The Inaugural Vista's Official Trippingpara Mayhem in the Mediterranean Review

[Shih-tzu]

:pCan't wait to find out what happens on your next booked shore excursion..:p

 

Lovin' the photos......

 

I just have to ask - are those the only two pools on the entire ship?? They don't look any bigger than the two on the Liberty (but photos can be deceiving) and there are more passengers on the Vista. Humour me and please tell me there's more, or they're bigger.....

Edited July 1, 2016 by Shih-tzu

[wikoffclan]

 

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Please tell me what camera and photo post -processing your using. Your photos are lovely.

Thanx. Ann

[trippingpara]

:pCan't wait to find out what happens on your next booked shore excursion..:p

 

Lovin' the photos......

 

I just have to ask - are those the only two pools on the entire ship?? They don't look any bigger than the two on the Liberty (but photos can be deceiving) and there are more passengers on the Vista. Humour me and please tell me there's more, or they're bigger.....

 

There are actually 3 pools on the Vista. The main Beach Pool, the aft pool (I forget the name of it) and the Havana Pool (which is open to all passengers after 5 pm). The pools did seem larger but not significantly so. They were deeper however than the Liberty. With such a large Waterworks onboard, most of the children (and many adults) were there playing and not in the pools which took quite a load off of them. It was cooler on our inaugural cruise so there wasn't a ton of people diving in the water either although there was a couple pretty warm days including our last sea day which I think gave a pretty good indication of what it might be like in the Caribbean. But then again, there were a much lower population of children onboard too.

[trippingpara]

 

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Please tell me what camera and photo post -processing your using. Your photos are lovely.

Thanx. Ann

 

Ann,

Thank you very much. On this cruise, I used my brand new Sony A99 dSLT with vertical battery grip and a Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 and a Tamron 18-270mm F/3.5-6.3 lenses as my main camera. We also used the Olympus TG-3 and the GoPro 4 Silver. All post-processing was done in Lightroom CC.

[RiotAct]

Great pictures, and great review! That sucks about the inconsiderate ladies that held the rest of the group up (several times, at that).

 

Looking forward to "Tripette's" review of the Splendor, as well!!!

[trippingpara]

Great pictures, and great review! That sucks about the inconsiderate ladies that held the rest of the group up (several times, at that).

 

Looking forward to "Tripette's" review of the Splendor, as well!!!

 

RiotAct,

Thank you so much for such kind words. I'm pretty anxious to read Tripette's review too!

[trippingpara]

________________________________________

Monday, May 9th – Valletta, Malta

 

Today, we did a private tour with Karl from Karlito’s Way Tours. Karl and I corresponded via email for several months. Of course with my luck, I received an email from him the day prior to us leaving the U.S. stating that he could not take us on the tour. I was furious. I was so looking forward to going around Malta with Karl and having him cook us lunch on a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean (he’s a professional chef among many other skills). However, Karl offered to made it right by having his sister, Therese (his understudy) take us out. With having so little time left to make alternative plans, we opted to go out with Therese. So glad we did!! We had a blast! Therese was very kind, funny and an all-around great person! And that’s what we did on Malta. Thanks for reading!

 

Oh wait. That was a bit fast wasn’t it? Well, let’s rewind and take another look at the day…

 

“Oh my GOD!!” Lady Trip’s exclamation reverberated across the cabin. My sleepy eyes ripped wide open. Once again I had to pry my claws out of the ceiling. As I climbed down, I found Lady Trip out on the balcony her mouth agape.

 

“It’s so beautiful,” she said as she stared out at the Grand Harbour of Valletta.

 

 

 

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I just smiled. “Welcome to Valletta, the Fortress City. A city built by gentlemen for gentlemen.” I was very anxious to see Malta. It was the final home of the Knights of Malta, otherwise known as the Knights Hospitallers. An island steeped in history and it fascinated me. It was 6:00 am and our tour guide Therese, was going to be waiting for us as soon as we docked at 7:00 am.

 

We got off the boat promptly at 7:00 am and walked over to the Hard Rock Café where we were to meet her. Sure enough, she was there waiting for us as she had promised. After introductions, we followed her for a couple blocks back to her car. We were surprised at how narrow some of the roads are that wind around the walls of the fortifications. Even walking we had to wait for cars to go by because there was not enough room for the car and us at the same time.

