Another Maltese Week

Valletta as approached by the Sliema Ferry.

After returning from Turkey, we attended a lecture on the glories of glass making by an expert from the British Victoria and Albert Museum. I learned: Venetian glass invoked the highest mastery of skill and even in Roman times glass was made to hold ointments and perfumes.  That same evening, we met Jan and Ellen at the Phoenicia Hotel to hear their travel tales of Uzbekistan. They found the country fascinating. We left them with a fond good-bye as they leave for their summer home in France.  We attended another lecture from a Scottish professor about the appropriateness of experiments in the marketing field. I found the lecture basic, describing research designs but I needed to realize that marketers relied on focus groups not random sampling techniques.  

A gathering of special people.

Any reason to make chocolate chip cookies!

 Wednesday, April 29 was a wonderful evening. I had cooked meatballs and a roasted vegetable lasagna and prepared a salad and brownies for all of our friends in Malta (that is about 13 people) to join us for dinner and then to view the fireworks in the Grand Harbour from our balcony.  Collectively our group of nine adults and 6 kids over spring break had traveled to Italy, Scotland, Ireland, Turkey, Greece, France and Spain.  So, the discussion was full of international tales. The families with young ones headed home before the midnight viewing featuring the conclusion of the International Fireworks Shows (2 other firework shows were performed earlier in the week at other bays.) 

Crowds below our galleria awaiting the fireworks.

 This final night also commemorated 10 years of European Union membership for Malta.  Twelve small barges and a larger one were floated out on the water in the late afternoon before dark.   For the two nights previously, the lighting system around the harbor was tested (it woke me as I thought lightning was lighting up our windows.)  Speakers were set up on our side of the harbor and on the 3 different points across the water.  The large golden walls of the Fort St. Angelo, directly across from us, was used as a screen for videos (mostly advertisements) but also a clip denoting  Malta’s growth these past 10 years in the EU.  A singer was performing  karaoke to lively music as we waited for midnight.

Spectacular!

Was it worth the wait!!  The fireworks were the most spectacular ones ever.  I think we could benefit from the creative pyrotechnic skills in the US.  Here is a you tube address for the entire show.                http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXLzKnW5Loc 

I feel so fortunate to have been standing on the 50 yard line with no one sitting in front of me for this event.

The following day was a national holiday (May 1) so we toured the War Museum in Valletta (free admission  for the holiday day) and learned a little bit more about WW2 here in Malta. One poster included information about having 20,000 hospital beds available for the wounded soldiers from Gallipoli. Friday, I joined my Iowa friend Debby and her mother, visiting from Colorado, for a tour of Casa Rocca Piccola, the only privately owned Palazzo open to the public in Valletta. It was originally built in the 16^th century for Don Pietro La Rocca, a Knight of Malta.  The Palazzo has 53 rooms, of which we toured 12.  Artwork covered every wall, collections of silver trinkets and chess pieces plus documents that go back 400 years.  The tour included their air raid shelter. It was quite roomy compared to the two other air raid shelters I have visited on the island, with one chamber able to hold 100 people. 

Mdina's Medieval Festival.

The drummers were primarily women.

Saturday, Andrew and I hopped a bus to Mdina to partake in some of the Medieval Festival events.  Just going to Mdina is wonderful.  It truly is the Fantasyland castle.  This high end real estate has people living within the fortress walls.  Mdina was the old capital, situated on a bluff. One can view the rest of the island from the fortress walls. 

Panoramic view of the northern coast. Valletta would be situated to the right edge of the picture.

We also toured the Roman Domus in neighboring Rabat.  The mosaics of this Roman home were amazing.

I would gladly give up hardwood floor for one like this.

To celebrate Earth Day, we spent Monday, May 5 near our favorite town Marsaxlokk at the Xroob L-Ghagin Nature Park.  The American Embassy had arranged a taxi for us.  We met it near the bus station.  The direct trip took less than 20 minutes much faster than our usual bus route.  Our American friends and the US Ambassador, plus the Italian Ambassador ( a graduate of Luther College in Iowa) arrived to clean up along the road. Trash collection is free in Malta but still there is illegal dumping of building materials and other trash. 

It was like an Easter Egg hunt.

View along the way.

 We were given a tour of the park facilities by the director, Vincent Attard.  Their goal is to model practices of sustainable living and to promote these practices through 1) education of elementary school children and 2) inviting schools, government agencies and corporations to use their meeting facilities and experience sustainable practices first hand. The site includes 3 different types of solar collection panels and 2 wind turbines.  A monitor in the lobby reports how much energy from each source is being generated at that moment.  Expansion plans include a hostel and animal rehabilitation especially for loggerhead turtles and hedge hogs.  The property has been planted with hundreds of trees.  Malta was deforested by the Romans and the Knights of St. John and lacks trees over most of the land so this is a wonderful effort in my eyes.

Off to grocery shop or to haul groceries.

Tuesday was grocery shopping day. This week was a treat as we took the Sliema Ferry across the other harbor of Marsamxett.  It was fun to be on the water but I am afraid it was a little harder on Andrew as he had to carry our two large grocery-laden bags a bit further and up our steep Valletta hills.

Now I am packing for our weekend trip to Sicily. The opportunities of this Malta adventure just keep coming!

Valletta's streets as we prepared to leave for Sicily.