16-18 January 2008             

Post #12:  Walking Tour of Valletta (see related Web Album)

Before letting Isabelle head back to Canada, we wanted to at least see more of the historic sites in Malta.  Unfortunately, with the six children, we weren't able to get her to as many of the places we'd have liked.  The time she had here (15 days—not counting arrival and departure days) sure went quickly.  She flew out this afternoon.

Knowing she had much to do to pack for home on Thursday, she opted for a walking tour of Valletta on her last touring day.  So, on Wednesday, we took the bus to Valletta, the capitol city.  It's set on a peninsula with deep inlets on the north and south.  At the tip of the peninsula is Fort St. Elmo. See wikipedia for an abbreviated history of Malta.   

Named Malet by the Phoenicians, the term means “safe haven.”  The city, and hence the island, has a rich history with influences that include Roman, Arab, Greek, British and even Spanish, due to the occupations that took place over time.  

We enjoyed the amazing views from the stone precipice that surrounds Valletta.  The photos don't seem to do justice to how amazing the sights are in reality.  We especially enjoyed the view to the north that allows you to see beyond the stone structures of the city over to the hills and cliffs on the more rural section of the island.

Once we made it to Fort St. Elmo, Isabelle asked if she could take one more shopping tour of the main district.  So at this point, with the boys more interested in seeing the inside of the fort, we split up.  Isabelle and Rachel took a walkie-talkie and headed uphill to Triq Republik  (Republic Street) and DeDe and the boys, with another walkie-talkie, went into the gate of the fort. 

The inside of Fort St. Elmo is something out of a movie set.  (Which actually is a fact, as you'll see reading these comments from wikipedia.)  We were surprised to find black smoke rising from the courtyard at the bottom of a long downhill road.  There was one wall, three stories high, with rooms along each floor and a short balcony, like you would see in a prison.  We wondered if it was indeed once used as a prison for the captives of war.  Without a guide book, or tour guide, we were left guessing, and we knew we'd have to look this up.  (After looking it up, we can only see that it was used as a movie set of a prison.  See previous link to wikipedia.)

The boys were anxious to run all over this place, but we immediately saw large (human size) holes in some surfaces that allowed you to look down into the next floor...all built of concrete.  That is to say, some HUMAN fell through what appeared to be a solid surface!  As we came upon this sight, a man walked by and said, “You be careful.  This place is dangerous.”  Well, that made DeDe a bit extra cautious about giving any freedom to the boys. 

Since Nathan was riding in the stroller, they took turns watching him and going up the steps to explore.  David, meanwhile, had some sort of flu bug coming on, which caused him to experience loose bowels, so this complicated the touring seriously.  David, having already soiled himself a bit, needed attention, but there appeared to be no restroom to take care of the matter.  DeDe found a stairwell, and she handed Bobby to Ian (Bobby was strapped in a front carrier), and she worked to clean up David as best as she could, using the wipes she had packed along.  His under garments were seriously tinged, so they had to go to the trash.  She put one of Nathan's diapers on him, and they continued the tour.

They began to walk down to the courtyard  in front of the prison-like structure, but as they got closer, DeDe noticed some scary-looking characters standing in the doorways of some of the rooms.  At this point, she decided that perhaps this is a tour that could wait for when Daddy was along.  She called the boys back up the hill, and they responded, but were not happy that they couldn't continue on.  DeDe explained that it just didn't seem very safe, and she'd rather not go down there.  She promised they'd return one day with Daddy.

They left the fort and  found a courtyard on the outer plaza of the fort walls.  There are many round stones covering holes in the ground.  We had read that these were bomb shelters, and that they had stocked them with rations.  The boys found an opening next to one of the holes, and they dropped a stone in to see how deep the hole was.  It took till “5-one-thousand” for the stone to hit bottom.  Simultaneously the boys said, “Whoa!”  They were adequately impressed! 

We continued on and took photos of the harbor to the south, Grand Harbor.  As we walked along, David reported that he had another accident.  So we decided to get as far as the War Museum, and then cut back to Republic Street to find the girls and a place to change the diapers.  When DeDe tried to contact the girls by radio, the batteries went dead.  We went to our arranged meeting spot, but the girls were not there.  David was slowing down at this point.  He had enough walking.  Typically, he could handle it, but this flu bug was clearly causing him trouble. 

We went up the street and watched for Rachel and Isabelle.  When we didn't find them, and with boys getting very tired and very hungry, DeDe decided to beckon the help of two police officers.  Since she never did find the Casa Picolla, which was the actual meeting spot, and she didn't want to drag the boys back down the steep hill, she decided to ask Officer Friendly if he might go back and see if the girls were there for us. 

