Last day

Andrew Galea reflects on his last day of his trip to Malta:

Well the best was yet to come. Louis told me that today the president of Malta was paying a visit to the club. Yes the president, as in the George W Bush equivalent (well the Maltese president is much cooler). Apparently he is from the area and once a year has morning tea at the club and today was the day! Sure enough a cavalcade turns up shortly afterwards and out steps the president of Malta! Whilst he had security guards etc it was nothing like the APEC summit so I got a good look at him. It came as no surprise when Edwin told me he knew the president personally however when he said he would arrange a photo for me with him I was pretty excited!

I mean I was blown away! Here were all these dignitaries and I was going to get a photo with the president of Malta wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Man what a blast this was. I have shown the photo to as many locals as I can find this afternoon and they have all been blown away by it. So there you have it, Andrew from Greystanes shook hands and had a photo with the president of Malta. We spent a few hours at the club before Louis told me we were going to pick up his wife Lina and have lunch at a restaurant owned by her brothers in St Julians..

My evening consisted of gathering around the family table of my uncle Leo and aunty Julie's house, sharing 2 plates of pastizzi and playing a few games of Scrabble. It was a fitting end to my holiday here in Malta, because whilst I have enjoyed so many aspects of my time here, including falling in love with the country and its people, the one thing that has stood it apart from every trip I have ever had before in my life has been the time I have spent with my extended families. It has made me reflect on my family back home and how grateful I am that my family plays such significant part in my life.

..My time here has drawn to a close. Hard to place into words how much I have enjoyed the experience. I knew this day would come and I am looking forward to returning home and continuing life's journey. Well this is me signing off from my journal and a wonderful month spent on the Mediterranean islands of Malta and Sicily. I needed this holiday, and whilst travelling on your own is sometimes a poor reflection on the social state of the individual (ummm…I have friends…honest!) I don’t think I would have enjoyed it anywhere near as much any other way. At least not at this point in my life. There are a lot of things I have realised and learned on this holiday that I want to take and keep with me when I return to Australia.

I hope you have enjoyed sharing this journey with me via my journal and I am eternally grateful for the wonderful comments many of you have sent to me about it. Those comments are what gave me the push and the inspiration to write something each day, and now I have a detailed and insightful log of my travels. Something I will cherish for all my days remaining...