Should We Stay or Should We Go

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...

  Ravello in the Rain When we left Amalfi, we headed up to Ravello, the town Alex, our driver for the day, had told us was his favourite on the Amalfi Coast. We were looking forward to seeing it for ourselves, but by the time we arrived, it was pouring rain. It was lunchtime, so we thought we'd have something to eat and hope the weather cleared up while we were eating. Unfortunately, by the time lunch was over, it was raining even harder! Just off the town square where we were having lunch was an old building with a beautiful entranceway. We'd been looking at it throughout our meal, and since we weren't going to be doing much exploring in the rain, we decided to see if what it was. As it turned out, we'd stumbled upon Villa Rufolo, one of Ravello's most famous historic buildings. Discovering Villa Rufolo Villa Rufolo dates back to the 13th century, when the wealthy Rufolo family built an impressive residence in the heart of Ravello. The family was influential ...

  We had been looking forward to our day in Naples, or Napoli as the Italians call it. We had a special day planned for the whole family, with a private tour that would take us to Mount Vesuvius, Positano on the Amalfi Coast, and Herculaneum. There was one thing that made the day a little bittersweet, though. This would be our last full day together as a family before Son #3 and our daughter-in-law headed home after the cruise ended the following day. We wanted to make the most of it. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas. The forecast called for rain all day long. What can you do? We decided to make the best of it and hoped the forecast was wrong. We met our driver, Alex, at 7:30 a.m. The rain had already started, although it was only spitting at that point. We crossed our fingers and climbed into the van, hoping things would improve as the day went on. Alex was a local Italian man who spoke perfect English, complete with the most beautiful Italian accent. I know I don'...