Home from Malta

I am back. As usual, it was tons of fun. There is so much to see in this world and even when its not what you expect, its still good. And Malta was not what I expected. Because its an island and touted as a summer beach destination, I had an idea in my head. After reading the guide book, I tweaked my idea a bit. But when I showed up on the city streets, I was still surprised. Surprised, not disappointed.

Malta has a long history going back some 7,000 years according to the 'experts'. The pagan temple ruins we saw were dated some 3,500 years ago. There is a strong Arabic influence heard in the language and street names. There is also a plethora of evidence showing the some 16,000 tons of bombs that hit the island during WWII. And finally, there is a strong English influence as it was most recently under British rule up until around the 1960's. It is now an independent country and seems to live pretty harmoniously with its colorful history.

Is it another Amalfi Coast or Mexican Riviera? Absolutely not. Yes, I stayed in a 5 star hotel (for cheap) and there were several to pick from, but I got the impression that Malta is rather poor and really banking on being part of the EU and Schengen now to grow into itself.

The people are incredibly nice (which we all know is much appreciated by me after being in Venice). There is relatively no crime in the city and I think a simple handshake is better than any piece of paper for the Maltese. They are, for me, rather a small people. I passed so many men and women who were barely 5 feet tall if that. I felt like a giant!

Our hotel was great and we even got a free upgrade to a junior suite! There was a fantastic American breakfast every morning and I got my fill of 'orange' cheese (i.e. cheddar) after not having any for so long. We hung out in the spa alot with a great pool, jacuzzi and atmosphere. I have included a few pics from the hotel and view from our patio.

The airline (RyanAir) was what most of us in AZ would know to be like a SouthWest Airlines. Absolutely no frills. In fact, they dont even have a seatback pocket to put their monthly magazine in. When they announced they were going to pass out the magazine, the attendant pulled down about 5 copies. Obviously, they were all gone before crossing 2 rows...I was very amused by this cost saving measure. But they got us there on time with no issues and in the end, that is what is really important.

In the next few days, I will share some of the highlights and pictures (I actually took about 350!). In the meantime, I am back to doing some laundry and starting to prepare for my Dublin adventure in about 3 weeks! Gotta love what this world has to offer!

What to say.....

Tomorrow I leave for Malta for a few days and thought I better check in with the world one last time before I go. However, I didnt really have much to say as I have been home most of the week resting my knee. I thought I would wait until after my massage today and see if that gave me anything great to talk about (because they always do). And I was not disappointed. Another interesting day on the table.....

I had it in my mind that I was going to ask for a massage only on my back in order to alleviate any knee uprisings. But as soon as I told her I had fallen, she started asking all sorts of questions. How does one say strained PCL ligament in Italian anyway? (That is, by the way, what I have self diagnosed myself with after hours of web surfing.) Well, she was not going to have anything to do with only half a massage. She checked out my knee from top to bottom--pushing, pulling and all the time asking 'dolo?' meaning does it hurt there. When she narrowed it down, I was instructed up on the table and she went away only to come back with some brownish green mixture in a bowl. She slathered this all over my knee and then went to work on my other leg with the massage.

After a while she had made her way up to my stomach. This is still something that is foreign to me (no pun intended). And then she asked if I was sick today? I realized she has been doing a bit more than a massage. She told me she was a doctor (what that means I dont really know) and she noticed something wrong. I smiled and told her I only had one ovary (how does one say oopherectomy in Italian) and to notice the scar on my stomach. She thought I had had a kid. So, next thing you know, she is giving me the once over in the stomach/female region just as impressed as can be. 'Complimenti' she kept saying about the work done on the inside...she asked where I had the surgery and told me it is very difficult to do such things over here in Italy. It was the first time my massage gal became my ob/gyn....what a surreal moment that was.

Anyway, she finally flipped me over and started working on the back of the legs. She picked up my injured leg slightly and bent it slightly and then told me to relax! Well, that was a waste of about 10 minutes...how can one relax when they dont know what is going to happen to their injured part....it was funny...we were both laughing. I would relax and then she would move just the tiniest of bits and I would tense up again. She gave up in the end.

Then she wiped off the mask from my knee and gave me the ingredients for the concoction to make myself and I am to do it every day for an hour. It has arnica in it. I never heard of arnica till I came over here. Its very popular (along with potassium--everyone takes potassium pills--including my cat now!). When I first fell, the Italian in the room gave me some arnica and the American gave me a tylenol with codeine! After the mask was off, she slathered on like half a bottle of this arnica stuff on my knee and worked it in and told me not to shower today.

