How could I have forgotten to include this bit of information in yesterday's post?? Check out the beautiful piece of art we discovered on the landing between the 5th and 6th decks while we were forced to climb about 30 flights of stairs per day due to the elevators being shut down during the horrible weather. "They say this ship is unsinkable!"
I mean, seriously. Even Kate is like, "Leo, shut the hell up!"Aaaaanyway. When we finally docked in Malta, after three rough days at sea, stepping out onto dry land was one of the most incredible feelings in the world. At first, we were a bit put off by the idea of staying in Malta for two days rather than one, just because we knew nothing about it as a country, but we all ended up falling in love with the beauty of this tiny, little known island.
Part of what was so fascinating about Malta was how it has taken its history of Roman, Arab, and British rule and fused it into its own completely unique culture. The country only received its independence from the British following World War II, and they are so fiercely proud of their history and eventual independence. I've never been anywhere quite like it, and particularly fell in love with the tiny town of Mdina, the original capitol of the island. We wandered the winding streets, visited St. Paul's Cathedral, and peeked into some of the many miniscule chapels that were scattered throughout the town.
We made our way back to the port city of Valletta where we first stopped at the Upper Barracca Gardens, overlooking the Mediterranean and the Naval Fort. In the mid 1500s, the same Knights of St. John who built the English walled city of Rhodes, came to Malta and assisted in defending its people against the Turks. Once the siege was over and the Knights were victorious, Jean Parisot de la Valette planned the city of Valletta, and noting the fact that fresh water was hard to come by in its dry climate, ensured that there was one very large garden to be shared by all of the residents. Hence the Upper and Lower Barracca Gardens. We then went to the National Museum of Archaeology which houses artifacts from stone structures older than the pyramids of Egypt, and St. John's Co-Cathedral where the famous Carravaggio, The Beheading of St. John the Baptist is hung in a chapel.
Our second day in Malta greeted us with grey skies and drizzling rains. We waited as long as we could, hoping the weather would pass, then braved the day with umbrellas in hand. We had a delicious lunch in the city, then made our way to the Casa Rocca Piccola, one of the few palazzos still remaining as a single family dwelling. We even had the pleasure of meeting Marquis de Piro as he was setting out Christmas cards in his living room, and his wife the Marquisse who served us hot mulled wine! My mom and I were then sucked into The Silversmith's Shop where we scooped up loads of stunningly beautiful silver jewelry for astoundingly low prices.
Unfortunately, shortly after that, as we were making our way back to the ship, my poor daddy BROKE HIS FOOT. Yes, walking down the sidewalk, I suddenly heard a loud popping noise, thought he had stepped on a rock, but in actuality that was the sound of BONES BREAKING. And we still had about 20 minutes of walking ahead of us, and not a single cab to be found. Remember how all the x-ray machines were broken in the storm? Yeah, when we tried to see the ship's doctor, we were told that if he thought his foot was broken, we'd be disembarked in Malta to receive medical care there. So, we decided his foot was not, in fact, broken.
We had one FINAL DESTINATION ahead of us when we returned to Barcelona, and still the Universe was not done having its sadistic way with us...

This will be so helpful in doing my scrapbook! I totally failed in my journalling since the book never was packed along with all those other things that were forgotten:) The Old Warrior is barely limping anymore -
Posted by: The Incubator | January 27, 2011 at 04:28 PM
Dude. This is insane!
Posted by: Miriam | January 27, 2011 at 05:15 PM
Wow, you guys really covered all the Horrific Vacation bases, didn't you? ;)
Posted by: Jenn | January 27, 2011 at 07:18 PM
Injuries in foreign countries are generally disallowed. Please advise the Old Warrior for future trips. :-) Glad he is feeling better.
Posted by: sophie | January 27, 2011 at 11:26 PM