 

 

The day was sort of a whirlwind. Therese drove us around the entire island. Seriously, we did an entire circle of the island. I didn’t realize that until I was sitting here in my study writing this and looking at a map of the island. All of the other tours that we had looked at only did half of the island (southern or northern half). We hit such areas as Valletta, the Three Cities, Maraloxx, Rabat, Dinghli Cliffs, Mosta, Mgarr, Mdina, the Blue Grotto, Triq Tad-Dahar and just about everywhere else that you could think of!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The War Memorial

 

 

 

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[trippingpara]

Our first stop of the day was to have a traditional Maltese breakfast pastry and coffee. We strolled up to L’arlogg Cafeteria in Vittoriosa (Birgu). We ordered some flaky, pastry puffs called pastizzi. One was filled with ricotta cheese and the other with mushy peas. They were delicious!! And the coffee was strong but very good. I was really starting to get a taste for European coffee. I won’t go down the rabbit hole of Starbucks vs. Dunkin’ Donuts but the coffee that we had so far was outstanding!

 

 

 

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[trippingpara]

Some more photos of the square that we sat and ate breakfast in.

 

 

 

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[trippingpara]

Our next stop was the traditional, sleepy little fishing village of Marsoxlokk. Located in the southeast of Malta, this is the main port for the vast majority of all seafood consumed in Malta.

 

 

 

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A man paints his traditional luzzu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think somebody has been watching a little too much Deadliest Catch!

 

 

 

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[ladygal4.4]

A vista review!!?!! Subscribing! [emoji4][emoji4]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[trippingpara]

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A small market getting ready for the swarm of tourists in Marsoxlokk

 

 

 

 

Since our stop in Marsoxlokk was so early in the morning, the famous seafood market was closed. So we spent a few minutes walking around the piers of Marsoxlokk admiring the brightly colored traditional fishing boats called luzzu. Many of the boats had eyes painted on the bow which is said to protect the fishermen while they are at sea. Working piers of fishing boats is usually not a beautiful site – although I love to fish and boat and enjoy being in a working port - they are usually rather dirty and smelly. Not the case here! Therese gave us some history and background on the Marsoxlokk people (which are almost all fishermen – those that don’t fish support the fishermen in the markets). It was then off to the Blue Grotto.

 

On our way there, we skirted around the Malta International Airport and through the village of Siggiewi. This ancient city is most known as being the home of the Church of Saint Nicholas and the Inquistor’s summer palace built by Onorato Visconti in 1625 which is now the Prime Minister’s official residence. Nearby are the Neolithic sites of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra built in 3600 to 2500 BC (which makes them almost 600 years older than Stonehedge in England) as well as the famous Blue Grotto.

 

 

 

Malta is well known for its colorful window balconies and doors

 

 

 

A side view and dome of Saint Nicholas Church

 

 

 

Saint Nicholas Church

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, it was unfortunately too early to go inside Saint Nicholas Church. Apparently, the interior of the church is awe inspiring.

 

 

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[trippingpara]

Leaving the actual city of Siggiewi, we drove past the Prime Minister's residence and the ancient site of Hagar Qim.

 

 

 

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The Inquisitor's summer palace which is now the Prime Minister's residence.

 

 

 

 

Looking out over the farmlands of Siggiewi

 

 

 

A traditional horse-drawn buggy commonly used by farmers

 

 

 

The covered ruins of Hagar Qim

 

 

 

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[trippingpara]

We finally made our way to the Blue Grotto. Every day from sunrise until about 1 pm a unique sight can be observed here. The location of the cave combined with the sunlight lead to the water mirroring showing numerous shades of blue. Several caverns mirror the brilliant phosphorescent colors of the underwater flora; other caverns show a deep dark shade of blue. Unfortunately, the winds were too high so the traditional dgħajsa boats that take tourists to the caverns were not operating.

 

 

 

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There were many of these roadside altars built to honor those lost in car accidents.

 

 

 

The Blue Grotto

 

 

 

 

 

 

The uninhabited islet of Filfla offshore

 

 

 

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[trippingpara]

The Blue Grotto was quickly becoming crowded as the buses from the various cruise ships began to arrive (in additional to the Vista, the Oceania Riveria was also docked in Valletta). We then headed down along the coast to the Dingli Cliffs. There was a small church perched on the edge of the cliffs. The Church of St. Mary Magdalen originally dates back to the mid-15 century. The present structure as it stands now was refurbished and opened to the public in 1646.

 

 

 

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The Church of St. Mary Magdalen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The famous cliffs of Dingli. Here you can see the small islet of Filfla again as well as its tiny neighbor, Filfoletta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[vfangue]

Really appreciate that you are providing the contacts for your excursions and love your sharing a bit on each port city. This will help in planning our future cruise. And of course, DITTO, your photos are beautiful!

