Malta, April 2009 - Valletta

Had breakfast in the hotel. Walked over to the ferry heading to Valletta. I went straight to the Malta Experience. Not bad, afterward I headed to the Lower Barrakka Gardens. I watched the noon Siege bell ring and watched the Saluting Battery. I walked into town had lunch at a pizza café. Then wandered over to St. John’s Cathedral. I went in and took many pictures, very cool inside. Afterwards I started my search for the Lascaris War Room. I followed the directions in the Lonely Plant book and found the plaque. It was hidden just as the book said. I went through narrow corridors and ended up at a locked gate. Later I found out that it was closed indefinitely for renovations. I walked over to the Hastings Gardens, great views. I had dinner at Little Things (German restaurant). Talked with the owners about beer and food. They cooked a great meal for me. Back to the hotel for the night.

Malta, April 2009 - Harbour Cruise

After breakfast I headed to Sliema to take the Harbour Cruise. Not bad at all, I took some great shots even though it stated to rain. The cruise lasted about 90 minutes. I walked back to the hotel. Had lunch at Bonecelli’s again. Had Pepper steak, it was pretty good. Just hung out around the hotel the rest of the day worked on the journal and photos. For dinner I ate at the hotel, had a burger, which sucked.

Malta, April 2009 - Valletta and the Three Cities

My first day solo. I walked over to the Sliema docks and took the ferry over to Valletta. I walked to the Upper Barrakka Gardens to purchase tickets for the three tours; Saluting Battery, Malta at War Museum and Ft. Rinella. It was raining the entire day but I made the best of it. The only disappointment was the War Museum, I was expecting a lot more. The firing of the canons was impressive. Moreover, the 100-Ton canon at Ft. Rinella blew me away. I took the ferry back to Sliema and had dinner at Tex-Mex. It was much better this time since I knew it was not real Mexican food. Headed back to the hotel and took it easy the rest of the night.

Malta, April 2009 - Bay Street

Got up and had breakfast then went walking through the streets of Sliema looking for a fast way to get to the docks by cutting through the town. After a successful journey, I met the guys at the bar before going to lunch. We ate at Bonicelli's. We went over to Bay Street in Paceville to watch a movie, Pink Panther II. The movie was bad. This theater stops movies in the middle for a refreshment break. What a rip off. After the movie, we went to Mark & Spencer's for foodstuff. Afterward, we went to the HRC. The bartenders suck! The guy could not make a margarita. We headed back to the hotel for a proper drink. Tim and Steve are heading back to Libya this afternoon. The hotel still has not fixed the Internet connection in my room. I have to wait until tomorrow morning for the IT guys to come in and survey the problem. Researched my travels for the rest of the week then called it a night.

Malta, April 2009 - Valletta & Madeline’s Cottage

Had breakfast at the hotel. Ran into Tim in the lobby around 10AM. Told him about the trip to Sicily, he said there was no way he was getting up at 5:30AM yesterday. WE took the bus to Valletta. Did some sightseeing and shopping in Valletta. I purchased a new watch. Got back around 1PM and met up with Steve in the bar. Steve and I went to the Bistro on the ground level of the Hotel. The food was good but too fancy for lunch. We met back up at the bar around 6PM and went to Madeline’s Cottage for dinner. We ran into Darrell and invited him over to eat with us. We had had a great time. His wine selection was right on the money. Went back to hotel and had a nightcap at the bar.

Sicily, 2009 - Pozzallo, Taoimina and Mt. Etna

After only three hours of sleep I popped out of bed showered and was in the lobby by 5:30. No sign of Tim or Steve. Therefore, I knocked on Steve’s door he got up and said he would be down in a few minutes. Tim never answered his door. We got on the transit and headed to the boat. We slept most of the way got in to the port of Pozzallo around 8AM or so. Hooped on the tour bus and started our journey. We stopped in Pozzallo for a quick bite then headed to Taormina. The bus ride was two to three hours long. An hour into the ride we could start to see Mt. Etna. It is much bigger than I thought. 3,500 Meter high (10,000 Feet). It was starting to get a bit hazy, which spoiled the view, some. Taormina is on the northern coast of Sicily on a cliff overlooking the Med. We got off and had an option to go to the selected restaurant with the group or do our own thing. Steve and I decided to go at it on our own. We went into a side café for a slice of Sicilian pizza and a beer. We headed down the cliff to check out the views . We stumbled across the Giardino Trevelyan Gardens. Awesome views and great picture taken sights. We walked back to the bus and were early so we headed back to the café and ordered another round of beers. The Roman ruins were in the opposite direction that we went. Therefore, that will be another trip. We got back on the bus and headed to Mt. Etna. It was an hour or so drive. We started up the switchbacks and the terrain slowly turned into lava rock. We made in to the ground station where we were given many options. Steve and I took the lift up to the summit. It was 27€, not worth the trip. We headed back down and hit a few souvenir shops then got back on the bus. Head back to the boat, which took a few hours. We arrived at the hotel around midnight.

Malta, April 2009 - Back in Malta for a week

Left for Malta with Tim and Steve after work. Got to Malta and had dinner at Peperronis down the hill from the hotel. We started drinking in the Le Meridian bar, KuDaTa. We drank until 2AM, which was stupid because we had to catch a bus to the ferry at 5:30AM.