Disclaimer: I looked up the title of this post on Google translate, so I apologize to anyone who speaks Italian if that’s completely butchered in some way.  I considered writing the “farewell Malta” part in Maltese and the “hello, Italy” part in Italian but that just seemed unnecessarily confusing. The day we left Malta dawned… well, quite dark actually.  A taxi picked us up at 4 a.m. and so we were up by 3:30, well before the sun, getting ourselves […]

Categories: Travel Tales, Traveling

What I thought was going to be a day with nothing to really write home about (we didn’t have any particular plans and were just winging it) became a fascinating example of Gozotan culture. In the morning we ran errands and started the packing process.  We were leaving for Rome two days later and our suitcases looked like the aftermath of a tornado… or at the very least a very strong wind.  Or possibly a toddler attack.  Sadly none of […]

Categories: Travel Tales, Traveling

Tuesday was our big boat tour, the one we’d had planned for over a week and was really our only solidified plan for the week.  We had arranged it with the company the night we had dinner in Xlendi, and they agreed to pick us up a grocery store near Sarah’s grandmother’s house.  We had to be up bright and early to meet them by 9:30 to make the boat by 10 a.m. The car picked us up as scheduled […]

Categories: Travel Tales, Traveling

The next two days of the trip were a much slower affair.  To sum up (though I will be a tad more thorough): we ate and we slept. Sunday morning was spent closing up the apartment and prepping for our move to Sarah’s grandmother’s house.  Her parents were leaving the next day and for the duration of the trip we would be staying at her grandmother’s house. We stripped the beds, cleaned out the fridge, cleaned the bathroom and packed […]

Categories: Travel Tales, Traveling

The morning of the wedding offered us the opportunity to sleep in.  It was very quiet.  Sarah and her parents needed to go to Victoria to check on the jewelry that they were waiting for, but I opted out of the excursion so I could get some writing done.  And though I had been having a blast so far on the trip, I knew that a few hours on my own would do me good, since my introverted self needs […]

Categories: Travel Tales, Traveling

Before we left for the trip, we knew that one of the things we were going to be doing was a spa day.  It’s tradition for Sarah and her mom, as well as her aunt Joan, and I was tagging along for the tradition this time.  The trip to the Kempinski Spa was the fifth day of the trip, and there is not a single picture to speak of for this day.  We decided to make it a true relaxing […]

Categories: Travel Tales, Traveling

The fourth full day of the trip basically affirmed (or reaffirmed, since I’m pretty certain I’ve had this thought before in my lifetime), that eating near water makes everything taste better. We actually slowed down quite a bit today, and did not have as action packed a schedule as we had the previous three days.  However, to make up for that we had one of the most unique experiences of the entire trip – and that includes the Italy portion. […]

Categories: Travel Tales, Traveling

Today we began our adventures with a trip to the shrine at Ta’Pinu.  It was situated in the perfect spot where you could see it as you approach, and it had clear views of the island from its vantage point.  It’s an impressive building as you approach it and as you’re standing in front of it.  The longer name of Ta’Pinu is the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Ta’Pinu so you can understand the shortened […]

Categories: Travel Tales, Traveling

The day began with missing keys. We slept in a little bit and had some breakfast, taking our time to get out of the house as we had no major plans on the horizon. As we were getting ready to leave the house, Sarah’s mom realized that her keys to the apartment were missing. As we had a second set, and she knew that she had them earlier in the morning and no one had gone out, this was not […]

Categories: Travel Tales, Traveling