There were two officers.  One was kinder, thinner and younger.  The other was serious, hefty and older.  The thin one offered to go down and look for the girls.  He also radioed the station to see if the girls were looking for us.  It was getting dark by this time (6:00 PM) and DeDe was beginning to worry.  Isabelle knows her way around, and we talked about remaining on the main street, so they should be fine.  It was possible Isabelle was simply having too much fun shopping, and without radio contact, she may have decided they were on their own.  She knows how to catch a bus to get home.  Yet, DeDe didn't like the situation.  The not knowing...

DeDe and the boys waited, with the older officer, by an outdoor cafeteria which is set up in the Palace Courtyard, and DeDe took David to a nearby park bench and changed him.  When she finished, the older officer said, “These are all yours?”  Meaning, the boys.  DeDe said, “Yes.”  There was a hesitation as he counted heads, then he said, “And you're missing one?”  DeDe said, “Yes, my daughter.”  Then he offered, “You can stop now.” (He meant she should stop having children.)  She said, “Yes, we're stopping.  Thanks.” 

The other officer returned to say he found the place, and the girls were never seen there.  They then suggested we come up to the station and see if the girls checked in.  DeDe said she would like to purchase new batteries for the walkie-talkie, and see if she could make contact.  As they followed the officers up the street, DeDe said to the elder officer, “So, should we be terribly concerned?  I mean, are young girls abducted around here?”  The older officer said, “No.  That's not likely.  Not in this area, but up at the bus terminus there are many derelicts.”  This did NOT help DeDe's stress level. 

We arrived at a mini-mart, and Ian and Addison sat on the curb next to the stroller which held Nathan, while DeDe, and a rather smelly David, went into a mini-mart.  They grabbed batteries and DeDe ripped open the package and put them in the radio while they stood in line to pay.  She tried to make contact, but got no reply.  She figured, the girl's radio batteries were likely dead, too. 

After paying, DeDe led the way out of the store, and David fell head first down the two steps that led to the sidewalk!  Strangers stopped and helped her set him upright.  He was crying and said he banged his face, but he didn't have any (new) bruises (he has a few from recent days...the sidewalks are bumpy and he's had a few spills).  We brushed him off and led him to join the other boys on the curb.

DeDe had also purchased some sugar wafers, so she gave the boys some to hold off their belly-aches 'til supper.  Then she stepped into the middle of the street and said into the radio, “Rachel, by the grace of God, answer me!”  She turned around, and out of a store just two doors down, she spotted Isabelle, and then Rachel.  Ugh!  She was so happy and so furious at the same time.  She gave the girls a yell, and then grabbed them and hugged them, and then said, “Did you ever go to Casa Picolla?”  They said, “No.”  She said, “Why not?”  “Well, when the radio died, we figured we'd be on our own, since we couldn't communicate when to meet there.”  Okay, that was fair enough.  DeDe was just glad they were okay. 

They went to catch the bus to find out they missed it by a couple minutes.  DeDe had been in contact with Dave via cell phone, so he knew what she was going through, as he called in when he arrived home from work.  He made dinner, and DeDe suggested he start a hot bath for poor David, too.

The tired tour group waited another 30 minutes for the next bus, and then piled on.  When they arrived to their stop, DeDe noticed David giving her a glance, and then he closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep.  Isabelle had to carry him out of the bus, and we set a blanket on the seat of the stroller and dropped his smelly butt in it, and then made the dangerous trek across four lanes of traffic and back to the flat.

The ravioli tasted delicious, and David enjoyed his warm bath.  Funny, we've had NO water pressure in the morning when we go to shower, and here, the hot water worked just fine for David's bath!  Grrr!!

On Thursday, we decided to take it easy.  The kids worked on school work in the morning, while Isabelle began getting her clothes washed and packed.  They watched a movie in the afternoon, and got a visit from Nimanyah, who brought some toys for the boys.  He's always offering to bring us things.  He says he has “infinite amounts of money,” so it is “no problem”...”he can get us whatever we want.”

He offered to give Isabelle a free iPod, and then when it came to her leaving, he said he'd send it by post because it needs a part.  She said, “That's okay, it would cost too much to ship it.”  He said, “Oh, I would pay for the post, it is no problem.”  She continued to decline the offer.  He's one interesting boy.

This morning, Friday, Isabelle finished packing, and we said our sad good byes.  When she left, DeDe took the boys down to the futbol field, and they played a heated game of two on two.  DeDe and David versus Ian and Addison.  Nathan was happy to just get a turn kicking the ball now and then, and Bobby watched from the stroller.  Rachel stayed up in the flat and played Minesweeper.  She was up late with Isabelle, playing cards.  Isabelle had to do something while waiting for her clothes in the dryer.  :)

David kept quitting the team during our soccer game, (every time the boys stole the ball from him), and by the time we came to the end, with the score tied at 9 all, Bobby was fussing, so DeDe had to take on the big boys with a baby in her arms, and she couldn't quite get to the ball, so the boys won, 10-9. 

We're missing Isabelle already.  Going to seem strange to have her seat empty at the dinner table.

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