Ciao arrivederci Roma, bongu Sabiha Malta

Slow down, we're moving too fast, last day in Malta and I haven't even written about Pompei and Rome, leave alone Malta.

Pompei was absolutely amazing, we had a private tour booked for all 8 of us so we were picked up in a large comfortable van right at the ship. 

The driver spoke little English,  but not for a lack of trying.  On arrival at Pompei we met up with our local guide who took us around the site with a great explanation of the ruins we came across. 

As most will know Pompei was covered in ash when mount Vesuvius exploded in 79 AD.

As it hadn't been active for hundreds of years it came as a total shock to the local population of approx 10000 by then.

It wasn't the explotion of the volcano but rather the collapse of the 6 km vortex that had been created.

It came as such a surprise that there were even loaves of bread found in the baker's oven. Once again the side is too big to see in just a few quick hours,  you need days to do it properly. 

The guide explained that we had only covered about 5% and that the new sites that were being discovered were much better due to new archaeological technology and that the paintings were much more vivid than what we had seen.

After Pompei we drove through the mountains and along the Amelfi coast with stunning scenery once again. We had a quick look in the towns of Amelfi and Solerno; it is a huge lemon growing area used for the production of lemoncello and other tasty delights.

We had a massive downpour which turned the mountains into waterfalls and due to a major accident our road back to the ship was blocked off.

So another route was found but not without the panic if we would make it back on time.

We did make it back however due to the rain even the harbour was flooded and only a very small gangplank gave us access to the ship.

Finally we were on our way, the last night on the ship, the cruise had come to an end. 

On arrival in Rome we had booked a large van to pick us up at the ship and take us direct to our accommodation. 

The company was called "share shuttle",  they primarily work between the cruise port and hotels or airport and hotels. 

It was a great service, we had booked a private van, however as the name suggests they also do last minute pick ups from hotels etc, to share the 8 seater shuttle makes it extremely affordable.

The hotel was right in the middle of town only a stone throw away from all the major sites.

We settled in and in the afternoon walked around to the Colosseum, the Forum, monument of the lost soldier and the Trevi fountain.

At night we caught up over dinner with a colleague of Wendy who was also in Rome.

Typically, the Italian waiter tried to crack on to our friend, who is single, however despite some good laughs and plenty of flirting the romance never took off.

The following day we explored more sites including the piaza Navona.

We has found this great restaurant the previous night, so 6 of us went again. 

Had half a lobster and pasta, done with fresh tomato, garlic, basil for €20, an insane price compared to what we would pay in Aus.

As we only had 2 days in Rome, the following morning was a very early start at 5 am in order to get to the airport.

Steven and Judy had already left before us for their flight to Barcelona and our friends from Tassie flew back to Aus as we took off for our next adventure "Malta", where more of the family will join us.

A very short 50 minute flight got us into Malta and we had an unusual but very friendly passenger behind us, a 4 month old dachshund named "Blue", his owner had blue hair, the stewardess also fell in love and even took him up front to the pilot for an introduction.

We picked up our hire car for the next 8 days and made our way to our accommodation in Rabat.

First impressions: 

I felt like we had arrived in a country like the middle east, All buildings are sandstone, and I mean ALL.

The drivers are erratic and have never heard of indicators, but to be honest there are more cars in Malta than people with a population of approx 550.000

The country roads are very narrow with stone walls on both sides and an abundance of fennel and prickly pears everywhere.

The language is a mix of Arabic,Italian/Sicilian and English which I shall never master.

After settling at our accommodation we caught up with the rest of the family being Wendy's daughter, her parents, sister, brother in law and 3 adult children.

As we only had 8 days to explore we ventured out to the old city of Mdina or also called the silent city.  We are staying right outside the old city wall entrance and overlook it from our window. 

The city dates back to the 8th century BC and was then known as Maleth. In the 11th century AD the city was renamed Mdina, and it is fortified by a large city wall.

The following day we tried to get a boat to the blue grotto, but the ocean was way too rough and no boats could get out, so we explored the township instead and climbed one of the many fortress towers.

During times of attack they were used a posts but they were also unique in the way that each tower around the island could see the next and by lighting a fire the message was sent around the island that there were enemies arriving. 

We have also visited the Mosta Church where during WW II a bomb was dropped through the domed roof,  landed inside where people were attending a mass,  but never exploded. 

There are many different stories as to why it didn't explode, with some calling it a miracle. 

The church itself is beautiful with lots of light coming in,  very vivid paintings and a fantastic domed roof.

Of course lunch is normally on the go with plenty of pastizzi shops around every corner.

The main flavours are pea, ricotta, chicken and mushroom or anchovy.

They are flaky, hot and crispy pastry and all for the cost of 50 or 60 cents each.

The other thing they do is a pizza slice,  being more like a foccacia base with topping on it for €1.

The other day we hired a private yacht which ţook us all around the coast and the island of Comino and briefly into the harbour of Gozo.

Absolutely stunning scenery all along the coast with many caves (grottos), high cliffs and mesmerising lagoons and bays.

Some of us had a swim but their screams could be heard when entering the water as we are still early in the year and the water is only about 17 degrees. 

Also there are some very nasty jellyfish around, and one of the group got nastily stung. 

The north side of the island became too rough with the wind so we moved south where we spent the afternoon lazing on deck,  swimming and generally relaxing in the most beautiful bay. 

There are some highlights on this holiday and this is definitely in the top 5.

The main reason for this trip is to meet with all the family.

My father in law is one of 10 sons of which only 3 remain and there is a multitude of cousins and offspring running over 4 generations.

So one of the nights we had a large family dinner and gathered all in a sea side restaurant in Sliema.

We shared a lovely meal, drinks and happy banter with about 30 of us.

The weather was atrocious with an extreme south westerly wind blowing, whipping the sea up into a crazy whirlpool with huge waves crashing.

Apparently 2 people were killed as they were silly enough to enter the water.we have also visited the ancient town of Valetta, also well known for its involvement during WWII .

We have seen the world renowned Mdina glass at the glass blowing factory which is stunning.

As Wendy used to live here from the age of 7 to about 11 we have also visited a few old houses and reminisced.

The best was when she found out that an old girlfriend that used to live next door was also in Malta just for a week from the UK.

Pure coincidence and a MUST to catch up after 47 odd years, even though they used to be pen pals ( only some of you old enough will understand that concept otherwise google it 😜)

We have eaten out every night even though we wished that we had a kitchen where we could cook with the freshest local produce which you can pick up for a song, very cheap.

Yesterday being Sunday we ventured out to the Marsaxlokk market which is mainly fresh produce and fish straight from the boats moored in the harbour.

Another highlight and especially as we ran into chef Ainsley Harriott who was filming an episode called "the taste of Malta.

We actually had a small conversation with him and photos taken.

Last night we had another family dinner with a cousin and her adult children, fantastic to experience some normal home life after being on the road for so many weeks.

We also did St Peter's pool, a beach cliff location where under normal circumstances people will cliff jump,  however due to the huge swell and massive waves this should not have been possible; however there are idiots in this world and he jumped,  followed by wave after wave rolling into the cave, and you could see him panic and struggling to survive and not being slammed into the rocks.

People were actually crying that they didn't want to witness him drowning.

He did get out eventually 🙄.

No doubt there are so many more stories that I haven't even touched on but tomorrow we fly to Holland to visit my family for another week or so.

3 hours of sleep remains before the alarm goes to head to the airport. 

Time for some shut eye.

Till next time, I thank you Malta and all the family for a wonderful week.