MALTA was our second port of call.
Costa Romantica was the name of our cruise liner. (My children swear I picked the boat for its name. Duh, isn’t that how its done?) Doesn’t it look out of place? Like a monster of modernity next to the ancient port of Malta?
An Maltese ruin by the seaside
Yann likes to explore ancient ruins, to look at his GPS and tell us how many inches we are from important landmarks and cliffs.
Usually on a cruise you have a few precious hours in each port….just enough of a taste to tantalize your taste buds, to get your feet wet, and make you want to come back and explore. Therefore Yann, goes with the flow, and let’s us do whatever we want…until Chelsea’s vision of travel kicks in, that is.
Chelsea likes visiting the interiors of certain buildings. She is interested in textiles. She enjoys the cultural difference of style and color, and the way the two elements blend and create movement in society.
In other words: Shopping until the boat leaves.
(Ten minutes in Malta, Yann and Sacha plan an escape from Chelsea’s desire to peek into another shop.)
Sacha seeks museums of history. Telling us facts that make us think, "Who is this kid?" and, "Where does he gather this stuff?" He knew which museums to go to, before we got off the boat. Who needs a tour guide when you have historian Sacha around?
As for me….I like to wander without map or agenda, to go into grocery stores. I like to sit in cafes, watch people, and taste the flavors of the region. If you go to Malta you must taste the deep fried, date cream, pastries. They certainly added a lush filled cushion to my plump hips.
Oh, it is also true I like to take photos of door handles.
Malta is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean. Its neighbors include, Italy and Africa. Their language is Maltese. When I heard it spoken it seemed like a mixture of english, italian, latin, arabic, and french. The words seem to bop around like numbers in a bingo barrel. "Bonjour,"…"the cost,"…"cinq euro,"…"prego," then a latin word or an arabic word would follow. I felt right at home with the mixture of languages in the same sentences.
Culture and history can be seen in door handles. Though Malta is mostly Catholic, the crescent moon and cherubs are neighbors in Malta.
Malta has incredible stone facades buildings, with wooden covered balconies. It seems on every corner there was a religious statue, and by every door a religious tiny shrine. I tripped many times on the mountain of stairs, because I was looking up instead of down. Even the flower stands had statues of Mary and Jesus. (click on photos to enlarge.)
The public transportation buses seem to shout,
"Hey lady want a ride?" I could not resist its flirtatious call. As I got off the bus and ran to the big white boat to sail away…I did make a wish to return one day.
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PS.
The bus and the mixture of language reminds me of when I first met Yann in San Francisco.
Yann took the bus to meet me at St Gabriel’s Catholic Church, (where I worked at the time.) The secretaries at the church, Patsy and Peggy, asked Yann how he got to the church that day? Yann replied in his extra heavy French accent,
"I tuke de pubic transportation."
I thought Patsy and Peggy would pee their pants they laughed so hard. The jokes never stopped at St. Gabriel’s about my romance to the Frenchman, and his pubic transportation! They had a field day with that remark.
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