Valletta, Malta

Greetings from Malta! Neither of us had visited the island before, so we took an all-day tour, to hopefully see and learn as much as possible. My mother will blog about the sights we saw in the morning, so I’ll write a little here about our lunch and travels in the afternoon.

After visiting Mdina and Tarxien in the morning, our group ate a lunch of typical Maltese cuisine. I don’t know about you, but before today I had no idea what Maltese food was like! The buffet had many cold or room temperature salads, including olives stuffed with meat, sausages cut up with sun-dried tomatoes, marinated mushrooms, chickpea paste, red lentil paste, shredded carrots and red cabbage in a vinaigrette, and a hard, feta-like cheese encrusted in black pepper.

After lunch, we returned to Valletta, which is where the Emerald Princess was docked. Valletta, the capital of Malta, is named after La Valette, the first Grand Master of the Knights of Malta who founded the city when the knights took over the island in the 16th century.

The stamp of the Knights of Malta is all over the island. The distinctive Maltese cross appears on banners and in carvings everywhere, and nowhere more than inside the Co-cathedral of St. John in Valletta. On the outside, the building is quite plain, but the interior of the cathedral is completely covered with sumptuous, gilded decoration and furnished with precious objects, many of which were gifts sponsored by the island’s knightly rulers.

The downtown area in Valletta is mostly pedestrian only, and the streets and buildings are all made of distinctive limestone. The climate in Malta is very arid, so even though it was cloudy all day, it never rained, and the city all looks like a dry, dusty beige. Valletta was heavily bombed during World War II, so many of the buildings have been reconstructed. The photo below shows the columns remaining from a famous opera house that was destroyed. The city has recently decided not to rebuild the opera house, but instead to turn it into an outdoor amphitheater, which they’re currently in the process of building.

Malta is also an interesting place because of its unique language. Maltese is a member of the Semitic language family, related to Hebrew and Arabic, and it’s the only such language that is written with the Latin alphabet. Check out the sign below for an example of the same sentences in English and Maltese, as well as a convenient diagram reminding visitors not to pitch themselves from the city walls.

Finally, here’s a panoramic view of the harbor as we were sailing away. Farewell to Malta!

More sights from Seville

Here are a few more pictures to add to my mom's excellent description of our visit to Seville:

Seville is full of orange trees - they're everywhere from the courtyard inside the cathedral to lining the streets. Our tour guide stopped briefly in a shady, quiet square in the Jewish Quarter to talk with us for a few moments. We heard a loud "thump" behind us, which turned out to be this big orange dropping out of a tree onto a bench. Good thing no one was sitting there!

Here are a couple more pictures from downtown, including another perspective on the Giralda tower, and the colors and sights of a square near the cathedral:

June 14 - Cádiz and Sevilla

We arrived before sunrise at the port of Cádiz.  From the stern of our ship I could see the lighted cathedral with an almost full moon shining above it.  It was quite beautiful. We met early for our tour to Sevilla, the capital of Andalucia.  Our ride took us through  an agricultural plain.  Many of the fields were bright yellow from the blooming sunflowers planted in them. 

Our first stop in Sevilla took us on a short walk through the Murillo Park and briefly through the Jewish Quarter to the Reales Alcázares, the Royal Palaces, of Sevilla.  The building was first begun by the Moors who occupied Spain for several hundred years.  After the Reconquista by the Christians the building was added on to in what is known as the Mudejar style, a combination of Moorish and European architecture.  The palace is the oldest continuously used one in Europe since it is the home of the Spanish royal family when they are in Sevilla.

View into the Visitor's Courtyard

I was fascinated by the many styles of arches seen from one room to the next

The palace gardens

The palace reminded me of the Alhambra Palace in Granada.  The walls and arches are covered with delicate stuccowork which looks like filigree.  The rooms are arranged around lovely courtyards which always included pools and fountains.   The larger courtyard had orange trees planted around the pool at a height that people walking around the perimeter could reach out and pick an orange.  As we left the palace we walked through the extensive gardens.  The scents of jasmine and myrtle filled the air and the place was an oasis of tranquility despite being not far from a busy street.

Next door to the palace is the Cathedral of Sevilla with its most famous feature, the Giralda Tower.  The  site was originally a mosque and the Tower was its minaret.  Construction began in 1186.  After the reconquest by King Fernando III, it was decided that the Moorish building would be used as a Christian church and in 1248 work began.  The area around Sevilla is subject to earthquakes and large parts of the building were subsequently destroyed.  In 1401 the king decided to build the grandest cathedral in the world there and over the next hundred years the current building arose.  The minaret (the Giralda Tower) was incorporated into what still is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world.  In 1511, only five years after its completion, the central dome collapsed and work began again.  Over the centuries various earthquakes have caused damage but the structure remains essentially as it was envisioned back in the 15^th century.  It is the home of Christopher Columbus’ tomb.  There have been debates and disputes over the actual location of his burial place, but after a study conducted using DNA, it was determined that the remains in the cathedral are indeed his.  Columbus spent his last years in a dispute with Spain (in fact he was imprisoned for awhile); hence he didn't want to be buried in Spanish soil.  His son fought to have his father's name cleared and reputation restored. When his remains were finally brought to Spain and interred his sarcophagus was placed above ground suspended by four figures representing four regions of Spain as you can see in the picture below.

