When I Went to Europe... (Days 46-67a)

So in order to not bore you all with the dreariness that led up to spring break, I'm skipping days 46-60... Basically I wrote a paper, ate food, slept, went to class, and breathed. The only exciting thing that happened was on day 52, March 10th, when my Welsh class went to the National Museum, St. Fagan's. It's sort of like a Plymouth Plantation type deal. I am not really sure how much I learned while I was there, but Steve, Maggie, and I did a great reenactment of a sword fight on an empty field surrounded by cool-looking trees.

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE:

MALTA (Days 61-67a)

Friday, March 19 (Day 61)
On Friday Maggie, Meg, Christine and I caught a bus from Cardiff to London and then another bus from London to Luton, where we got on a plane to Malta. The plane left at 4:00 so we spent most of the day traveling. We arrived in Malta at 8:20, where we met Meg's friend from school, Bogi, and then we took a taxi to where we were staying: an apartment in Sliema.

The apartment was beautiful. Two bedrooms, a full kitchen (with a breadbox, which I think really signifies high end living), living room with leather couches and a nice tv, two bathrooms, and a porch with an ocean view. Basically, it was amazing, and the bonus was it was really cheap.

Because it was pretty late by the time we checked in, we didn't do much. We went out to get some food (pizza) and then sat in and watched Criminal Minds and CSI, something that would become a Malta tradition for us.

Saturday, March 20 (Day 62)
We slept in a bit on Saturday before heading out to get some lunch and internet access. After lunch at a nice cafe with free wi-fi, we met up with Meg's cousin Jackie, who showed us around the area and brought us to a grocery store so we could stock up on some food for the week. We also got some amazing gelato at a gelateria on the way home. We ended off our laidback day with more Criminal Minds and CSI.

Sunday, March 21 (Day 63)
Sunday was another laid back day. We ended up hanging around the area again. Meg and Bogi went to the pool in our apartment building, and Maggie, Christine, and I decided to head down to the shore for some reading. Unfortunately, our reading time was cut short (we actually didn't read at all because we were goofing around and talking) when a not so big wave splashe dup against the rocks we were sitting on and got us all soaked... while two nice Maltese ladies just stood and watched. I'm sure we were very entertaining.

We headed back to the apartment and met up with Meg and Bogi to go see a movie. I am also pretty sure that I offended the Maltese people in the theater when I burst into laughter because there was an intermission halfway through the movie. Once again, we watched Criminal Minds, even though it was a repeat.

Monday, March 22 (Day 64)
On Monday, we finally decided to do something productive. We headed out to Comino, one of the other Maltese islands. We had to take a bus up to the north of Malta and then a ferry to Comino, specifically, the Blue Lagoon, which sounds like a Disney World water ride but is waaay better.

When we got to Comino, we wanted to explore to find a sandy beach. Instead we ended up climbing up a cliff face in our bathing suits (luckily I was also wearing jeans, but that wasn't the case for everyone) and wandering around in shrubbery for an hour. However, our trek led us to some great views of cliffs and rocks and really pretty blue water and eventually, a sandy beach right next to where we started.

We all walked in the water, but Maggie, Christine, and I actually swam in the Mediterranean Sea, which was really fun, but a bit cold. Our swim was cut a little short by the appearance of a jelly fish, but we got in a good half hour of swimming in the most beautifully clear water I have ever seen. After our swim, we sat on the beach (I made a sweet sandcastle) and read/wrote until it was time for the last ferry to leave. On the ferry back, we were given a tour of the sea caves near Comino.

We decided to go out when we got back, but because the drinking age in Malta is 17 (technically 16, but only 17 in public) we felt kind of old for the scene and went back to the apartment for, you guessed it, some Criminal Minds and CSI.

Tuesday, March 23 (Day 65)
On Tuesday, we decided to check out Valetta, the capital of Malta. We took a bus there and walked around in the city all day. Our first stop of the day was St. Paul's Shipwreck Church, which was gorgeous. Apparently, Paul was shipwrecked on Malta, and the church was erected in memory of that event. In one of the cases is supposedly Paul's wristbone.

For the rest of the day, we wandered around the city, taking in the architecture and beauty of the whole city. We accidentally ran into Jackie again and had coffee with her and some of her friends. We also saw a fashion shoot, which was pretty cool.

Wednesday, March 24 (Day 66)
For our last full day in Malta, we decided to venture to another of the islands, Gozo. We had to take a ferry, and then we took a taxi up to the Ghantija Megalithic Temple. The temple is older than the pyramids, and we were able to walk in to some of it, but a lot of it was roped off to keep it preserved. The temple was pretty cool, and we also took some very fashionable photos behind a nice palm tree next to the temple.

After the temple, we got some lunch and headed inland to the capital of Gozo, Victoria. In Victoria we went to the Citadella, or Citadel. The Citadel is a historic fortified city which is dated around 1500BC during the Bronze age. We hit the Citadel at a great time because it wasn't too full and we were able to wander around in an almost deserted city.

Thursday, March 25 (Day 67a)
When Christine, Maggie and I woke up the next morning, Meg and Bogi had already caught their flight to their next destination, Barcelona. Christine, Maggie and I headed into Valetta for the morning (we walked around and did some last minute gift shopping) before heading to the airport.

At the airport, Maggie and I said goodbye to Christine, who was heading back to Wales to meet up with her family. Maggie and I boarded a plane to Bari, Italy.

ITALY (Days 67b-76) & FRANCE (Days 77-79a) & BACK IN THE U.K. (Days 79b-88)
Coming soon...