Libya - February 2009 - Day Trip to Nalut and Kabaw

Went to Nalut and Kabaw today with Karen and Gareth. Very cool! These are towns west of the Jada area near the Tunisia border. Nalut is the chief town of the Jebel Nefusah area. We spent our time at the old qasr, which is on the edge of a cliff. Amazing views of the southern plateaus. We visited the qasr in Kabaw as well. It was a long day, we left around 8AM and got back at 7PM. We were so hungry I ate two pieces of chicken, a rarity.

Malta, February 2009 - VIP

Karen and I had breakfast at the hotel then she went to her spa appointment and I went walking through Paceville. I went to check when the grocery store opens, by my surprise it opened at 9AM. I picked up lots of cheese. I met back up with Karen then we checked out and stored our luggage since the flight wasn’t until later. We decided to go for a walk and find a place for lunch. We ran into Gwen in the lobby, she was working on her laptop. We started talking and found out about my favorite driver Hassam. He was fired for being hit, what? She was very upset about that. Karen and I left for lunch, we ended up at one of the restaurants on Spinola Bay. It was great. We then walked up to the Bay Street shopping complex where I found my new trimmer and Karen found additional luggage. On our way back, we ran into Gwen and Maureen. We talked for a while then went our separate ways. We chilled out in the hotel lounge area for a while. I suggested that we head up to the roof deck. There was no one there but had awesome views of the area. We eventually got our ride back to the airport. We ran into Andrew at the check-in line. We arrived back in Tripoli on time. When I exited the boarding bridge, I noticed an airport official holding an AECOM sign. I said I was from AECOM and two others were on board as well. We flagged down Karen and Andrew then were escorted to the customs room where the airport official took our passports and processed them before anyone else in the room. We then were escorted down to baggage claim to await our checked luggage. After collecting the luggage we exited out to the waiting area were our AECOM drivers met us. This took all of 15 minutes of which the majority of the time was waiting for our checked luggage. I found out the next day that Omar had arranged for this VIP service, NICE!

Malta, February 2009 - Gozo!

What an awesome day in Gozo! Karen and I were picked up at the hotel, drove to other nearby hotel for other passengers. We arrived at the north end of Malta and got on the ferry to Gozo. The sea was very ruff even for a large ship. The ferry rocked back and forth the whole trip, which was only 20 minutes. We were segregated into groups, our group was about 50 people. We got on our tour bus and started our tour of Gozo. First stop was an ancient ruin, Temple of Ggantija. I was not dressed for the cool temperatures and wind, so I bought a sweater at one of the souvenir huts. Then we headed to the bay of Xlendi (X is pronounced as Shi) to view the Azur Window at Dwejra. This one site was worth the whole trip. It is much larger than I expected. I could have stayed for two or three hours taking pictures and just soaking in the sea breeze. Nevertheless, we only had 20 minutes. When I was taking pictures of the Azur Window, the wind picked up and was blowing more than 60 MPH in my face. If the wind were blowing at my back, I would have been blow into the sea. We then headed to lunch, which blew me away. We were taken to a seaside restaurant and feed a great meal, not expected for a tour group. We were given 90-minutes to eat and sitesee before the bus was to leave. Went down to the bay and shoot photos of the area. The last stop was the capital, Victoria. Karen and I went shopping and found a gourmet food shop were we purchased Gwen’s Champaign and chocolates. Then we needed a drink so we popped into a small café, we went upstairs and had a beer. After a long day, we headed back to the ferry. The ride was the same except just before we docked the ship started plunging up and down by what seemed to be 100 foot. Then the shipped stopped and we were docked. Back at the hotel, Karen and I rested until dinnertime. I had a message from Andrew, he wanted to get together for dinner and after hour activities. Therefore, we met him in Paceville and ate at the German restaurant, Little Things. The restaurant was not as good as everyone said. Andrew and Karen wanted to go dancing but I was heading back, so we decided to have coffee at a fancy café’. Then we went home.

Malta, February 2009 - Glassblowers & Madeline’s Cottage

Had breakfast with Deb and Karen, we decided to head out to the crafts area near Mdina. We took the bus and missed the stop so we hopped on another bus that dropped us off. Then it started hailing. We went into several shops, the first had a café’ were we ate lunch. At the end of the road we found the Phoenician Glassblowers factory.  I was able to go to the back and watch them make glassware.  We headed back to the hotel and met backup in the lounge for cocktails before dinner. We went to Madeline’s Cottage for another excellent dining experience. The waiter recognized us from four months ago, I was impressed. I ordered the same meal I had last time, it was identical, amazing! Afterwards, our driver did not show up. Therefore, we arranged for another driver. When we left, the original driver arrived but it was too late. We ran into the driver at the main desk, he was upset so we said we would pay for the ride to the restaurant. We then had cocktails in the lounge. Steve and his girlfriend showed up and hung out with us the rest of the night.

Malta, February 2009 - Le Meridian

Heading for Malta after work. Got on the airport villa van, we dropped off the residents, and picked Andrew. On the way to the airport, Steve called and said he would meet us there. I had forgotten that he was on our flight. The flight was late but that was ok. We arrived in Malta, our driver was waiting for us. Steve had to stay behind for his girlfriend’s flight. First time at the Le Meridian, my room at is awesome! I think I will stay here from now on. I went down to the lounge to wait on Karen. I saw Patrick, he came over I told him that Andrew was looking for him and that he was staying at the Corinthia. We hung out for awhile then called it a night.