London, again

Just a short note to let you all know that we arrived safely in the London area.  It's pretty cold here (literally freezing), but we are settled into our cozy hotel in Croydon, fifteen minutes by rail from Victoria Station in London.  Our hotel is called the Jurys Inn, a name that still makes me giggle, and it is much nicer than I expected.  We have a "penthouse" room on the 12th floor overlooking other high rise hotels about a block from the East Croydon rail station. It's pretty sweet.

Our plans are to visit London on Saturday (Dec 30) to see the indoor things like the British Library, the British Museum, and on Monday (January 1) to see all the outdoor things we are interested in like peeking at Buckingham Palace and walking along the Thames.  Sunday night, we will enjoy Croydon and watch any fireworks from our penthouse on New Year's Eve; maybe watch the ball drop in Times Square.  Then, on January 2, 2018, we fly Norwegian Air back to the United States, landing in Denver in the middle of winter (who's stupid idea was that, anyway?).  The next day, it will be on to Phoenix, AZ to stay with my parents and celebrate my Mom's birthday.  From there, we hope to find a nice apartment and stay a few months in the lovely Arizona winter warmth.

More to come, with photos from the British Museum, the British Library, and all the Harry Potter that we can stand in London.

Roma

Our arrival in Rome on the 19th was uneventful and we have been busy seeing "everything" since.  Our AirBnb is fantastic: only a couple blocks from the fabulous Colesseum, which is only a few blocks from the Forum ruins and a whole lot more; it is clean, warm, and comfortable (it has an elevator to our 5th floor); and public transportation is really good here.

The night of our arrival we walked down to the Colesseum and just stared.

The triumph arch for a long ago battle.  This arch looks tiny next to the Colosseum!

The Trevi Fountain.  Yep, I made a wish.  It was a moving experience.

Police and military are guarding all the famous sites here in Rome.  It's oddly comforting.

And, the Trevi Fountain at night

And, the large crowds, even at night.

The Pantheon at sunset, with the fountain in the foreground.

Yes, you can't help thinking of Sylvia when you look at the Trevi Fountain.  La Dulce Vita and Three Coins in the Fountain have ruined me!

Motorcycles everywhere and Steve wants one.

The Spanish Steps at Piaza d'Espanya

Lots and lots of motorcycles

Bridge over the Tiber at sunset.

Ancient building flying the Maltese cross

The ancient theater that was the site of the assassination of Julius Caesar.  

Sidewalk art in Rome

The statue of Moses by Michelangelo is in the church behind the apartment.

More later.  We visited the Vatican next and we are still planning to see the Basilica de Santa Maria Maggiore in the old city, the Basilica of Saint Peter at the Vatican, the ruins of the Forum, and the Trastevere.  

Malta - The ancient city of Mdina

I'm sorry it's been a while since my last post.  We've been here in Malta for several weeks and have found it to be very beautiful and relaxing; something we really needed when we arrived.  It has been so nice to just stay in one place and spread out a little, rather than packing up our one suitcase each every few days and moving on.  The weather has been similar to Fall in the Pacific Northwest, between 60 and 70 F and down to the 50s at night.  There has been some rain, but it's mostly sunny with a few clouds every day, while farther north it is getting down to freezing temps.

We visited the ancient original capital of Malta, Mdina (pronounced Mm deena) recently.  This was the most populated and protected place on the island until the Order of St John arrived and eventually moved the capital to their new city of Valletta because it had a port for the Knights' fleet.  But, this is where the ancestral homes of the prominent families of Malta are still located.  In fact, this city and it's ancient homes survived much better than the rest of the island during the many wars and invasions since the arrival of the Knights of St John.

The moat

The entrance to the walled city of Mdina on the hill

Older versions of the iconic Maltese balconies.  The newer version is fully enclosed.

This is the way farming appears to be done on the island.  Small plots, often hedged by prickly pear, probably worked by families for generations.

Humans have been leaving their mark on this place for  hundreds of years.

These walls appear to be about 7 feet thick and are hundreds of feet up in the air.  That's the Mediterranean in the distance.

One of many "secret and locked gardens" that I've stumbled upon in the area.  Curiosity is killing me.

St Paul's Cathedral

The largest creche that I have ever seen was inside this church.

I'm fascinated with doors, door knockers and the flowering plants in December.  

My next post will include photos of Fort St Elmo, which stands on the peninsula of the city of Valletta and houses an amazing museum of war.  This site would bring tears to your eyes when you saw and heard what happened to Malta during World War II. 

