Hmmm

A friend asked me recently if I was ever going to do anything with this blog besides the entries from my Malta trip. I'd said I doubted it, but after a trip to the mall yesterday I figure there are a couple of things I'd like to speak up about. Both have to do with...

FASHION

It's about now that, if she were here, my sister would put a gun to my head and tell me to slowly step away from the keyboard. And I can understand why...I'm one of the least fashion conscience people around. My cool weather 'wardrobe' consists mainly of hoodies and jeans...and my warm weather one is tank tops and jeans, with the odd pair of cut-offs thrown in. I have 2 jackets. One is a black biker leather and the other one isn't. My shoe collection is made up of trainers, a pair of dress boots, a pair of hiking boots and a pair of heels that probably have 3 inches of dust on them as they haven't been worn in an ice age. Basically, I spend half my time looking like I just got out of bed and the other half like I'm about to hop on a Harley.

But my sister isn't here and at any rate, I'm sure she'd agree with the points I'm about to make.

UGG-Lee

Okay, I can live with the fact that these boots are not only in existence but also very popular. I myself would never wear them but to each his own. What I can't stomach are these girls that feel the need to wear the big, furry variety with a skin tight track suit...which is almost always hot pink or electric blue...and about 5 lbs. of makeup. To be honest, I thought this particular trend went out a year or so ago, but just yesterday I saw three overly endowed blondes decked out this way. Who the hell decided that this was fashion??

( I'll bet you anything that some celebrity happened to throw on her boots to run outside for a second and was spotted by some brain dead fashion automaton who thought she was wearing the 'latest thing' and ran out to copy it. That's how this crap gets started, you know.)

Sorry, but you don't look cute. You look like you've probably also got a tramp stamp tattooed on your lower back and a butterfly naval ring encrusted with cubic zirconia (cause we both know you can't afford Swarovski crystal. You blew most of your money on Max Factor and Britney Spears' latest perfume). Be honest now...you also own at least one pair of pants that have 'Juicy' written on the ass, don't ya?

Bottom line (no pun intended), scrape off the Pan Stick and get some decent clothes or just hang a sign around your neck that says 'WILL HOLLER FOR A DOLLAR'.

No, as a matter of fact I don't want to see your underwear

It's a trend that just won't go away. Everyday, on every street, you see some wanna be gangsta walking around with his pants hanging at least halfway off his ass. And he's WHITE. This guy wouldn't know the Wu Tang Clan from the Backstreet Boys even if they showed up at his upscale middle-class home and put his head through his plasma screen television after beating him senseless with his Wii controller.

'Jailing', as it's commonly known, came about because prison inmates aren't allowed belts, resulting in their pants usually sliding off their hips. Naturally, the style carried over onto the street. I don't think I'm taking too much of a leap here when I speculate that it was originally a type of identification in certain circles. Much the same way certain tattoos are used to show if a person has been in jail and what their crime was.

(I've also heard that, while inside, wearing your pants in such a way also meant that you were open to certain...ahem...activities, shall we say. But I've only heard that definition once, so it's hard to tell how accurate that one is.)

Bottom line? You wouldn't make it a half block in the 'hood', Holmes, so quit trying to act like you're just minutes away from your next drive by when the only gun you've ever held was connected to a gaming console and the only crack you've ever seen is your friends cause he's dressed just as stupidly as you are. You want to 'keep it real'? Go try to rob the local mini-mart. I bet you a 4-0 that you don't make it past the fingerprinting before bursting into tears and yelling for your mommy.

Malta-Day 4

Our last day in Malta, but since our plane wouldn't be leaving until around 8 p.m, we decided to go back into Valletta and visit St. Johns Co-Cathedral, as it had been closed to tours when we went on Sunday. But first, we just had to check out the rooftop pool.

And a shot of the bay from the roof:

There are several rooms in the Cathedral that you can't take any pictures or video in at all. Julie thinks this could be because they don't want anyone trying to figure out how to steal anything. She may be right. The first no photos room has about 10 original Caravaggios, one of which is a painting called 'The beheading of St. John the Baptist' and it covers an entire wall. Another, 'St. Jerome Writing' was stolen in the mid-80's and was returned some years later after undergoing restoration in Rome (I believe it had been cut from it's frame). The other rooms include a Choral room, which houses old choir books in a glass case and a Vestaments room which has old capes, etc. worn by former priests. Throughout there are old tapestries lining the walls, all dating to around the 1600's.

