08 Monday Apr 2013
The Medieval walled-city of Mdina, perched atop a distant hill.
Malta is a small chain of islands that lay in between northern Africa and Sicily. It has a rich history dating back to the times of the ancient Greeks and Romans. Nowadays, its sun-kissed beaches and resorts are a favorite destination for European vacationers.
It was a bright, blue sky day as I sailed into Malta’s main port: the Grand Harbor of Valletta. Continue reading »
31 Thursday Jan 2013
Ornate door, in the town of Sidi Bou Said.
Unlike my previous stops in Barcelona and Genoa during this trip, my visit to Tunisia was a completely new experience. I had never been to Tunisia, or the continent of Africa for that matter, until today. Continue reading »
30 Wednesday Jan 2013
The day after Genoa, my ship made an afternoon stop in the Catalan city of Barcelona. As with Genoa, I had previously visited Barcelona in the summer of 2008, during a cruise from the Western Mediterranean to Dover, England.
Because I had already seen major sites such as La Sagrida Familia and La Rambla, I thought it might be a good idea to see parts of the city I hadn’t visited yet. If you want to cover a lot of ground in a city, relatively easily, and in not very much time, you can buy a ticket for a Hop On/Hop Off tourist bus. For around 20 Euros, you can buy a ticket for a bus that will take you to most major points of interest in the city. You can get on and off however many times you like and explore each site, and the ticket will usually be valid for 24 hours. Many European cities have this.
The Port Veil area, HOHO bus visible on the left.
I got one of these bus tickets, and hopped on for a ride. Continue reading »
25 Friday Jan 2013
Posted in Food
As I was unwrapping a gift box of homemade goodies given to me by my cousin Melanie last Christmas, I decided to sample some of the various pieces of her new sweets. Her nougat was fluffy soft and packed full of almonds. Her peanut brittle was as crunchy and nutty as the ones you’d find in an old-timey roadside fruit stand out in the countryside, with just a hint of saltiness to balance the sweetness.
24 Thursday Jan 2013
Speeding down a wet hill.
The rain began to subside as I pulled into Genoa. I was just glad it wasn’t as heavy as it was when I had left Portofino. Sloshing through the rain sucks when you’re wearing leather loafers.
I arranged for my cab driver, Roberto, to take me on a short tour around Genoa before heading back to the ship. We stopped at a few places I didn’t get to see on my last visit here in 2008, so I had the chance to check out some new sights.
