Malta
After a few days at sea, most of which had been choppy it was good to go ashore. The weather was very pleasant so T shirts were the order of the day. It wasn't hot but just comfortable. We had a walk along the dockside to the Barracka lift which for €1 return to the top of the hill represented good value and saved a long uphill slog. It only takes half a minute and exits into the Barracka Gardens.
It's a wonderful place to linger and take in the views over the harbour. We then strolled into Valletta, had a walk through the Saturday market and then to their Parliament Square where OH discovered M&S. I did what most men do in this situation, sent OH inside whilst I found a comfortable seat and read the daily paper.
We had also intended going into the co-cathedral and St John's the shipwreck church but when we got there shortly after 12.00 both were shut. Instead we continued up the street to the bus terminal, always a fascinating place for all the vintage buses but apparently these are being phased out so that was a fruitless journey. We made our way back uphill to Barracka Gardens where we had a sit in the sun, enjoying the view before descending in the lift and making our way back to the ship.
Our luck changed at lunchtime and our disappointment was forgotten when we discovered it was jam roly poly for lunch. Now that is my favourite so we had two slices apiece (oink, oink!!!) followed by a salad just to reduce our guilt.
Day 5 Sea day
We had an amusing incident this morning. We went off to breakfast and left our 'Make up our room ' card in place. When we returned half an hour later the door to the cabin had the steward's trolley in it, the door was shut and the card had been removed. However when I went into the cabin it was only half serviced. It was then I saw our cabin steward on the balcony beckoning to me to open the door. Apparently she had been sorting out the balcony when the door slid shut. The handle was only part way lifted and locked itself and she was left trapped on the balcony with no means of escape. Was she glad when we appeared, otherwise had we gone off to various activities she could have been there all day!!!! Poor soul was so embarrassed but also relieved so I gave her a chocolate to ease her nerves.
This morning was the church service followed by a further talk on Concorde with Peter Finlay which I have enjoyed so far.
Venice.
What more can be said which has not already been said? It really is a vibrant and fascinating city and I never tire of it.
Instead of taking the P&O shuttle to St Marks we opted for the People Mover which was to be a new experience for us. It was actually easier to find than we imagined as it is signposted although it's a bit of a 'trail aboot' to get the station. We eventually managed to negotiate the ticket machine and enjoyed the ride to Piazzale Roma which was much bigger and busier than I had imagined.
We bought our tickets for the vaporetto for the ride up the Grand Canal. What an interesting experience that turned out to be! It was much akin to a sardine packers reunion since more and more got onto the craft even though there was little room. Many angry Italian words were spoken but still they squeezed themselves on. Nevertheless it is a lovely ride. From thereon we wandered into St Marks Square and into the maze of little alleyways and their fascinating little shops.
It was shortly afterwards I used which was for me the most expensive WC ever. - €1.50. "Ow much?" you hear me say. We then managed to get lost and finished up in the university quarter. Fortunately a kindly shopkeeper pointed us back in the right direction and served some very nice ice cream into the bargain.
Eventually we managed to find Piazzale Roma again, back on the People Mover (€1.30 each way) and utterly exhausted got back on the ship.
That night Virtuosity (three young lady singers) were playing in the theatre and they were excellent singing a wide variety of songs from popular classics to songs from the shows and classical music. At 10.30 we departed Venice so we sat in the Crows Nest and watched as the ship threaded its way out to sea.
Love your photos obviously money well spent with the photographer. I wish I'd been able to put up some photos on my report. I'll ask my IT team to help me in future.