The main area and alcoves were available for pictures...but these don't do it justice.

Some of the ornate work you see on the walls:

After the Cathedral we went through the Archaeology Museum and then to the outdoor cafe we'd visited previously for a snack. Picked up our final souvenirs and got back to the hotel around 5. They'd said we could store our bags in the 'luggage room', which ended up being basically a closet that also had an entrance to the handicapped bathroom. I was worried about our stuff most of the day since the room didn't lock, despite the desk clerks assurances that the room was 'perfectly safe'. Fortunately, everything was there and intact when we got back. We had to go through the bags anyway to fit in what we'd just bought, so it gave us the chance to make sure nothing had been taken without offending any hotel personnel.

Our shuttle arrived around 5:30 and we were off to Malta airport. Got checked in okay, despite being behind idiots (why does that always seem to happen?) and someone trying to cut in line. Even though there was a guy there who was supposed to be watching for this kind of thing, Simon is the one who ended up pointing him to the back of the line. This was mainly due to the fact that WE were the ones he cut in front of. At any rate, we checked our bags and after one last smoke outside for me, went through security and into the main terminal.

At some airports, you can wander around then go sit at your gate until your flight arrives, even if you're 3 hours early. The smaller airports like Luton and Malta don't do this. You sit in an area waiting for the sign to give the all clear to proceed to your gate. In the meantime, you browse around the duty-free and whatever eateries may be open. So we looked around the Malta Hard Rock Cafe and the duty-free, then sat by the door that led to our gate. Once they started letting us through, we sat right up by where the boarding line starts and waited for about an hour. The Malta airport has a smoking lounge in these areas, something I wish OHare and Newark possessed, as opposed to having to go outside and through security again. We had priority boarding, something you always want if you're on a flight that doesn't assign seats (take note, anyone traveling on Southwest Airlines), this way you have a fairly good chance at getting towards the front of the plane. Neither of us have the patience for people who take forever to get their carry-on bags down while everyone else is waiting to get off.

A boring 3 hour flight and we were back at Luton for what became for me 'Fun with customs'. It didn't help that we hadn't eaten since around 4, we tired as hell and a flight of Non-Eu's had just landed so I had to wait in line while they cluelessly went through themselves. Maybe it's my impatience issues, but it seems like half the people coming into a foreign country are loaded with stupid questions and can't give straight answers. And, of course, they had about 25 kids between them so the process was even slower cause they had to keep stopping to round them up.

Simon, with his EU passport sailed right through dammit.

Finally my turn came. Now, I should mention that there is a refusal stamp in the back of my passport. This is because we'd been given some wrong information and I applied for the wrong marriage visa. But I do have the proper one in there as well. I went through the usual interrogation on where I live, why I was there, what did my husband do for a living, etc.. I expect this. But this moron obviously needed a nap. There's a date on the refusal stamp and a date on my settlement visa. All you need to do is compare them and my story is corroborated. You also have all my info, including bio-metrics, on your computer screen. Why the fuck are you grilling me and acting like you don't know what to do with me? Finally, he asked the officer next to him for advice. He looked at it all and said something like, 'If you aren't sure, you can take her for more questions but I'd just let the lady get on her way.'. Simon is waiting for me and he can tell from the looks I'm giving him that I'm getting ready to blow. He puts his finger in front of his mouth, and shakes his head. I know I can't get upset with these people, and I wasn't going to...but it was difficult as I was tired and hungry and fed up with this idiot. But you absolutely CANNOT give attitude to a customs agent and you HAVE to answer everything, no matter how stupid or how obvious or how many times he's already asked. They can pull you out and keep you hanging for as long as they like.

