Tongue in Cheek

Corey Amaro, who blogs at Tongue in Cheek, is American but has lived in France for the last 20 years. She has been blogging about her Mediteranean travels and her second port of call was Malta. The comments to her blog entry are worth looking at:

Costa Romantica was the name of our cruise liner. (My children swear I picked the boat for its name. Duh, isn't that how its done?) Doesn't it look out of place? Like a monster of modernity next to the ancient port of Malta? Yann likes to explore ancient ruins, to look at his GPS and tell us how many inches we are from important landmarks and cliffs. Usually on a cruise you have a few precious hours in each port....just enough of a taste to tantalize your taste buds, to get your feet wet, and make you want to come back and explore. Therefore Yann, goes with the flow, and let's us do whatever we want...until Chelsea's vision of travel kicks in, that is.

Sacha seeks museums of history. Telling us facts that make us think, "Who is this kid?" and, "Where does he gather this stuff?" He knew which museums to go to, before we got off the boat. Who needs a tour guide when you have historian Sacha around? As for me....I like to wander without map or agenda, to go into grocery stores. I like to sit in cafes, watch people, and taste the flavors of the region. If you go to Malta you must taste the deep fried, date cream, pastries. They certainly added a lush filled cushion to my plump hips. Oh, it is also true I like to take photos of door handles.

Malta is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean. Its neighbors include, Italy and Africa. Their language is Maltese. When I heard it spoken it seemed like a mixture of english, italian, latin, arabic, and french. The words seem to bop around like numbers in a bingo barrel. Bonjour,"..."the cost,"..."cinq euro,"..."prego," then a latin word or an arabic word would follow. I felt right at home with the mixture of languages in the same sentences. Culture and history can be seen in door handles. Though Malta is mostly Catholic, the crescent moon and cherubs are neighbors in Malta.

Malta has incredible stone facades buildings, with wooden covered balconies. It seems on every corner there was a religious statue, and by every door a religious tiny shrine. I tripped many times on the mountain of stairs, because I was looking up instead of down. Even the flower stands had statues of Mary and Jesus. The public transportation buses seem to shout, "Hey lady want a ride?" I could not resist its flirtatious call. As I got off the bus and ran to the big white boat to sail away...I did make a wish to return one day.

A story of Malta - trailer, by MichaWolf (Germany) - You Tube