A Trip of Many Firsts (very detailed, Med Cruise)UPDATED 3/8

[Kaleigh]

Okay, I am back for now.
Day 3- After tequila tasting. Forgive me if I don't remember too well. I know I ate fast food up on deck, and I was consistently happy with the food quality/selection. They always had some interesting pizza selections and pretty good burgers. I think I slept the rest of the afternoon. That evening was formal night. Oh yeah, I read my new Nora Roberts book in the tub. Yes, that tiny tub in our room. I am willing to make ANY tub work. So we got dandied up for formal night. Well, as dandied as we could with what we carried in our backpacks. Twice Charmed was the show for tonight, and I just loved it. The quality of the acting and singing continued to surprise me, and I started the standing ovation. Which was pretty much just me and maybe one other dude...
But they deserved it, and I loved it. After the show, we went to see the ventriloquist in Rockin Bar D's and saw the people we could have been had we brought Veronica along. This poor couple looked miserable with their child who was V's age. We talked to them a bit, and they said "you made the right choice" when we told them how we left her with the g-parents. I think it is just difficult to really relax with a child that young on a cruise in Europe.
The ventriloquist was super funny, but not entirely child friendly which was funny considering it was supposed to be the family show. Next up-dinner. I think I even have pictures somewhere.

 

[Kaleigh]

Day 3- Dinner and Late Evening
So tonight's dinner was the Prince and Princess Meal. The meal was definitely better than the previous night's. Eliza and I got lamb that was so good we ordered more. (I have pictures, but I am an absolute idiot at trying to put pictures in here and can't figure out how to get them onto a webpage from my download folder.)
After dinner, we went to Rockin Bar D's for the "adult cabaret" of the magician. Now this magician was truly something to behold. He was the fulfillment of every cliche that you have ever held about magicians/illusionists.
A slim, dark Frenchman wearing all black comes onstage to rock music that was cool maybe 8 years ago (This Love by Maroon 6 tonight). Suddenly, his thin, blonde assistant appears wearing... a leopard print halter top catsuit. Yep. Imagine that. She dances and dramatically hands him items, and honestly does more impressive illusions than old Phil. (the magician) There was no humor or self depreciation in the entire show, only entirely serious, flashy, magic that you have seen before on television (not done exceptionally well) James and I LOVED it because it was just so ripe for ridicule. The dramatic pauses, the costumes, the slightly worn props, the lacking applause; it was priceless. Oh, and the flourishes when the trick was completed... truly great. We saw every one of this guy's performances. We love to compare him to Gob from Arrested Development and would hum Gob's theme music every time he came on stage. Oh no, I just realize that I said he did tricks. He created illusions, a trick is what a "fallen woman" does for money. (Sorry, I had to quote Gob just once)
Tomorrow: Malta, and I finally get around to describing the ports. Hang in there. We walked that puppy and toured entirely by ourselves.

 

[akluss]

Great update, I love Arrested Development, it is one of my favorite shows ever. That magician sounds too funny! Looking forward to hearing about Malta. Karyn

 

[kcooley]

Great TR!

 

[Kaleigh]

Day 4- So, we finally get to a port in this trip report! It's Malta! James and I were both pretty excited about this stop. One, because we knew it would be a good introduction to Europe because they speak English and two, because James had read a book about the history of Malta and is really great about making history interesting. That morning we get up early and decide to go up to the buffet for breakfast and watch the ship come into the harbor. I took the opportunity to get my one picture with a character for the whole cruise

As we come in, James is describing to me how the Knights of Malta held various forts that we were passing in the Great Siege and is pointing out where they stretched a large chain across so that ships couldn't get in the harbor etc. It is very neat and interesting and then... the lady from the history walk comes over the loud speaker and attempts to ruin my good time. Again, with her wikipedia information, she tries to impart a sort of "Malta for Dummies" speech without actually knowing anything herself. At one point she is pointing out the large dome on the skyline of Valletta and musing that it must be the Co-Cathedral, while James and I know that it is definitely NOT, but is a much more recent church.

It was truly painful and I felt bad for the people who hadn't done their research and were forced to take this woman at her word. But, as you can see the view was amazing! We went back to the room really quick when we pulled into port and enjoyed the view from our veranda for a few minutes. This was such a nice port.

We had planned the day out and I had printed a map, so we were good to go. Just a bit of advice, I would never pay to do an excursion at this port because it is just so easy to get around and you can save so much money. Even an all day bus pass was only 3 euros I think in case you wanted to go to Medina.
But, we had just planned on staying in Valletta and could walk everywhere. Which is normally just fine, but here is the thing. James is 6'4" and was super excited. I am 4'10" and am in not as good shape. Plus, I had bought some new sandals for the trip. I had broken them in and they were very comfortable, plus stylish. I normally wear crocs any time I am going to be walking a lot, but my mom said that they would laugh me out of Italy if I were to tread the streets in crocs. Hence the new sandals. I am going to post this and pick up in a minute so I don't lose my progress.