Finally he let me go and we collected our bags and got on the bus that would take us to the parking lot for the car. Wonderful England, it's pouring rain and cold. Now, we should have been home by 12:30. But, as usual, parts of the M1 were down to one lane which were filled with idiots who acted like they didn't know how to drive in a downpour. Not knowing how to drive in the UK when it's raining is as absurd as living in Chicago and not knowing how to drive in the snow. Eventually, after a brief stop at a McDonalds drive thru, we got home around 1:45 a.m. Brought the bags in and went upstairs to collapse into bed. Poor Simon had to be out the door at 7 a.m for work.

So there you have it. Malta was absolutely fantastic and we can't wait to go back. It was so much more enjoyable than Paris. When he first saw a story on it in a flight magazine on his way to Russia, Simon didn't think there would be much to do even though it looked nice with lots of ruins (a favorite...give us some old temples and run down castles and we're in). The more we researched it the more we realized there's plenty to occupy a few days. I would recommend a minimum of 4 days to anyone thinking of going. We really should have stayed about 5-6 to see all of it. But schedules didn't permit this and at least we have an excuse for going back!

Malta-Day 3

Woke up on day 3 to overcast skies and slightly chilly temps. Figures it would happen as this was the day we were going to Gozo, and would be out on the Med in the ferry. Oh well, can't have everything. To get to Gozo, you take a almost 1 hour bus ride to the harbor in Cirkewwa and the ferry drops you off on the island at the harbor in Mgarr.

Along the way, you go past Comino Island, which is where the spot known as the Blue Lagoon is. We didn't visit Comino on this trip, but I got a couple of pictures of it from the ferry.

The ferry ride takes about 25 minutes and drops you off in the harbor where you catch a bus into whatever part of the island you want to visit. For us it was the main town of Victoria. The bus ride is very scenic as well.

Got off at the terminal and began the short walk to the Citadel, which was built about 400 years ago as a refuge against the Turks.

The Citadel is huge and very picturesque. The views from the top are amazing. I took tons of pictures, so I'll only post a few here.

We decided to visit the old prison as well, which has a lot of graffiti supposedly done by former inmates. Simon isn't convinced that it isn't all fairly recent and a PR stunt. I'm more optimistic.

There were a couple of churches we didn't go inside but, once again, we'll see them whenever we go back. We stopped at a shop for some pasties filled with spinach, potato and local cheese then went back to the terminal and caught a bus to the Ggantija Temples. The buses usually run every 45 minutes to the temples, though the ride itself is only about 10 minutes. We caught a later bus which wouldn't return to take us back to Victoria for an hour. Once we'd had a look around, we couldn't understand why they even wait 45 minutes because you can see the whole area twice in under 20. The guides and maps suggest that there is more to see than there really is. I suppose people like to dawdle there, since it is very pretty and the views are very good.

After walking around it a couple times, we went out to the parking lot and sat around until the bus came to take us back. Then we got straight on another to go back to the ferry and, eventually, the hotel. While it was really cool, we weren't as impressed with Gozo as we were with Mdina and Valletta. Maybe it's just cause Victoria itself is a typical busy area crowded with shops and such. Most of the shops we saw there (and in other areas as well, to be fair) were no different than the ones back home, so no sense in checking them out. When we got back to the hotel, we called room service for some starters and just chilled out the rest of the night. I was really exhausted, as there's a lot of walking involved. So we goofed off on the laptop and I uploaded pix to Facebook...God I love my Blackberry!

**NOTE-I've just noticed when looking at the finished post that Blogger is cutting my pix off slightly on the right side...so I apologize if you can't read some of the signs entirely or if the pix look off. The full ones are on my FB**

Malta-Day 2

Another gorgeous, sunny morning. After breakfast and my second coffee on the balcony, we hopped a bus to Mdina and Rabat.

Mdina is much quieter than Valletta and a bit smaller. Out of all the places we went, it was Simons favorite. This is the Mdina city gate:

When you first walk in and to the right is the entrance to the Mdina Dungeons, which are below the Palazzo Vilhena. There's a series of tableaux, recreating scenes of torture. I won't post them here, as I don't want to risk any minors seeing them. There's a complete album on my FB. It was fairly interesting,and the dummies were well done. Well worth the €4 admission.

We just meandered around the streets, avoiding huge tourist groups and looking in shops. This one is outside the entrance to the Natural History Museuem:

Everywhere you go, there's artwork/sculptures on buildings.