Giralda Tower next to the Cathedral

Columbus' Tomb

We were lucky because we got to see something really unusual during our visit.  At some time in the past during a Papal visit, children performed a Spanish dance in front of the main altar for the Pope.  One usually doesn’t see dancing in a church!  Today a group of school children were rehearsing to perform the same thing on the Feast of Corpus Christi.  A chorus of girls sang accompanied by an orchestra as the boys practiced their dance and played with castanets in front of the altar.  My picture is a little blurry since they were moving but I posted it anyway.

After lunch we made our final stop at the Plaza de España.  This is a magnificent complex of Spanish renaissance buildings which was Spain’s pavilion for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 held in Sevilla.  The ceramic tile work adorning the buildings and the square were beautiful and represented the provinces of Spain.  The buildings looked a little familiar because parts of them have been used in some films including Lawrence of Arabia and a Star Wars film.

After our brief stop (which was enough since by that time the temperature had climbed to around 114°), it was time to make the drive back to Cádiz.  Within just a few minutes of our return, the ship sailed for our next port in Malta.

June 12 – In the Bay of Biscay

Our ride down to Southampton yesterday was relatively quick with the only traffic we encountered near the port itself.  Check-in was smooth and we were onboard in our cabin within minutes.  We deposited our carry on bags, and as we headed out our door we found our luggage there in the companionway already.  After lunch we had just enough time to unpack before our muster drill.  I don’t know about the other stations but at ours we were among the few Americans.  It seems most passengers are from the United Kingdom and from conversations I’ve heard many have done this itinerary in prior years.

We sailed close to five o’clock (a little later than scheduled).  It was a lovely evening as we sailed down the Solent and out into the Channel.  There were lots of sailboats  around and at one point we passed a race.  After a nice dinner in Sabatinis we called it a night.  By the way, our waiter there told us that the menu in Sabatini’s will be changing in a few days.  They are eliminating the salt-crusted fish and replacing it with a grilled fish.  The veal chop will be changed for another veal entrée.  If it happens while we’re on the ship we’ll let you know any other differences.

A castle and one of the many sailboats we saw

Sailboats racing as we passed on our way to the Channel

Our voyage today through the Bay of Biscay has been incredibly calm.  There is nary a whitecap to be seen and the sky has been almost completely cloudless.  Apparently this is not the usual sea condition.  During the noon report from the bridge, the watch officer told us the Bay is known for its rough seas.  The weather gods must be smiling on us!  The temperature is a little on the cool side at around 65°.  This afternoon we played our first Scrabble game.  I lost by one point.  For me playing against Katie that’s nearly a win!  I usually get beaten by a mile.

Not much else to report at the moment.  It has been a lazy and relaxing day with another one to come tomorrow.

A sunny afternoon in London

Greetings! I'm excited to embark on our latest journey, and as my mom posted yesterday, we had a lovely afternoon walking around London yesterday. With only a few hours, we didn't have time to see many sights, but we enjoyed ourselves a lot! Here are a couple of photos to add to yesterday's post, while I've still got free and fast wifi.

Here's my mom enjoying tea at the Wolseley café:

And here's a scene from Green Park of the lovely day (the chairs are rented by the hour):

June10 - London

After very nice flights we arrived in London to an absolutely gorgeous day. Every Londoner we encountered told us to enjoy the day because it was the exception not the rule for early summer here.  We checked into our hotel, got cleaned up and changed, and took the underground to Green Park.  Katie hadn’t been to The Woolsely, one of my favorite places, so we walked there first.  Our intention was to have a late lunch but it was nearly teatime and it looked so good, that we decided on that instead.  Katie will post a photo of our tea later I think.

Next we were off for a walk on this beautiful day.  We strolled through the Park which was full of people enjoying the sunshine, pleasant temperature and breeze.  The grassy areas were dotted with chairs and blankets. At the end of the park we came to Buckingham Palace.  I’ve been here many times before and never seen it!  We must have always turned just before getting there.  Anyway, the flag was flying over the palace and I think I read once that it means the queen is in residence.  She didn’t come out to say hello or invite us in for tea though. We watched the guards pace back and forth.  This one Katie caught was really intent on his form.

Katie sitting by the pool of the Victoria Memoria

It was such a lovely day that we kept on down The Birdcage, past St. James Park to Westminster.  Can you tell we are in love with the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, especially when the sky is such a brilliant blue?  We thought we’d go in the Abbey, but unfortunately it was closed for the day.  By this time we were both winding down fast so it was time to make our way “home” for the night.  We decided to walk up past the Horse Guards Barracks and Trafalgar Square to the Leicester Square underground station. 

Some iconic London landmarks 

Parliament with the flag flying in the breeze (we were into flags today!)

I loved the way the wrought iron fence around Parliament framed Big Ben

By the time we arrived back at the hotel and finally settled into our room, my Fitbit said I’d walked  just shy of 16,000 steps or 6.87 miles.  My knees and feet can attest to it!

I've added quite a few photos because our wi-fi is so good here. That probably won't be the case once we're on the ship.  I'll try not to overdue it, but it was such a lovely day that I couldn't resist sharing.

Tomorrow we’ll be going down to Southampton to board the Emerald Princess.  We hope today’s weather was an omen of good things to come.

Ah, I'm into the not-so-fun part of a cruise - getting there!  Al drove me up to Dulles to catch my flight. The ride was uneventful and we had a very nice lunch at a restaurant we like in nearby Herndon, VA.  I had him drop me at the Departures area so he can head back down to Newport News ahead of rush hour traffic. Unfortunately they don't begin check-in for close to two hours, but I have a seat and an iPad and I'm good to go.  I actually enjoy watching people in an airport like this one so the time should pass quickly.  Katie leaves from Boston later in the evening. More later.