Malta

Yesterday was turn around day for the 4 'kids' arriving in Milan at 10:30, a quick pit stop at the apartment, followed by departure to Switzerland by train at 2:30. Steven's mother Nancy has joined us for the rest of this adventure, and LaD will be leaving us for Paris and London on the 30th. We parents are heading to Switzerland in an hour.
We had a Merry Christmas in Malta. The weather cooperated and the island itself did not disappoint. I had chosen Malta for their celebration of Christmas. I wasn't sure how or where or when 'the Christmas procession' would occur, but again Malta did not disappoint. At around 6 PM the evening of the 24th, Danny and I were playing cards as the others were resting in various locations. From below we heard a band tuning up, so we peaked out the window and there their procession was forming. We flew down the stairs, followed by Liz in her pajama pants. For the next hour our family joined in with the residents of the town of Vittoriosa winding through the narrow streets and stopping frequently for the priest to 'do' a reading. People in the town along the route were on their balconies, or in their doorways. Some simply had their doors open to share their decorated entrances as they dined in the back.
We didn't see as many sights in Malta as we thought we would, but getting around proved to be a challenge. Jeff, the driver, had his first Brit experience. The wheel was on the right, The shifter was to his left, and he had to stay to the left on the road. Tom Tom had no maps for Malta, but Steven proved to be an exceptional navigator!! Saying our vehicle was for 7 passengers was a stretch, and a joke when we had all our luggage, but we endured. Our first trek was to the Blue Grotto followed by a quick visit to an archaeological site. This period of Malta's history is called 'the temple builders' and that's about all they know about these people who lived on Malta 3000 years ago. The next day was the medieval town of Mdina where we visited the catacombs and had views of the island. Tricia and I opted out of the Christmas day trip to the fault line which offered views of the island of Malta and Gozo. We all took water taxis from our location to Valletta to 'do' the tourist thing there.
I hope this rambling help to better understand some of the pictures I included.

Off to Malta

Liz, the youngest here. It's early on Monday morning and we are all buzzing about before the limo comes to pick the six of us up to go to the airport. D and I arrived on Saturday evening, and although we planned to head off to Venice with dad first thing Sunday, we were not able to be woken on the first few tries. With now limited time, we instead headed off to a small town called Sirmione, pearl of the peninsula. None of us had been there before and it looked beautiful in the book: I bought my mom a book called "One Hundred and One Beautiful Small Towns in Italy" before she moved. It was an hour and a half drive through the Po valley, and worth every second. The water of Lake Garda was crystal clear. There is a large hill in the center of town, and we hiked up a short way to find an eighth century church. Before we headed back to Milan we stopped at the most un-Italian, Italian restaurant in Italy. The waiters spoke English ... well, there was ice in our drinks, my dad received butter with his bread, and the bathrooms were huge.
Mom, T&S were in Rome when we arrived enjoying all the main sites: St Peter's, the Coliseum, Roman Forum, art, churches, and museums gallore. T was quite the tired cookie with all of the walking.
We all met up last night. D & I headed up dinner by going the the grocery store. We sauted up some veggies, made salads, and then heated up some prepackaged ravioli, prepackaged pesto, and made the MOST amazing bread (from a prepackaged dough)!
Have to run ...
Much love,
LaD, T&S and NorrisinItaly

Twas the Night...

Our official Christmas holiday has begun. Jeff and I drove out to the airport this morning and picked up Tricia and Steven. To add to our joy, the sun was shining!! Hasn't done that for 2 weeks! I hope the rain will thin out for here on. T,S and I will leave tomorrow AM for a visit to Rome, returning on Sunday. LaD are scheduled in on Saturday afternoon, and may go to Venice for the day on Sunday.
At 8:45 AM Monday a 6 passenger limo will pick us up and take us to the airport for our flight to Malta. We'll be there for Christmas.
Now to 'How do I pack!!!!!' The girls had/have it worse with the multiple locations and climates, but still...

 

We woke up this morning to a couple of inches of wet sloppy snow. It continued to snow all morning but melted into the slush as soon as it hit the ground. It turned to rain by the afternoon and was a truly sloppy, slushy mess by night fall. If it freezes tonight it will make walking treacherous in the morning. But what do I care, I don't have anywhere to go.
All day I observed the people running around in this mess with umbrellas! That was a new one on me. I haven't perfected the art of carrying groceries and an umbrella, and opt for a hood. This summers purchase of trench coat worked great! Unfortunately I ran out of water repellent while spraying a new pair of Uggs. I didn't realize how much puddling had occurred and my big toe got wet! And Jeff found a hole in his boots!...so we will do some serious looking this weekend for supplies. We will need them. This winter has all ready been colder than anything we experienced last year.
In 7 days the holiday merriment begins with the arrival of Daughter T and husband S. LaD and other Mother Nancy will be joining along the way. We have a full agenda, with Malta, Rome, Frutigen (Switzerland), Rankweil (Austria), and Venice in the plans. LaD will leave us in Switzerland and head to Paris and then to London for a visit with friends there. Of course this is not a vacation. There is so much that everyone wants to see, we are taking in a great deal with a minimum of time. With the assistance of 'the kids' I hope to be making more frequent postings to let everyone know how we are.
I hope this finds everyone preparing their hearts and homes for a wonderful Christmas 2008! All the best to everyone!