Tuesday May 15th. I am sitting in the ship computer room looking out a window directly at the walled city of Valletta in Malta. There are two large domes of cathedrals and the twin towers of another one directly past the high stone walls and the palm trees along it. Several cruise ships are tied along piers in the harbor. We went to town taking the bus as recommended by the people here. The cost was one Euro and it goes directly to the square. The ship directly in front of us at the pier is an Italian cruise ship, so I had a chance to practice my Italian at the bus stop while waiting. I was good enough that we understood eache other and they corrected my Italian, so I am feeling really more confident about the rest of the trip which will involve stops in Italy.

We walked from the square down the main street, Republic street. Picture a street wider then one in down town Seattle which goes in a straight line sloping down towards the water a great distance ahead. Now picture that street full of people from sidewalk to sidewalk walking in the street itself. It is like going to a Husky football game with a huge crowd of people moving along. Not particularly enjoyable, but we walked until we turned up to go to Our Lady of Victory, a small Catholic church and ornate inside. A man was sitting in the front of the church facing forward towards the altar singing. Why, I have no idea since no church service was going on.

From there we walked to the famous St. John’s Co-Cathedral. Designed by Gerolamo Cassar in 1573 the medieval stone walls are beautifully carved and colored in gold as well as many colors. I have seen a lot of Cathedrals around the world on our travels, but I have never seen one as ornate for its size then this one short of the Vatican. The entire ceiling was painted by an Italian artist. The walls are are carved or painted. The central floor has coats of arms in the marble, since Malta Knights are buried under the large floor and each one is a a burial site. The Knights would come here to pray before their battles defending Malta. A huge, and I mean huge, oil painting is found on one wall, "the beheading of John." There are side alters and corridors all very ornate. The place is full of tourists but they are moving through it well and it is a good experience. By the way, at the entrance women are given shawls to cover their tops or wrap around their waist or both if deemed inappropriately dressed..

Lita has gone into a number of shops and the prices are very reasonable. In January Malta joins the common market so the Euro will be the official money. In the doorway of a woman’s store there is a young thin woman dressed in red who is stunningly beautiful and could be on the cover of a magazine. A muscular man in his mid 40’s with a very large handle bar mustache walking a small dog goes past and I quickly take his picture. The camera noise makes him turn and he is not happy with me, but continues along after frowning at me. I want to take photos of nuns dressed in the old style, but I am afraid they will attack me with the rosary beads. People speak English and Italian freely so getting around is not a problem. There are many horse drawn carriages here for tourists and few cars on the streets. Unfortunately, as we began walking down the street after leavingt the bus, brake sounds made us turn. A car hit a tourist or perhaps more then one, we couldn’t tell and very soon ambulance sirens were heard. What a terrible thing to happen on vacation. We said a prayer for them at the cathedral.

We stopped to have a beer in an our door cafe near the Cathedral. After a lot of walking and window shopping, we caught a cab and came back to the ship for lunch. The food on this ship is so excellent it has to be great on shore to beat it.

We have discovered a stowaway while crossing the ocean to get here. This non paying passenger is a small sparrow sized bird with a bright yellow vest who hides in various openings, but snacks at the outdoor restaurants. He seems to have found a perfect home here so we are keeping his/her secret.

I was surprised that our average cruising speed is about 7 knots. I would have assumed we would travel much faster then that. However, this speed is very comfortable for sleeping and certainly conserves fuel as well. By the way, at the next Greek island we stopped at, Lita found a postcard with the picture of the pelican we had seen walkiing down a narrow street. That bird has to be an institution on the island.

Last night the couple who live summers on Whidbey organized a NW dinner where we all sat together. Mote interesting stories. A middle aged woman has her two daughters and her mother along. One is in the 8th grade and the other the 10th. The mother was in the army previously and tells us her mother, a woman in her 70’s, once served in the Marines. The mother starts a marathon race two days after arriving home. Ralph is the retired CEO of a major NW based paint company. A man in his mid 70’s he tells me that he took his children, their wives and their children to Italy last year for three weeks. He arranged a mini bus, a guide, driver and an "advance man" whose job it was to stay ahead of the group and make sure everything was ready for them I didn’t ask the cost, but he felt it worth it for the family.  It was a pleasant evening and, as usual, we crashed before 9:30 and went to bed. I have no idea what the shows are like.

We leave later today for Sicily. I am looking forward to Italy. I am not looking forward to getting on a scale when I return however.