Archive | pretty places

Malta {Part 2 of 2}

April 10, 2012 at 3:39 pm

Our second day in Malta was a little more rustic than urban, and we also got to spend more time on the beach. Yesss!

First thing in the morning, we set off for the Blue Grotto on the western side of the island. Pretty little skiffs tugged at their moorings as salty Maltese boatmen caught up on last night’s gossip before beginning another day.

We waited for our own ride around the Blue Grotto:

And what a lovely ride it was! We dipped into different caves formed by years of water washing on rock. Beneath the crystal clear water we could see the deceptively fragile forms of lavender-hued jellyfish, their long tentacles streaming behind them.

Afterwards we walked along the rocky beach for a short distance and then sat down in the sunshine. Lena discovered a little hole in the rock that was filled with seawater from last night’s high tide. She dipped her hand in experimentally and then tasted the water on her fingers. Wowza! Salty and so yummy! She proceeded to dip her hand in over and over, licking the salt off each time. Here’s a video:

Later we drove to visit the temples at Hagar Qim. Our Malta guide book suggested that you could see them fairly well without paying the entrance fee, and Lonely Planet was right, as usual. We followed the paths between the two temple sites and looked through the fences at the ancient ruins. In that way the setup reminded me of Stonehenge. This photo is from the edge of a cliff near the temples. What a view!

We had just watched Gladiator again in our hotel room the night before, and these fields of wheat reminded us of the classic scenes of “the Spaniard” smoothing his hand over the heads of wheat on his farm in every dream sequence. Much of The Gladiator was filmed in Malta, believe it or not, as well as other films like The Count of Monte Cristo and Casino Royale. Like Italy was for spaghetti westerns, Malta is cheap.

By this point it was high time for lunch, and we were starving. Lonely Planet recommended Ghar Lapsi, a nearby town, which consisted almost entirely of three restaurants and a little stretch of rocky beach. Lena got her feet wet for the first time in Malta. She loved it!

Telling us all about it…

Meeting a hermit crab:

In the Blue Creek Restaurant, we ordered their risotto con calamari al nero de seppia, or calamari risotto in squid ink. Lena and I loved it, but it looked like she was eating mud!

At this point, with our departure time approaching, we chose to spend the last few hours in Malta on one of the recommended beaches. Although chilly in April, it was a peaceful way to leave the island. We watched teenagers kicking a soccer ball around and listened to them speak in their strangely clipped English, the language of upperclass Maltese. We finished off the wine from lunch, read a few lines of our books, watched the sun dip into the sea, and kept an eye on our little explorer, Lena.

And then at last to the airport and then home, where we finally slipped little Lena into bed around 11pm. Malta was, like I said, a short and sweet trip for us, but a beautiful one (especially this time of year!) and we’d recommend it to anyone. If you’re coming our way to Sicily, we can suggest an inexpensive flight or ferry ride and you’ll be on your way to Malta for the weekend!

4 :: in family, friends, Lena, pretty places, travel

Sunday in the valley

March 20, 2012 at 3:39 pm

On Sunday afternoon we packed a picnic blanket, books, and oranges and walked down into the valley below our house. We brought along the cute dog we’re pet sitting this week as well as a length of twine. After we found a quiet spot of green grass, Elliott tied the dog to the twine and the twine to his leg. Viola! Long leash! She snuffed and scurried about happily, nose to the ground, while we spread out on our blanket.

Lena still isn’t sure what to think of our little doggie friend (although she does seem to be working on the word “dog”). With two animal-lover parents, though, she will be spending a lot of time with animals in her life!

Elliott and I settled down to read…

… while Lena crawled over and under and around and upon everything she could find, especially us.

Finally she settled down to eat one of her favorite things: a blood orange.

Such a peaceful, pleasant afternoon! It is good for the soul to escape into natural beauty every now and then, I believe, and it doesn’t hurt to have a book in hand, a dog curled up next to you, and a baby giggling up into your face.

2 :: in family, home sweet home, pretty places, Sicily

almond blossoms in our valley

February 21, 2012 at 3:48 pm

I am feeling slightly overwhelmed right now after downloading about 600 pictures onto our computer. We took a weekend trip and have come back with more photos than I know what to do with! Eventually these will be turned into some fun blog posts, but can anyone else relate to the feeling of way too much data to sort through at times?

In the interim, here are a few photos of a beautiful evening hike in our valley last weekend. The almond buds are turning into pinkish blossoms here and the air has a touch of spring in it.

This photo made me laugh because what on earth do I have on my feet?! Then I realized it was my hiking boots. They look like enormous platform shoes!

Ahh the almond blossoms…

Elliott took a photo of me taking photos. Despite about 10 minutes of dedicated labor, I only came away with a couple of good shots. Maybe that’s how photography goes? Hopefully not one day…

We kept hiking and then rounded a hill. And there in front of us was an entire flock of sheep! We haven’t been quite so close to them before, although frequently we have to wait for them to cross the road or see them grazing in the valley from our balcony.

