Category Archives: Culture

Information about the current culture of a location we visit.

Exploring Valletta

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Today we rented a scooter and headed into Valletta. Via a dinghy, it is probably only a 10 minute ride straight across the water, but via scooter it was a long drive all the way around the large harbor. The road system is confusing with unclear signs, and we made several wrong turns along the way. The fact that they drive on the left didn’t help, either. The drivers are pretty good here, though, which is a welcome relief from Italy.

Our first stop was The Malta Experience, which is a 45 minute movie about the history of Malta. We navigated our way through town to a small building on Valletta’s waterfront. We assumed this would be the entrance. Not even close. We followed a series of signs that directed us down a staircase along the face of the cliff to an opening in the retaining wall. Then through a long, gently sloping tunnel to a fairly large underground room that serves as a gift shop/ticket booth. The room lets into a hallway where we lined up. When the doors opened, we were ushered into a large underground theater. Wow, it was really cool to be in one of the secret tunnels and rooms that you always read about in fairy tales. They really do exist!

We found out that during World War II, Continue reading →

Welcome to Vittoriosa, Malta

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By 0830, we were approaching Valletta. We had been told Valletta is spectacular looking, and it really is. It is a giant fortress, and much like Rhodes, as you enter into the old city, you feel like you are stepping back into time. Except that in Rhodes, you had to actually walk through the walls to get the strong sense of history. Here in Valletta, it was apparent from the water.

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Malta’s main town of Valletta is located on Continue reading →

Kayaking Siracusa and Passage to Malta

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Yesterday we decided to get some use out of some more gear we have been lugging around the world with us, our kayaks. Eric has used his twice and Christi has used hers only once.

We paddled through the canal to the ocean on the west side of the island, and then followed the coast around the island back to the marina. It was a nice day, perfect for a paddle. It was 2.2 nautical miles around the island, so it was a good workout without being too long of a ride. The island looks pretty from the sea. Here is a shot of the fort/castle looking structure on the southern tip of Ortygia that we have mentioned a couple of times.

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We returned to Kosmos to find a Nordhavn 47, Bluewater, tied up next to us. The owners, Milt and Judy, are friends of ours and we had been coordinating this rendezvous with them over e-mail for the last few days. It was great to see them. They were one of the many more experienced boaters that helped us with picking options for Kosmos and with understanding what we were getting ourselves into with the full time boating life.

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We visited with them for a while, and then Eric and Christi took the bikes 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 →

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 →