Category Archives: Food

What we are eating and where we mention food.

More Exploring Valletta

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Today we took the scooter back to Valletta. We had lunch in a small café in what seemed to be the heart of downtown. The café had a food menu and a separate multi-page hot chocolate menu featuring flavors such as meringue, caramel, strawberry, banana, peach, whisky, hazelnut, white chocolate, pistachio, and more. We couldn’t resist, we had to try one of these gourmet hot chocolates, so Christi ordered one. What came out was not flavored milk, this was truly hot chocolate. It was thick and rich, the same texture as hot fudge sauce. We are guessing it probably is made just like hot fudge except using milk instead of butter. Eric got another beverage off the specialty drink menu, vanilla Italian crème. It was also a very thick, hot liquid, and tasted similar to crème brulee.

After lunch, we headed over to The Barrakka Upper Gardens. As far as the garden part goes, it was nice, but not impressive. There are more concrete walkways than garden, so while the plants are beautiful, there simply aren’t a lot of them. What is impressive, though, is the fabulous views of Grand Harbor. It is the best viewpoint we have seen yet in Malta, and there are fabulous views everywhere. In the first shot, you can barely see the marina in the left finger. The second shot is of the harbor entrance.

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From there we went to the Grand Master’s palace, the residence of the head of the knights back in the day. Now it is Continue reading →

Exploring Valletta – Part 2

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Continued from yesterday”¦ Once we finished at the archeological museum, we went to St. John’s Co-Cathedral, the official house of worship for the Knights, and adjoining Cathedral Museum. The cathedral was completed in 1577, and as you can see, the exterior “has the character of a fortress reflecting the sober mood of the Order”¦”

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When the cathedral was first built, the inside was just as plain as the outside. The layout is simple — the center is the main church area and altar, devoted to St. John the Baptist, and on each side are four little nooks, called chapels. Each chapel was devoted to a specific language group and their patron saint. But, later the baroque era began, and ornately decorated churches were the rage. The inside was updated to reflect the style of the times.

We walked in and were immediately overwhelmed. True baroque churches are covered with elaborate décor, and this is a true baroque church. The floors are made of marble, and are loaded with colorful tombs with pictures of crests and angels made from assorted colors of marble. Here is one of the many, and every tomb is different.

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Some sections of the walls have paintings, scenes from the life of John the Baptist using fairly bright colors. Every single inch of space not devoted to paintings is Continue reading →

Making Friends in Siracusa

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Yesterday morning, Christi went to the open air market, which is a collection of folding tables with awnings lining one of the streets of Ortygia, near the canal. Most of the vendors were selling produce or fresh seafood. There were a few venders selling cheeses and cured meats, such as ham and salami. And a few vendors selling thinks like olives and sun dried tomatoes. There was also a random assortment of durable goods, with vendors selling everything from clothing, to cloth, to toys, belts, purses, jewelry, etc. We had been told it is the best market on Sicily and it really was good.

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While Christi was out, Eric flushed out the DC water maker and changed the pre-filter. He was doing some computer work when he noticed Continue reading →

Mt. Etna Volcano

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We were both looking forward to seeing Mt. Etna. Ever since Tanna, we have a new love for volcanoes. Plus, the name brings back fond memories for us. When we were in college (university), there was a nearby restaurant called Etnas with really cheap food that we both ate at often. We both loved it. (As an FYI, we both went to the same school, but didn’t meet until several years after we had both graduated)

Mt. Etna is Europe’s largest volcano at 3350 meters, and one of the most active. It’s biggest recorded eruption was Continue reading →

Exploring Siracusa and Catania

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This morning we went out for breakfast. Lonely Planet had warned that in Italy they eat only pastries for breakfast. Of course, we only found pastries. We tried ciambellas, which are like Krispy Kreme donuts, but instead of the goopy glaze they are rolled in granulated sugar. No joke Krispy Kreme must have stolen the recipe from the Italians. You can get plain, chocolate filled, cream filled or ricotta filled. Eric went for cream. Christi got a chocolate and a ricotta. She found the chocolate to be too rich, but loved the ricotta one. The donuts here are also noticeably larger than Kristy Kremes.

After breakfast, we rented a car so to do some sightseeing outside of the Ortigya. Beyond the island, it is still mostly very old buildings for quite a ways. How old they are is questionable — probably not Baroque, but certainly in the more than a hundred years category, probably multiple centuries old. It turns into an industrial area with a mix of crumbling old buildings and new buildings. Beyond the industrial area was the outskirts of town.

We turned around and went another direction, driving around what seems to be the heart of the newer city. The buildings are mostly mid-rise, 3 10 stories tall. Most are built in the 20th century and plain, blocky structures, though here and there are a few aesthetically appealing modern buildings. Occasionally, you’d see a few historic buildings scattered in and amongst the new buildings.

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We passed by three churches, all of them very Continue reading →