Foreign postage and friends. . . . . . .

When Loree won my little travel guessing game earlier this year, I found her

 some small mementoes from South America. . . . . . .and mailed them

 off to her home on the amazing island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea.

Yesterday, tucked in with our usual bills, special offers, ads, post cards from

people who want to buy our house, and numerous cruise/travel brochures etc.,

was a pale blue envelope with this delightful 'Summer' scene Malta stamp.

Although no longer the avid stamp collector I was in childhood, I continue to

 keep beautiful stamps, cutting them from envelopes and storing them in a box.

This now old fashioned means of personal communication, a hand

 written envelope with a post mark and a delightful stamp, may be coming

obsolete. . . . . . . . but for me they are gifts I cherish.

Loree's beautiful thank you card is perfect too, the type of card one doesn't want

 to hide away but rather buy a little frame for and hang on the wall, or stand on the

 dresser forever.

This is such a perfect card for me, the color blue and dainty white roses.

Thanks so much for the sweet thank you notecard.
Visit Loree here in Malta at Sincerely, Loree

Majestic Malta -

May 13, 2017 - Valletta Grand Harbour - last port of call.

The early morning arrival - cabin window rinsed by sea spray, but oh what

 a perfect shade of sea blue with the golden city beyond.

The Grand Harbour of Valletta, the 16th century 'Fortress City' built 

by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem.

Go HERE for more of the very interesting history.

Arrow marking our ship, Noble Caledonia's MS Island Sky, being refueled

 on arrival in Malta.

Australian traveling friends, Michelle and son George enjoying

views of the city from the famous Barrakka Gardens, highest point of the 

city's 16th century bastion walls built by the Knights to protect the city.

Statue of Sir. Winston Churchill in the Barrakka Gardens. 

Maltese cats enjoying the gardens.

Always ancient faces peering down - what historic tales they could tell.

The richly decorated St. John's Cathedral was constructed 1572-1577 with

 elaborate inlaid marble tombstones and artworks, including in the oratory 

the famous Caravaggio painting 'The Beheading of St. John the Baptist'.

The interior was re-decorated in the 17th century and is considered to be one

of the finest examples of high Baroque architecture in Europe.

The barrel vaulted ceiling of the cathedral is painted with scenes from the

 life of St. John the Baptist. . . . . . .

. . . . . . . and the beautiful floor is inlaid with the glittering tombs of 400 Knights.

Queen Victoria (Malta was part of the British Empire for over 150 years) 

contemplating ordering a tasty Maltese pizza perhaps. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . whereas we opted for delicious coffee and pastries at the historic Caffe Cordina.

Our day ashore in Valletta became very hot and there was little green shade.

I was continuing to fight 'the bug from hell' and was definitely challenged trying

 to do a lot of sightseeing. . . . . . . or celebrating at the farewell dinner that night. 

It was an amazing trip through Sicily and Malta, covering such a lot of ground

 and sailing on the beautiful Mediterranean sea.

These last four photos at Marsaxlokk Harbour taken with

 my iPhone - other photos with Sony DSC-HX400V camera)

The following day we disembarked the MS Island Sky early morning and were transported

 by coach to the airport for the return flight to the UK.  A fun quick stop along the way was

here at pretty Marsaxlokk Harbour where the fishermen were tending their boats and nets.

 Restaurants around the harbour were opening for business - all looked inviting

 but we had to be on our way.

A return trip to Malta with more time to explore the history would be

 wonderful - who knows, perhaps it will be possible.

 Never say never when you plan to travel to distant shores.

Expedition to Sicily. . . . . . . . . . . .

WAY we go.

At the airport now. 
Leaving tonight for Italy. . . . . . . . . usual long transatlantic flight to London's

 Heathrow airport, followed by an early morning bus ride south to Gatwick airport. 

 Meeting up there with our friends, and other travelers joining the trip, and we all
 head out together on a flight to Naples. 
The MS Island Sky will be waiting for us and we board early afternoon to be
 whisked away on the evening tide for the overnight sail to our first shore excursion
 just south of Naples, then cross the sea to the beautiful Island of Sicily. 
The red marker on this map is Mt. Etna, hoping to get pictures, but not planning
 to climb as it has been quite active lately!

South of Sicily is the tiny island of Malta and it will be our last stop on the cruise.
All these places will be a first for us so we are very excited about this trip. 

I may not be here blogging for a while - but on the other hand I may just

 pop up unexpectedly if I have Internet access. 

I probably won't be leaving comments but I will read your posts if 

possible, again it all hinges on whether there's Internet available and

 how fast it works on board the ship!

"Arrivederci amici"

Sicilian Odyssey. . . . . . . .

Can't keep it under wraps any longer. . . . . . . . we are off in a few weeks

 on another beautiful ship, and I'm getting excited.

The MS Island Sky is one of the finest small ships in the world. Her sister ship,

 the MS Caledonian Sky, took me on that amazing expedition to Japan and the

 Russian Far East with my friend Paula in 2013.

You know how I love expedition ships with a small complement of passengers. 

You get to meet new people and have time to chat, and the always friendly

 crew members remember who you are and call you by name. This time there will

 be about 114 passengers with a crew of 75. Our group will number 10 so we'll be

 taking up much of the ship, we'll try to behave, haha!  We sail again with lovely

 friends from the UK, California, and perhaps a couple of new surprise travelers,

 plus of course Paula our wonderful friend and our group's great hostess.

This class of cruise ship is casual dress for the most part, no fancy evening

clothes required - always so much easier to pack for!

Also, there will also be at least one landing ashore by Zodiac boats, at the small

 Italian port of Agropoli, to visit Paestum founded by the Greeks in 600 BC, and

 to view the Temple of Poseidon.

The itinerary for this cruise sounds awesome. We'll meet up at Gatwick (UK) airport
 and fly to Naples, Italy where we transfer to the ship that afternoon and set sail
 in the evening for a nine day circumnavigation of Sicily, with a final disembarkation
 on the island of Malta. 

Although we've visited much of Italy, we've never been to Sicily, or Malta,

 so are really excited at what this trip will encompass. . . . . .from archaeological
 treasures to the recently erupting volcano, Mt. Etna.

More on the trip later as time to fly/sail away gets closer.