We sat down nearby to admire them and take some photos. Lena, meanwhile, struggled to get free and then crawled off to begin examining blades of grass and tall weeds.

I took this video of Lena enjoying the grass as the sheep grazed. There’s a view of our house from the valley, too.

3 :: in Italy, Lena, pretty places, Sicily, video

a hike in the hills

January 21, 2012 at 12:20 pm

We live in a house that overlooks a magnificent valley here in Sicily. Ever since we’ve moved in, Elliott’s been itching to explore the whole valley, not just a little traipse here and there. Finally he had a four-day weekend and so last Saturday we packed our bags and set out for the day.

Our goal was the highest rise on the other side of the valley, which is about eye-level from our balcony and goal we’ve been studying since we moved in. For a refresher, here’s an older photo of that highest point:

We hiked down into the valley, past the farm in the foreground of the photo, jumped the stream in the middle of the valley, and started up the steep hillside on the opposite bank. At last we achieved our goal! We stood triumphant overlooking our lovely Italian countryside. We could see the Mediterranean, the whole Plain of Catania, and the queen Mt Etna presiding over this little piece of the world.

We headed down the ridgeline until we found a quiet spot for a picnic.

“I’d like the whole biscuit, please, Mama.”

A pause for a diaper change…

We continued through sunlit olive groves. All the olives were picked for the season, but they’re disgustingly inedible right off the trees anyway. Much brining is required before they become the savory snack we get from our neighbors.

Prickly pears are in season. Haven’t figured out how to eat them yet.

We also found a dormant vineyard, tied up neatly for the winter season. Little raisins hung in clusters from a few of the branches. I can’t wait to see the vineyard again when the vines are heavy with grapes. Perhaps we could even find a bottle of wine made from the grapes grown here!

Elliott (and Lena) spotted some local birds. His eyes are amazing. He’ll suddenly stop and stare at something that I can’t see, swing his binoculars around and study it a little more, and then announce, “Hmm, I think that’s a…,” and then check his book to be sure. He’s almost always right. How does he know these things??

At our farthest point from our town (visible in the background of this photo) we were in the middle of orange groves. Most of the blood oranges had been picked for the season but we found some discards on the ground. They were so sweet and rich with their shockingly red flesh. (No photos of them, though, because our hands were too sticky!)

There were still plenty of mandarins, though, and we found a few of those on the ground to taste as well. They were so refreshing and sweet.

And finally we hiked home, weary and triumphant. We have explored our whole valley now, from its quiet groves to its delicious fruits. How many more hikes in how many more seasons await us in these next few years!

5 :: in eat this, husband, Italy, pretty places, Sicily

Croatia

January 15, 2012 at 1:54 pm

To continue the story of our trip through the Balkan countries this Christmas, we go on to Croatia, a land rich in natural beauty and history. We hit two highlights with our visits to two main cities, but honestly one of my favorite parts of Croatia was the view from the car as we drove through it. It has such fresh, barely touched natural beauty, from the dazzling blue seas to the towering snowy peaks. I highly recommend a visit.

We started in Zagreb, the capital, on a crisp winter morning right before the new year.

We discovered a Christmas market near our hotel. Vendors sold soap, sweets, jewelry, and other handicrafts. These two motorcycle dudes were waiting for cups of steaming mulled wine to sip while listening to a band play Christmas music from a gazebo.

We moved on to a main market square and discovered a bustling fruit and vegetable market. There were some handmade toys, including these cute dolls bobbing on wire springs.

All at once, while peacefully perusing this market…

BOOM!!!

We jumped about a foot and stared at each other.

Crackle POP crackle crackle BOOM!!!

Fireworks? Gunshots? Celebrations for the day before the New Year? Someone trying to spook us because we were the only foreigners there?

We never figured it out, although every few minutes a sound like a gun going off cracked through the air and we jumped about 6 inches in the air and stared at each other. Strange background noise for market day, but what do we know about how things are done in Croatia?

Get your sauerkraut right here! The acid in the air in this underground market burned our eyes. I’ve never seen so much fermented food in my life.

Lena and I wanted to go for a ride in the old Army truck, but we settled for the swing instead.

Elliott and my sister went for a wild ride on the seesaw. You can see the grass between Julia and her seat!

Free mulled wine back at the hotel… um, don’t mind if we do.

Emily fed Lena some yogurt for dinner.

Later we journeyed down the coast to Dubrovnik, the city I said before was one of the loveliest places I’d ever seen. The old city of Dubrovnik is surrounded by thick stone walls; gleaming limestone buildings and cheerful orange roofs complete the charming picture. We spent several hours with a tour guide and then sipped coffee in the main piazza of the old city.