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28-30 January 2008
Can't believe we've been here a month already! The time has been flying. We're eager to get back to our “normal lives” in some ways, yet there is so much more to see and do here, it's a good thing we've got more time! We had a quiet day on Monday in order to allow Bill and Shirley ample time to rest and adjust to the time zone. Since Dave is working, and we still don't have the micro-van back, DeDe and the kids piled into the car, and DeDe had her first “driving-lesson.” As with all the drivers here in Malta, she learned by doing. Seriously, an article we read in the Air Malta magazine said that there are so many drivers, and the Malta Polizei (police) are left with the duty to train drivers, but they have not been able to keep up, so they pretty much just hand out the driver's licenses without doing any kind of teaching, training, trials, or testing. It's pretty obvious, too, as one gets out there! One way to learn is to drive! (NOTE from the webmeister, Dave: as I posted previously, driving in Malta is like a 'high-stakes' video game! In our case, the stakes include the nearly $900 deductible on any damage to the car!) One could write an entire blog on the experience one has driving on the wrong side of the road, wrong side of the car, shifting with the wrong hand...and among speeding drivers on streets that are barely big enough for a few bicycles to pass safely! But we'll spare you all that...the good news is, we've been driving for almost a week now, and so far, we've avoided incidents! Glory to God! When we arrived at the hotel, DeDe dropped the kids at the door, (Rachel had Bobby in the front-pack) and she sent them up to the room, while she went to park the car. She then got a whole lot of practice maneuvering on the streets of Sliema, as she worked to find a spot anywhere near the hotel. She literally found herself getting lost in the maze of streets, half of which are one-way, and the other half blocked by either cones and police personnel, or gigantic cranes! It took her over 30 minutes to find a parking spot, and it was nowhere close to the hotel. So frustrating! She had a laundry basket packed with food stuff to help supply Bill and Shirley's pantry for their week at the hotel. Driving those narrow, dizzying streets, and carrying that load a distance, had her sweating by the time she made it to the room. The kids were anxious for a swim, and then we visited a bit in the hotel room. Then we began the shuttle to the apartment for a pesto pasta meal with some local white fish and salmon. (DeDe, Rachel, and Grandpa Bill stopped at the grocery on the way back to the apartment. They also stopped at John's truck for some fresh veggies.) Dave arrived home in time to go back to the hotel for Grandma, David and Nathan, so DeDe could focus on fixing the meal. Monday night, Rachel and Ian got to sleep over at the hotel. They love this privilege! Grandma and Grandpa are very good at their grandparent role of spoiling the children. The kids reported that they were allowed to stay up late to watch a movie, then swim in the morning, then have lunch at a restaurant! Addison just couldn't wait for it to be his turn! Tuesday, DeDe worked on cleaning up the apartment. If one does not dust frequently, and mop floors often, a thick film of sticky, black dust covers every surface. It's rather disgusting, and it's been determined that it is a combination of automobile exhaust and construction dust. It's one part of living here that is far from glamorous, and makes us all look forward to fresh Stevens Point air! We realize now that “air pollution” where we come from is largely an abstract concept. Thank God! After lunch, DeDe, with the four little ones, drove over to the hotel. (Remember Rachel and Ian were already over there, having slept over.) The kids were eager to swim right away, so we went right down to the pool and gave Shirley and Bill a little quiet time. After work, Dave took a bus back to the apartment and started supper, while DeDe drove Grandpa, Rachel, (with Bobby in front-pack), Ian and Addison back for soccer practice. Then Dave went back for Grandma and the two little boys. DeDe went down before practice and inquired with
Zazu about getting Rachel involved in soccer as well.
He was pleased to hear she showed an interest.
He suggested she go on Friday.
DeDe asked if it would be possible for her to practice Tuesdays
with the boys, so as to not interfere with more of our evenings here.
He said that could work.
She ended up practicing with the younger boys because she's at
the beginner level as well, and this would be best for her to learn.
She did well, and Ian and Addison are looking better each week.
The drills they come up with are very basic, but they really help
the kids to use all kinds of kicking and maneuvering skills.
