuss (/intrigue/controversy/scandal) was about...I was glad to play tourguide for all of those purposes. We also got a real tourguide to take us through the Vatican museum & sistine chapel.
(St. Peter's, with the pope's balcony in the middle...we know you're in there....)
Claud took a forbidden photo inside the sistine chapel--here he is with Michelangelo's Last Judgement behind him.
After our foray into Popeland, we wandered down to the Castel St Angelo, got some (surprisingly terrible) pizza from a street vendor, and made some new friends...
On Sunday, we went to a MASSIVE fleamarket in southwest Rome, which was packed, but thankfully not with tourists (whom we came to despise even though we counted among them). Found lots of pretty beads, which we strung into neckalces (and felt very accomplished indeed).
The rest of the north tour took us through some craft villages, to the old capital city of Mdina, where we had lunch, and then through the Maltese countryside and north coast. Both days it was just lovely to sit on the top of the bus, feel the (crazy, hair do-destroying) breeze, and soak up the sun while we saw the sights.
Our final night malta we returned to the restaurant from night 1. I got soup that came with...
A CUP of bacon. And with that, Malta will always have a special place in my heart.Okay, so then it was on to Roma, la cita eterna.
Day 1 we checked into a (still nice, but not as baller as Malta's) hostel, headed to the Spanish Steps, the Piazza del Popolo, down a main shopping street, passed by the Pantheon (which was closed for some reason), had dinner in the Piazza Navona overlooking the Fountain of Four Rivers (and our maitre d' plied us with free prosecco), and then wandered home, where we came across...
The Trevi fountain! We knew, of course, that we'd find it eventually, but it was such a wonderful surprise to just stumble upon it. Claud took a picture with it (and so did we, many, many times over). I think Liz and I both fell in love with the fountain that night, as we returned each night we were in the city.Day 2, Saturday, was Vatican day! This was 17 years of Catholic education in the making for me, and Liz was curious to see what all the fuss (/intrigue/controversy/scandal) was about...I was glad to play tourguide for all of those purposes. We also got a real tourguide to take us through the Vatican museum & sistine chapel.
(St. Peter's, with the pope's balcony in the middle...we know you're in there....)Claud took a forbidden photo inside the sistine chapel--here he is with Michelangelo's Last Judgement behind him.
After our foray into Popeland, we wandered down to the Castel St Angelo, got some (surprisingly terrible) pizza from a street vendor, and made some new friends...
On Sunday, we went to a MASSIVE fleamarket in southwest Rome, which was packed, but thankfully not with tourists (whom we came to despise even though we counted among them). Found lots of pretty beads, which we strung into neckalces (and felt very accomplished indeed).
Then for lunch, we headed to the Colosseum.
We sat literally across the street and basked in its ancient glory. Couldn't really head in, though, because the Rome marathon was happening that day and finished in that very spot.
But we came back on Monday to do it properly!
We sat literally across the street and basked in its ancient glory. Couldn't really head in, though, because the Rome marathon was happening that day and finished in that very spot.But we came back on Monday to do it properly!
We also checked out the Palatine Hill, the Imperial Fora and the Roman Forum, all of which were impressive in their preserved-ruins state.
So, when in Rome...
We ate loads of Italian food (that was not quite as amazing as we'd hoped), saw the sights (which were definitely as amazing as we'd hoped) and did as the Romans did, crossing the streets whilst dodging vespas, and saying things like ciao, bella (okay, that was mostly me).
Sad to go (though exhausted from our Roman adventures), Liz and I boarded our RyanAir flight and bid arrivederci to bella Italia...
(And loved flying over the Alps. We tried to convince the pilot to stop and ski, but were unsuccessful).
So for the past week I've been home and trying to get my work together, with mixed results. The theory essay is so close to being submittable quality, but the options paper leaves a lot to be desired (namely, a complete and coherent options paper). Very little else has been happening, though some Kellogg friends and I made a weekend journey to Cadbury world (post to follow). Otherwise, it's been working and daydreaming of PARIS...I leave in two days!
So, when in Rome...
We ate loads of Italian food (that was not quite as amazing as we'd hoped), saw the sights (which were definitely as amazing as we'd hoped) and did as the Romans did, crossing the streets whilst dodging vespas, and saying things like ciao, bella (okay, that was mostly me).Sad to go (though exhausted from our Roman adventures), Liz and I boarded our RyanAir flight and bid arrivederci to bella Italia...
(And loved flying over the Alps. We tried to convince the pilot to stop and ski, but were unsuccessful). So for the past week I've been home and trying to get my work together, with mixed results. The theory essay is so close to being submittable quality, but the options paper leaves a lot to be desired (namely, a complete and coherent options paper). Very little else has been happening, though some Kellogg friends and I made a weekend journey to Cadbury world (post to follow). Otherwise, it's been working and daydreaming of PARIS...I leave in two days!
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