Blue sea and dark coffee

Lisa and Josh visit Malta at the end of their Mediterranean tour:

..Scandalous this St. John story is -- a biblical soap opera. He let King Herod know that he did not approve of his marriage to Herodias, his very own sister-in-law! Damn! Herodias, she was head-bobbin mad about this, and wanted St. John killed. Her chance came when her daughter Salome's dancing so pleased Herod and aroused such irrational lust in him that he promised her anything she desired. Herodias prompted her daughter to ask for the death of John the Baptist. Herod granted her wish and John was killed.

We spent the rest of the day walking around the cobbled streets of Valetta, the country capital, taking in a few beers, a decent meal and lots of views of the Sea. You can see the Sea from virtually every street corner, and the waters are a pristine blue. We took a ferry out to Comino, the smallest of the Maltese Islands and lounged on a somewhat hidden beach and swam in the warmth of the sea. It was much needed and much relaxing. Later that night we ran into one of the guests at the B&B, Rex, at a pub in the middle of Valetta. He had alerted us to this place at breakfast earlier in the morning. What happened next was surreal.

Over three rather potent pints of Malta's local brew, Josh and I got a quick schooling on English royalty and English history. Josh wanted to hear the historical context of the royal family, whereas I was much more interested in what the Brits thought of William's ex-girlfriend, Kate. He talked and talked and talked and drank and drank and drank. I think we earned 3 semester credits during our 2 hours in the pub. We enjoyed it immensely, and walked back to the bed and breakfast listening to him rail on Tony Blair and Madeline's parents. He was an English Andy Rooney, except he looked like Nigel Tuffnel from Spinal Tap. Today we walked through some other towns in Malta and will fly to London tonight. We'll be staying with Josh's friend for 3 nights and then head to Morocco.