Dave took Bill, Shirley, Addison and Ian over to the hotel, and the rest of us watched a little of Cinderella II, and then went off to sleep. Last Saturday, DeDe paid a 25 euro deposit for a video membership at a little shop down the street. She got six videos for 2.30 euros on Saturday. The videos are due next Saturday. Seemed a pretty good deal, and funniest thing, is you don't pay until you return the videos! (Except for deposit.) Haven't had much time to watch much video with all the swimming the kids are doing, but we're working at it. One cute DVD we got was “Valiant”-- the animated story of the RHPS! (Royal Homing Pigeon Service) Cute little movie. Today, Wednesday, January 30, we packed up for a tour of Valletta with Bill and Shirley. DeDe and the kids got to the hotel around 10:45, and we gathered up the rest of the gang and headed off for the nearest bus stop. Caught a bus to Valletta, took a quick group photo (minus DeDe, camera person) at the Triton Fountain, which was running for once, so we had to take the picture! Then we walked to the Tourism Office for a few pamphlets and a new map. There is a carnival coming up this weekend, and it seems some folks can't wait for the weekend. We heard Asian music playing and saw many painted faces and masked persons right in the first square after you enter the city gate. (DeDe got video...perhaps Shirley has some good photos) The group of carnival folks passed us with a car following them which had speakers strapped to its top, blasting loud carnival music. Wish I could upload video for you as well. It was something. They paraded down Rebublic Street, which is much like State Street in Madison... cobblestones and no cars allowed usually. Shops along each side along with a spattering of cafes, bistros, and McDo's and BK's... We headed up toward the Grand Harbor side of the city, to show Grandma and Grandpa the view. We went to a garden area we had not yet seen, since our tour with Isabelle started on the other side, and we didn't quite circumvent the city up to this point. So this was the last remaining corner for the kids and I to explore. It was truly remarkable! (See web album!) These were the Upper Barrakka Gardens. (Also spelled Barracca...maybe the former is Maltese, the latter is English?) After taking in the views, we had lunch at a little cafe, The Barrakkuk, right outside the garden gate. The service was extremely slow, and DeDe clearly needs work on reading menus written in plain English! She ordered three plates of Pasta Marinara, expecting a plain red sauce. But the eldest boys were given a plate of penne noodles with a red sauce that included seafood! They didn't care for it much, so the kind gentlemen (who pointed out that the fine print does say “tomato sauce with seafood” to DeDe, who sheepishly explained that where she came from marinara means no meat) took two of the three plates of pasta and rinsed the sauce off, so they had parmesan and oil pasta instead. Addison was a trooper and ate the pasta just as it was, pushing the little funny-looking items (Shrimp, crab, etc...) off to the side. DeDe had a tasty spinach and cheese tortellini, Bill had the Spaghetti Napolitane (which is what one should order if they want plain red sauce) and Shirley had a beef sandwich. Rachel ordered her pasta straight up, just the way she likes it, plain! She adds oil or butter and salt for flavor. We got fish and chips for Nathan. After eating, DeDe and the boys went down to meet Dave who took a bus from work to meet us at the Tourism Office, and then we wanted to share with him the neat views we'd seen, so we walked back up to the Upper Barrakka Gardens, rejoining Grandma, Grandpa and Rachel. This was about all the hiking the seniors and kids could stand today, and some kids had that swimming pool on their minds, so we grabbed the next bus back to Sliema, and before we knew it we were back by the pool. Nathan did fall asleep on the bus ride home, but he perked right up at the word “swim.” He enjoys stepping into the pool at the stairs, and going about waist deep and then climbing out by the side of the pool. He also likes the hot tub, but not when the kids turn those noisy, scary jets on! (Note, in the group of photos from today, you'll see a shot of the boys piled on each other at the top of the stairs in the hotel. This was how we found them when we got off the elevator...they had raced us to the fourth floor! It was about a tie! We have very funny kids, don't you think?) (smile) Down at the pool, DeDe enjoyed some time, baby-free, and swam ten laps, then went up to rest in the hot tub, only to have the walkie-talkie* ring...Bobby just doesn't want to be away from his mom very long. It's not a good thing, either...and poor Grandma's feelings are getting hurt. Shirley can relate so well to DeDe's need