[trippingpara]

Really appreciate that you are providing the contacts for your excursions and love your sharing a bit on each port city. This will help in planning our future cruise. And of course, DITTO, your photos are beautiful!

 

Thank you so much. Glad I'm able to help. Please let me know if you have any questions as you're planning.

[trippingpara]

As the crowds built up around us, it was time to head northeast to Rabat and Mdina. Rabat is the modern suburb that lies to the west of Mdina. The city of Mdina, often called the Silent City is still completely held within the original fortified walls of the city. No cars are allowed into the city with the exception of a limited number of local residents, emergency vehicles, wedding cars and hearses which partly leads to the name of Silent City. There are only 300 residents in Mdina so the city is easily traversed on foot. The city was the original capital of Malta from antiquity until the Order of St. John arrived in 1530 (the Knights of Malta).

 

If you ever find yourself in Malta, for the love of all things holy, do NOT miss this city!! Much like the medieval cities of Dubrovnik and Kotor, walking into Mdina is like instantly going back in time. Take a look for yourself…

 

 

 

 

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Horse-drawn buggies wait for passengers outside the city gates.

 

 

 

The city gates

 

 

 

 

A view of the fortified walls that surround the entire city

 

 

 

 

This area which is now a city park used to be a water filled moat

 

 

 

 

We arrived too early...the upcoming weekend was the International Food Festival. Yep, always a day late and a dollar short!

 

 

 

 

A horse-drawn buggy exiting the city gate.

 

 

 

 

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[trippingpara]

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Lions are one of the symbols of Malta

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

St. Paul's Cathedral

 

 

 

 

St. Paul's Cathedral

 

 

 

 

The dome inside St. Paul's Cathedral

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[trippingpara]

Mdina cont...

 

 

 

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The Maltese are well known for their colorful doors and large knockers. Hey, I'm talking about the door thingies that you use to knock on doors! Man people, get your minds out of the gutter!! Seriously though, I always wanted to open a bar called Knobs and Knockers and decorate it with crazy door knobs and knockers from around the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The flag you see is the flag of the Order of St. John otherwise known as the Knights of Malta

 

 

 

Looking out over the city walls at the surrounding countryside

 

 

 

Looking out over the city walls at the surrounding countryside

 

 

 

 

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[trippingpara]

The next stop in our whirlwind tour of Malta was the little farming community of Mġarr. The important prehistoric site of Ta' Ħaġrat sits right on the corner of the impressive parish church. The unusual thing about this local parish is the egg shaped dome instead of a circular dome. Since this is a farming community the funds to build the church were raised by selling eggs, hence the egg shaped dome!

 

 

 

 

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The Parish Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven - now that's a mouthful!

 

 

 

We then made a stop in the nearby city of Mosta to see the even more impressive Mosta Rotunda.

 

 

 

 

The Mosta Rotunda

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Man, I love these Land Rovers. They were everywhere in Malta. Bloody well impossible to get in the U.S.!

 

 

 

 

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[hlb76]

So glad I found this review! Its Amazing!!!! Your pictures and so beautiful and I love your writing style. I cant wait to read the next installments and hopefully go back to read your previous reviews.

 

Thanks for all your hard work!!

[crewsweeper]

Thank you for the tour of Malta. I went back and looked at faded instamatic pictures from my Navy days in the late 60s early 70s. Surprisingly, none of the sites you visited appeared to be any difference; only the quality of the pictures--LOL--and the makes of the cars. So thanks for bringing back memories.

[trippingpara]

So glad I found this review! Its Amazing!!!! Your pictures and so beautiful and I love your writing style. I cant wait to read the next installments and hopefully go back to read your previous reviews.

 

Thanks for all your hard work!!

 

I'm glad you found it too!! Thank you so much for such great feedback! And thank you for taking the time to let me know you are enjoying the review. I appreciate it very much.

[trippingpara]

Thank you for the tour of Malta. I went back and looked at faded instamatic pictures from my Navy days in the late 60s early 70s. Surprisingly, none of the sites you visited appeared to be any difference; only the quality of the pictures--LOL--and the makes of the cars. So thanks for bringing back memories.

 

That's awesome!! I would love to be able to compare photos of the same place 40 to 50 years later to see what has changed. Not surprised that most things haven't changed too much in Malta. Glad I could help you take a trip down memory lane! I still have some more of Malta to go so maybe you'll see some more areas you previously visited.