The mask worked great...my knee truly hasnt felt this good in a long, long time. I am hoping Malta is easy to get around because I am pretty sure I am not taking arnica and the rest of the stuff with me. Worse case scenario, I can buy it over there if need be. But, I think I might have finally turned the corner in healing. And I am sure you are glad about that as well because I know I am tired of hearing myself talk about it...so I can only imagine what you are saying! Or as my mother told me the other day with great love and conviction, 'get over it'!

Canal Work

I was out getting a bit of exercise for my knee and came across some canal work. Actually, I think they were fixing the side of building but it was so close to the canal that they had to drain it in order to complete the work. I am still fascinated at this ecosystem they call Venice.

From the pictures, hopefully you can see how much water was drained out and really how shallow the canals are in general. I dont think anyone could drown in them but rather they would probably die from the putrid mess they are sloshing around in!

Laundry

The last of my official scheduled guests has left and I think I am 'alone' for the rest of my time here in Venice. Of course, that doesnt mean I am bored...there are trips planned, organization that needs to be done for the journey home and work on getting employed once I am there. In the meantime, however, I have had lots of laundry this week.

In fact, I had 7 loads...between sheets, towels and dirty clothes, I did laundry for almost 14 hours! I actually had to stop for one day because I ran out of room of places to hang things for drying (there are very few dryers in this country). This is a such a interesting phenomenon over here. My neighbor across the way does laundry daily as it is a small family. I understand why now. If you wait until the end of the week like we do in the US, you may not be able to go out at all!

But, everything is done and clean and I am feeling accomplished. And for those of you who are wondering why I am so inefficient at laundry I have attached pics of my washing machine. Putting in 2 sheets is pushing the limit, so you can see why it takes so long. That and one load on a regular wash cycle is about 1 hour and 40 minutes. The gentle cycle comes in right at about an hour. This is one of those things that I dont think I will be missing when I return home.

Pancake Dinner

Some things in life are fun just because. And one of those things is having breakfast for dinner. So when the Reverend told me that he and his wife were hosting a traditional English pancake dinner in honor of Shrove Tuesday, how could I say no?

Now, these weren't the pancakes that I know....I would probably call it more like a crepe. And the toppings werent anything you find at IHOP either! The traditional way is to squeeze lemon on it and then sprinkle a bit of sugar, roll it up and cut into tasty bitesize pieces. However, I was lucky enough to have some other Americans show up and they brought some Vermont maple syrup! Now thats good!

And turns out I really had no idea what Fat Tuesday and Shrove Tuesday meant. Its probably a good thing that I didnt get the obvious meaning of Fat Tuesday all these years, because I dont really need the extra pounds. Basically, a time to clear out your kitchen and pantry of all the food and eat it up. Shrove Tuesday has a bit more of a religious tone to it with the idea being that you confess before you confess on Ash Wednesday....not sure I really understand that either.

I imagine back in the day Fat Tuesday and Shrove Tuesday were one in the same and over time the original religious meaning has been distorted. Regardless of that, I was just happy to get some pancakes for dinner last night.

The Last Day

Today is Shrove Tuesday (aka Fat Tuesday in America!) and marks the last day of Carnivale. For my first experience, I was not disappointed. However, I did feel it was lacking in some areas and after reading my online weekly Venice newspaper this morning, I know that I am not alone.

It seems that attendance was way down this year (which is amazing as I was walking around with all those people to think that there could actually be MORE people here). The first day attendance was down by some 70,000. There are various reasons that have already been proposed.

First, the weather. I dont buy it because I doubt that many people decide to go to Carnivale within 2 days of leaving. The weather was decent until the last few days when the rain came. Second, the world economy. This I buy. My friend, the atelier (costumer designer) told me that she didnt have a single American customer this year and that is usually a strong base in her sales. Its just too expensive right now. Third, the agenda wasnt released until a few days before. I doubt this had a huge impact but it was certainly annoying for even me. I have to chalk that up to 'Venetian time'...they are never in a hurry to do anything. The person in charge, Marco Balic, will no doubt take the brunt of the blame and for my part, I think he did a poor job on capturing the spirit of Carnivale.

I expected more traditional events and atmosphere. Instead, there were too many Halloween costumes and reggae bands around. One would hope that as Venice slowly dies it could hold on to its heritage and its proud history a bit more than it showed during Carnivale. And with this point, the Venetians and I agree.

I am glad I was here and I would like to come back another time and 'do it up right' with the full costume and ball. And I will, right after I win the lottery!

A Few More Carnivale Pics

We donned our masks and capes one last time yesterday (as it is raining all day today)....I have decided to wear the mask continuously for the next 3 months while I am still here because people move out of your way! Its like the parting of the Red Sea.....makes travelling through the masses so less stressful!