for a little time away from the needy babe, yet when she tries to sit with him, he blows a gasket. She's been so patient, but Bobby is one assertive little boy. Rachel went up to get him, and then DeDe dried off and sat with him until Dave came back from the grocery. He'd gone in search of some salad and fresh bread for dinner. When he came to the pool area, he and DeDe actually had a few moments of uninterrupted conversation, and then Dave went to get his suit on, and DeDe went up to feed Bobby. We were able to find a wireless internet connection in the hotel room, so DeDe fed Bobby and then checked email. Fun to hear from you guys at home---THANKS! Keep emailing us!! It's so nice to feel connected to you! Television in the hotel is pretty useless. Bill and Shirley have found one channel that plays movies almost all day in English. This is the only viewable channel for them really. Though some of the movies are a bit trashy or dated. “Crocodile Dundee” was on last night. Tonight was “Loser”...we didn't stick with that one long. It got pretty “rated” pretty fast. BBC News is the only other channel in English, and Mom's reaction to that, “They just sit and trash America and Americans!” True. Sad, but true. The other thing to note about television at the hotel is there are subtitles in Arabic! We can't seem to change them. It would be nice if they could change some of the Maltese-speaking channels to English subtitles, but we can't figure out how to do that. Too bad. After the swim, anyway, we had delicious grilled cheese, with cheese smuggled in from Wisconsin! Good job, Shirley!! (The Maltese cheese is just not the same –maybe made with goat's milk?...and the Cheeseheads here have needs, you know?) Our bodies were so happy to devour the real stuff on the good, fresh Malta bread! Wow! Delightful. We rounded the meal off with some fresh carrots and peppers, and lemonade. Okay, not a real square meal, but we followed with popcorn pretty much right away, for extra fiber. :) Sort of the poor-mans hotel meal. But nobody complained. We had dessert of chocolate cookies of some Maltese variety. Left Grandma and Grandpa alone tonight with no extra kids. Thought they could use a little quiet, alone time. Addison and David will be taking their turn next. Each of the three big kids worked it out so they'd get two turns, pairing with each other and then one of the little ones. Watching that Cyberchase show (cartoon that teaches math skills) has really helped these kids with figuring out things like that. It's quite amazing how quickly they figured out how they could pair up and work it out so each of them would get to be with a sibling they'd enjoy and each get two turns. Sharp little cookies, they are! The big news Dave brought home yesterday is that there's a Malta Marathon and Half-Marathon coming up end of February! Now, if only we'd known this sooner, we'd have taken our running schedule more seriously. As it is, though, we can hardly stand not to do the Half at least! I mean, how many opportunities will we get again to run a race in Malta??? And a half-marathon, no less? We're crazy enough to give it a go. At 35 euro entry fee, we think it worth the fun, and so great to say we've “been there, done that, and really did get the t-shirt!” Much more to share on the developments with Dave's work at MCAST and the University of Malta. We'll talk more about that in a future post. This one is long enough, and DeDe's eyes are drooping. Time to join the rest of the snoozers. Thanks for taking the time to read this stuff...apologies if it's more detailed than you wish...it's so we can prevent future arguments about “what we did in Malta”. :) Sahha! That's good bye in Maltese (serves as Hello, as well – sort of like ALOHA?)...Rachel found a “Pocket Maltese” book today that offers tourist info including some translations. Will check it before posting to be sure that is right. *Walkie-talkies We have been carrying these walkie-talkies along quite often, and they have been such wonderful little helpers for us! A BIG THANKS, to UNCLE BILL GIBBS for these great radios! They were his Christmas present to us. They have a 26-mile range! We can use them to communicate with the hotel from our living room at the apartment. It's not terribly clear because they are over the hill from us (down by the shoreline) and there is so much concrete between us, but we CAN hear them and after a few tries, we get the gist of the message. We love using them when we split up, like today, when we went to find Dave, and Dad had not finished eating, so he and Shirley and Rachel remained at the restaurant. It made reconnecting with them so easy! We highly recommend folks carry such things when traveling. They're super! Send us an email about this post! dgibbs at uwsp dot edu or dedegibbs at gmail dot com |
