Malta....what a lovely surprise

We missed our "little sister-in-law" Glenda too much not to seize the chance to visit her in Malta during her summer job: the ice-cream maker. The "little one" of the family has a dream in her drawer... she wants to take a trip to Japan; her Manga friends are waiting for her, and between a cone and a cup, the destination is getting closer. Veronica and I leave from Bologna with a very expensive and not very low-cost flight... if booked 3 days before departure... Anyway, the famous Irish airline was very punctual, we even arrive 40 minutes early at the Maltese airport. Car rental, oh boy, here you drive on the left, we are in a little patch of ex-Anglo-Saxon territory in the southern Mediterranean. I get the hang of it; the last time was in Australia but too much time has passed.

It's not so bad after all, I follow the flow of the cars and I think twice before crossing an intersection; the cars will honk.... let them honk. Our "Boutique" Hotel in St. Julian's, the Giuliani Hotel, is a real pearl and just the panoramic terrace with pool is worth... the price of the ticket. Excellent choice, right in the middle of history (Valletta) and of the "Movida"...Paceville. In the evening we go to "collect" Glenda in the extreme south of Malta, at Marsascala. Vero and I treat ourselves to a little dinner based on fish, in its own way romantic... England is playing and everyone is glued to the screen, I expect at any moment a shout as big as the whole island, a collective cheer....England - Algeria 0-0, long faces....but beer works miracles.

Saturday is the established day to visit Malta far and wide, we have to do sea, see cities, panoramas, churches, cliffs and castles...... We leave early and come back in the evening completely exhausted.... so much sun, so many incredible waves, so much road. Golden Bay, Paradise Bay, Mellieha Bay....The red Tower, Mdina, a wonderful fortified city, a jewel. We return to St. Julian's....candlelit dinner....a stroll in Paceville....to "see myself again" when I was twenty. Sunday, the plane leaves at 2 pm but we have the whole morning to wander a bit more. Early in the morning we arrive at the BLUE GROTTO, a name, a guarantee. A swim in those waters would not have been bad. The megalithic temples of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra, distant eras..... 4/5000 BC....a lot of stuff, but nothing special.

Then in a rush to Valletta, another beautiful fortress city, we have an hour to have a quick breakfast and look around a bit....wow, what a rush; we also meet the Japanese globetrotter magician (on a bike) Keiichi Iwasaki (he made us part of his street show. What a laugh....and...this is a real traveller). It saddens us a lot to take Glenda back to Marsascala, but the car has to be returned to the car rental after almost 300Km covered which, in Malta....is a whole lot of stuff. From above we see again the Blue Lagoon of Comino, wow what a sea....little time to go there too, but Malta is truly a stone's throw away, we will return; it left us the impression of a small island, rich in interesting things for all tastes. History speaks for it, many civilisations have passed through here, many memories of the past coexist in harmony. A quick, but intense, weekend.

It happened by chance, at the right moment. Sometimes life gives you unexpected surprises that make your heart burst with joy, but it is also so cruel when, without warning, it turns its back on you. A trip, A couple of days with a friend, a real tornado of energy, enough to unwind and find positivity again. This strange Maltese tale.... to remind me for a long time of this period of our life, to remind me of how much fun we had, to remind me that from here we start again and......to say thank you, a THANK YOU as big as the BLUE GROTTO!! Without you, perhaps today we would still be a little sad. I am sure we will realise our dreams. Glenda, in life you have already taken flight....you will soon land in Japan.