Day 4- Trampling around Valletta. So, last I wrote, we were wandering in the residential section of Valletta. We saw a little shop, and James decided he wanted more souvenirs, so he went in to look around. A group of kids that had just gotten out of school raced passed me in their uniforms (most kids on Malta go to Catholic school) and I began to wonder what was taking James. I go in, and it turns out he is trying to pick out a birthday present for me which is the next day. The lady running the shop had a daughter a little older than Veronica, and she was so cute. She was running around, talking to us and pulling things off shelves. I ended up telling James not to worry about it and purchasing a corkscrew and cork for some wine we had bought at the terminal in Barcelona.
When we left, James got a wild hair to find the church with the dome that you can see in the skyline. Crazy enough, he led us straight to it. But boy, it was not easy to find. It is just a small door, and in Malta, most things look the same. There was no big outside facade, but we headed in and there was this priest manning the door. It was free, but you could give a donation. The church was all white on the inside which turned out to be rare in Europe. The acoustics were amazing. I wanted to sing so badly, but I restrained myself. I sat down for the first time since I got that suitcase and prayed a little while James explored the church. Even the church is fairly new, we felt it was worth seeing if only for the dome. It was impressive.
After, we kept walking up the street (literally up, apparently the Maltese built their city this way on purpose to make it difficult for those who may attack to get to the city center), we ended up right where we started on the main street in town. I was exhausted and still in pain by this point, so I begged James to let us go back to the ship for some rest and a shoe change.
We ended up staying on the ship, relaxing and snacking. He wanted to go back out, but I was done. The morale of this story: don't burn out immediately. There is time to see stuff, and if you don't get to it, at least you enjoyed what you did see.
When we left, James got a wild hair to find the church with the dome that you can see in the skyline. Crazy enough, he led us straight to it. But boy, it was not easy to find. It is just a small door, and in Malta, most things look the same. There was no big outside facade, but we headed in and there was this priest manning the door. It was free, but you could give a donation. The church was all white on the inside which turned out to be rare in Europe. The acoustics were amazing. I wanted to sing so badly, but I restrained myself. I sat down for the first time since I got that suitcase and prayed a little while James explored the church. Even the church is fairly new, we felt it was worth seeing if only for the dome. It was impressive.
After, we kept walking up the street (literally up, apparently the Maltese built their city this way on purpose to make it difficult for those who may attack to get to the city center), we ended up right where we started on the main street in town. I was exhausted and still in pain by this point, so I begged James to let us go back to the ship for some rest and a shoe change.
We ended up staying on the ship, relaxing and snacking. He wanted to go back out, but I was done. The morale of this story: don't burn out immediately. There is time to see stuff, and if you don't get to it, at least you enjoyed what you did see.