Malta - Sliema, Valetta and lots of churches

After Thanksgiving, signing up for a month's use of our apartment, and fighting off some unknown virus (a very small virus),  Steve and I have started exploring again.  Our apartment is in Sliema (near St. Julian's, Paceville,  and Ghadir on Balluta Bay).  We are learning the bus routes and have traveled down to St. Julian's for groceries and dinner, discovered the local church garden and an ancient torri (tower) up the road, gone on shopping trips to Tigne's (pronounced Ten-yay) shopping centre near the Sliema Ferries, and visited the ancient city of Valetta several times.  The more we see, the more we are fascinated by this ancient place, it's history and it's juxtaposition of very new and very old.  The walls of the old city of Valetta look like the drawings I've seen of the palace of Nebuchadnezzar's Babylon - thick, windowless, slanting walls made of stone that are at least 3 stories high, with limestone buildings above that are hundreds of years old.  Sometimes it feels like I might be walking in Jerusalem with all the desert coloured limestone, the palm trees, and the medieval architecture. The Knights of St John built a well-fortified city and many of those buildings are still standing and being used today.  But, this place has history that goes back much farther than the Romans.  Almost every Western civilization has left its mark here.  The proximity to Africa and the Middle East have left cultural and architectural touches, as well.  This was a day of churches, though.

The largest hibiscus I've seen yet - This is on the bayside walk in Sliema.

The little house that could, old sandwiched in with new

The view of Valetta from the Sliema ferry area

Bird of Paradise flowers still blooming in late November, outside in Sliema

The view from our apartment balcony.  Our apartment is on the 7th (our 8th) floor.  It's modern with elevator, kitchen, washer/dryer, TV (that doesn't work properly), and wifi (pronounced wiffy here).  But, you can see that the city beyond our balcony is very old mingled with new. The temp got up to 70 F today, but it's the rainy/windy season.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring?

The Parish Church of St Gregory the Great faces onto Balutta Bay and is around the corner from our apartment.

The back garden at Parish Church of St Gregory the Great - notice the poinsettia tree blooming

Church of Our Lady of Victories, Valletta, Malta

Church of Our Lady of Victories, Valletta, Malta

I love these inlaid marble floors.  Many of these designs cover crypts of historical figures.

St John's Co-cathedral, Valletta, Malta [There was only one archbishop for the cathedral in Valletta when the Knights of Malta wanted to build their own cathedral.  So, they compromised with the archbishop and made it a co-cathedral.]  This church is very unimposing on the outside.  But, look at that inside!

The Maltese cross is everywhere

The inlaid marble floors are almost all crypts underneath

The crypt of the first librarian of the Knights of St John in Malta

The frequency of the skull and skeleton appearing on these crypts reminds me of Tarot cards.

Apparently, the co-cathedral was very plain for a century.  But, when the baroque style of architecture and decoration came into vogue, the Knights decorated.  Talk about over the top!

This is one of the paintings by Carrivagio

The nursing Madonna, I think

The main sanctuary

Outside, in front of the church, is a tribute to the Maltese journalist who was assassinated by car bomb recently.

The Bibliotheca (National Library of Malta) - the last building built by the Knights of St John  Malta Libraries

The National Library collection appears to be very old.  They currently have an historical exhibit running called "From absolutism to glasnost: a journey into Russian history through the National Library Collection - An exhibition organised on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution, 1917".  It was very interesting, including some very old newspaper articles, original handwritten letters and journals.  (Malta has strong connections to Russia, as well as Italy and Spain.) This is a research library and only the exhibit area of the library hall is open to visitors.  Only researchers can use the rest of the library and absolute quiet is enforced.  Pictures are only allowed outside the library room, probably because they are distracting and maybe because they don't want any old book shopping.  The remainder of the building is said to include a bindery and book repair shop, which is absolutely necessary judging from the age of many of the books I saw and was encouraged not to touch.

The view from the top step of the library

View from the top step of the library

The Palace garden

Inside the gate to the Palace garden

Being a British territory at one time, the Maltese drive on the left and have red telephone boxes that take credit cards now.

The Plaza in front of the Palace in Valletta

Front door to the Palace.  Of course, we were too late to enter.  Maybe next time.

Meghan, look what's going to be playing in the opulent St John's  Co-cathedral in January!

Christmas tree made of coloured glass balls

The building behind the Christmas tree is the brand new Maltese legislature building.

Could Chihuly have been here?  Or is this Valletta glass?  Inquiring minds need to know.

The view down the pedestrian street 

The half-moon above and between the two legislature buildings

Tomorrow, we hope to go to Mdina, the oldest place on Malta I believe; the place that was established by the Phoenicians and has been occupied for thousands of years.  It was the capital city until the Knights moved the seat of government to Valletta to be next to the sea.  But, I'm told that many of the ancient families' homes are still in Mdina.