One of the favorite ways to get around the cities is by a horse drawn cab. We preferred to walk, but here's a shot of one:

After wandering around, we decided to grab something to eat. The guidebook raved that the Fontanella Tea Garden had views that were second to none, so we headed over there. The food and service were great. The only problem we had was when we took the check to the till to pay. No credit cards. Once again, information you may want to let people know from the get-go. This wasn't the first or last time we encountered this problem, so we got into the habit of checking places out first. When we go back, we'll make sure we always have cash on us.

And the book was right, the view was fantastic.

Walked back towards the gates and headed across the street to Rabat to see the Catacombs.

Now, before I go any further I have to say that neither of us cared for Rabat. It's on the creepy side. You know those movies with those empty foreign streets that when you do see someone it's like they're looking at you as if they wish you'd get the hell out? That's Rabat. I couldn't wait to get out of there.

First we looked at the ruins of a Roman Villa behind the Roman Architecture Museum:

It took awhile going around those streets to find St. Pauls Catacombs, as the streets aren't marked, we just had the map in the book. Along the way, Simon made a friend...

I stopped to pet him, and he smelled the sandwiches in the bag Simon had and followed him all over. Think he managed to lose him in a group of tourist. When we came out of the ticket office for the catacombs, an employee was shooing him away cause he was trying to follow people down into them.

The catacombs were constructed because Maltas Christians didn't believe in the Roman law stipulating cremation, so they copied the Palestinian Jews by carving out these labyrinths and using them as a burial ground.

Not much else to say about Rabat. We were going to check out the Roman museum, but were too tired, so we just went back to the hotel. It's on our to do list the next time we go back. Fortunately, it's right on the outskirts of the city, so we won't have to wander around again.

When we got back to the hotel, within minutes the entire block lost power. The elevators were working, and they had power to the lobby. We had a drink down there and then went back up to the room and sat on the balcony. When the power came back on there was a huge amount of cheering from the street. Oh, and I did review Paprazzi, the one where we got dirty looks for just having coffee, on tripadvisor.com. It's not posted yet. I couldn't find a web site for the restaurant, but I did find an email address for someone connected with it. I sent them a copy of what I'd wrote on TA:

"My husband and I stopped at Paparazzi on March 21st around 5-6 p.m. We liked the menu, so our plans were to have a coffee in your outdoor area, walk around a bit and come back for dinner. Below is a copy of the review I have sent to Tripadvisor.co.uk. All I can tell you is that our server had blond hair and a serious attitude problem.


"My husband and I were in Malta around the 20th of March. After a day of sightseeing in Valletta, we decided to find somewhere for a coffee, walk around a bit then go and eat. The menu posted outside Paparazzi looked good, so we figured we'd have a quick cup then come back later for a meal. When we were sitting down, a server came up to us with menus, but I told her we just wanted two coffees. This netted us a dirty look. She came back with them and that was the last we saw of her. She didn't come anywhere near us again until some people sat down at the table next to us. She met my eyes at least 3 times and not once asked if we needed anything and took off quickly each time. Tired of trying to get her attention for the bill, I met the eyes of another server who came over and asked if we needed anything. I replied that we were fine and ready for the check.

10 minutes later we were still sitting, despite our original server going back and forth around us. I finally cornered her at the bar and told her we had asked the other server for our check and were still waiting. Her reply was that we'd told the other girl and not her. I said I would have gladly told her we were ready had she bothered to ask us if we needed anything, and that she had looked right at us several times and still couldn't be troubled.

I cannot review the food as there was absolutely no way we were going to eat there after this. I can only assume that, as we were there around the dinner hour, she was upset because she wouldn't be making any big tips off of us. Well, she was right...she got nothing."


Basically, we spent 15 minutes drinking our coffee, and another 20 waiting for our servers attention. I'm sorry if our wanting a simple cup of coffee is such a problem for your restaurant."

I've not gotten a response (probably won't), but at least the email didn't get bounced back as invalid. I did find a couple of other reviews of the place, neither favorable. One said that when they got their food it was cold and they could tell that when it was brought back it had been microwaved as there was virtually no flavor. They also said that a bartender up the street had warned them not to eat there, but they figured they'd see for themselves.