Malta

Malta

 Oh Malta, where to begin? First, a brief description of Malta. Malta is a small island, and it is only about 122 square miles. Malta gained its independence in 1964 from the British. Because of Malta's location in the Mediterranean Sea, it has been ruled by many nations and therefore has a rich history.  We (Hayley, Evan, and I) arrived in Malta about eleven thirty. We took a taxi to our hotel. The first thing we did was go out on our balcony to see the water. It was dark so I couldn't see a lot but it was still nice to be on the coast. The next way we made our way towards the capitol.

Open bus tour

 We decided to take a bus tour so we could see as much of the island as possible in the two days we were there. The bus had two levels, one level covered and one open so you could see more and take pictures. The bus went through many villages and you could get off the bus whenever you wanted and catch one of the next buses. We got off a handful of times. We saw the capital city of Valletta, the sandy beach at Golden Bay, a fishing village where we stopped for lunch, the ancient city and old capital of Mdina, and the gorgeous cliffs of the Blue Grotto.

Fishing village

Blue Grotto

 Malta is absolutely stunning. Everyone was so welcoming there also. I had some fabulous fish and the Maltese dish of rabbit.  I didn't want to leave, but we had to catch our plane on Wednesday morning. Now comes the real fun part. We arrived at the airport about an hour before our plane was scheduled to take off. My boarding pass was in my purse but my passport was not. Panic was my first reaction. Then I realized I had left my passport at the bar we were at the night before. The bar had a computer and printer and we were using it to print off boarding passes for our flight from Rome back home on Sunday. I knew I wouldn't have time to take a taxi all the back to the bar and make it back to catch the flight. We got the number of the bar from the hotel but the bar didn't open until later.

My taxi to the airport on the wrong side of the car!

So we decided that Hayley and Evan would take the flight and I would get another one later on. They didn't want to leave me there but I knew I would be fine. So after an adventure of taking two buses to get back to the town our hotel was at and get a taxi to the bar and then back to the airport. I got another flight and flew to Rome. I took another train from the airport to the train station and then a taxi to our hostel. I was exhausted from stress and traveling but Hayley and Evan were there to greet me. They even got me flowers, a little teddy bear and a beer that was called The Lost Abbey. I missed them both! So I learned my lesson to always double check for my passport.