Should We Stay or Should We Go

Our second, and last, full day in Malta, we decided to take things a little slower and do something different. We grabbed an Uber and headed to the south side of the island to visit the Blue Grotto. We hadn’t really taken the time to enjoy the Mediterranean Sea yet, and as it was the last day with Son #1 and Son #2, we wanted to spend it relaxing and enjoying our time together before the long travel day ahead. The Blue Grotto is a series of sea caves along Malta’s southern coast. It is known for the brilliant blue water and the way sunlight reflects off the seabed and lights up the caves. Boat tours take visitors along the coastline and into some of the caves. When we arrived, we all knew we had made the right decision. The water was gorgeous! After so much sightseeing, it was nice to be somewhere we could slow down and enjoy the view. We found a restaurant overlooking the Blue Grotto and the beautiful Mediterranean Sea and settled in for lunch. There was no need to rush. In fact, ...

We set aside a full day to explore Valletta, the capital of Malta, and spent our time wandering its streets, visiting historic buildings and taking in as much of the old city as we could. Valletta is a fascinating place, with a history shaped by its strategic position in the Mediterranean. Over the centuries, Malta was ruled by various powers, including the Romans and Arabs, before the Knights of St John arrived in 1530. Following the Great Siege of Malta in 1565, when the Knights successfully defended the island against the Ottoman Empire, construction of Valletta began in 1566. The city later came under French and then British rule, and endured heavy bombing during the Second World War. There is an incredible amount of history packed into this small walled city. We began at the old city gate and then made our way through the narrow streets. One of our stops was the Grandmaster’s Palace, built in the late 1500s as the residence of the Grand Masters of the Knights of St John. Over t...

As our Adriatic cruise came to an end in Rome, it was time to say goodbye to son #3 and our daughter-in-law. They were spending the day touring Rome before heading home the following day, while the rest of us had another little adventure ahead of us. We had such a wonderful time having the family together. It was great to share these experiences, explore new places and make memories as a family. I knew the trip had to come to an end eventually, but I wasn't quite ready for it. Saying goodbye was hard, even knowing we still had more travelling ahead of us. John and I, along with son #1 and son #2, were off the ship early in the morning to catch the ship's airport shuttle. We were flying to Malta, where we planned to spend three nights exploring before John and I continued on to Barcelona for our transatlantic cruise. Malta was an add-on to our trip. We had three days to fill between cruises, didn't want to spend them in Rome again, and hoped to find somewhere that wouldn...

Herculaneum with Vesuvius in the background Our third stop while in the port of Napoli was Herculaneum.  By the time we arrived in the afternoon, the rain had stopped and there were patches of blue sky in the distance. After the wet morning we’d had, it was a welcome change, especially since this was one place I really didn’t want to rush through. We had visited Pompeii on an earlier trip to the area, so we had some idea of what to expect. But Herculaneum turned out to be quite different and, in many ways, even more incredible. As we walked through the ancient streets and looked into the buildings, it was easier to imagine what life might have been like here almost 2,000 years ago. Herculaneum was a thriving Roman town on the coast of the Bay of Naples. Smaller than Pompeii, it attracted wealthy Romans who built homes here to enjoy the coastal setting and beautiful views. That all changed in AD 79 when Mount Vesuvius erupted. The disaster destroyed both towns and buried them be...