 

[Kaleigh]

Day 4- Malta
So, picking up where I left off. James is excited and tall, I am short and wearing improper footwear. And we're off... the boat that is. One of the first groups off behind one of the tours. Now to get up to the town, there is a huge hill from the port. We heard a rumor that there is an elevator in the parking garage behind the mall beside the port, so we decide to try to find that. James is charging ahead of me, walking behind the mall where there is no sidewalk and cars are rambling by in this tiny alley. We pass dumpsters and a truck unloading and come out... on the other side of the mall. Should've gone through it. Then we see the tunnel to the parking garage. Yes, tunnel. One way tunnel and we head up in the dark to who knows where. At this point, I am already fussing at James about walking too fast, leading us to weird places and generally annoying me. My voice echos through the dark tunnel and we just started in Malta. Fun. But we come out into a parking area and spot the elevator and are saved that huge hike. The one through the tunnel was much less steep and much shorter. I think we actually saved 5 floors of walking. So, good. We come out right next to the bus station and can see the gates to Valletta across the street. I think we made it up there before anyone, even if I was huffing and puffing. Here are the gates.

Pretty cool, huh? Valletta is mostly a walking city with very few streets that cars could go down. Some streets were so steep, there were steps on the sidewalks. As we enter, we see some high end shopping and a Burger King. We head further and see a band of preteens playing and marching, I guess in our honor as this is only the second time Disney has docked in Malta. They did not look thrilled. The Co-Cathedral (not the dome church) was easy to find and we stood in a short line to enter. The line was much longer later. A audio guide was included with admission and was very good.
The Co-Cathedral is the church of the Knights of St. John as it is St. John's Co-Cathedral. It shares cathedral duty with a different church in Medina. The outside is fairly unassuming, but the interior is beautiful.

Yes, this is unassuming in Europe.
Pictures were not allowed, so google it. It is cool. The floor is covered with tombstones of the knights and there is fascinating artwork in every alcove. The fresco on the dome tells the story of St. John the Baptist's life. My favorite part about this church was the two Caravaggio paintings. They have The Beheading of St. John and St. Jerome. Let me tell you. If you have never seen a Caravaggio in person, you don't know what you are missing. I am not a huge art fan, but these were spectacular. They look so realistic, and he uses light in such an interesting way. Interesting thing about Caravaggio, he was a knight for a little while, but ended up leaving the island in disgrace. Apparently dude was crazy and had a penchant for drinking, fighting and gambling. Typical. He ended up dying young, but has quite a few paintings scattered around. I didn't get to see any of his in Rome, and all but one in Florence was on loan, but next time... I am coming for you Caravaggio.
The Co-Cathedral was totally worth it, but I would only do it again to see those paintings. There were also some really neat tapastries and old song books, vestaments, but not worth seeing again. As we left, James got a small statue of a knight of Malta. When we headed out the door, we were let out near a small street and saw a sign for St. Paul's Shipwreck Church which we had wanted to see.

The sign is the third one on the left, and the entrance is completely hidden, but this is the side entrance. The church was going through some renovation, but was free and deserted. And awesome. They had a relic of St. Paul's wristbone. If you don't know the story, St. Paul was shipwrecked on Malta (it is in the Bible) and brought Christianity to the people. He is a big deal in Malta and they celebrate the anniversary of his time there every year. So, they got his wristbone when he died and it is here. There were some other interesting items throughout the church, and the interior was very pretty and relaxing. No hustle and bustle like the Co-Cathedral. After we left, we headed around front and saw this sign which cracked us up.

I don't know why, but the fact that they put "worth visiting" on the sign just struck me as funny.
Next on our itinerary was finding the restaurant that I had researched for lunch. It is the number 1 rated restaurant in Valletta on tripadvisor, and I had looked at the menu and it didn't seem scary or pricey. Up next- La Mere.

 

[HermanTriplets+1]

Thanks for the great report!! I love the detail. I didn't know that it was only the 2nd time Disney made port at Malta. That's cool. My DS did a report on Malta in 6th grade. The teacher took off points because the assignment was to write about a city in a Mediterranean country. Isn't that ridiculous! She should go on a DCL cruise! But maybe NOT with your famous DCL historian who'd probably agree with her or something.
Prayers for your husband's safe return from his deployment. Keep writing please!

 

[Kaleigh]

Thanks for the great report!! I love the detail. I didn't know that it was only the 2nd time Disney made port at Malta. That's cool. My DS did a report on Malta in 6th grade. The teacher took off points because the assignment was to write about a city in a Mediterranean country. Isn't that ridiculous! She should go on a DCL cruise! But maybe NOT with your famous DCL historian who'd probably agree with her or something.
Prayers for your husband's safe return from his deployment. Keep writing please!

Thanks for reading and thanks for the prayers. I have been so frazzled lately, it is nice to know someone is enjoying the report. Yeah, teachers can be ignorant. I KNOW that I have been an ignorant teacher in the past. I guess it just bugged me that Disney hired this woman and she was so lacking. Everything else they do is such high quality, why falter there? Thanks again!

 

[Kaleigh]

Day 4- Malta: Lunch and After
We spent a good 20 minutes searching for La Mere for lunch as it was a tiny hole in the wall. We passed it twice before seeing the sign. When we entered, there were no other customers, but we were hungry and did not care. The menu was diverse without being scary, and James and I both ended up with pasta. James had a broccoli soup for his appetizer; it was HUGE. Actually all of our portions were huge and we didn't eat half of it. A couple of weird things about this restaurant: the kitchen was in the basement and they sent the food up in a little food elevator that had a wooden door and there was no tap water. I don't know if they didn't have running water or if maybe the water was not safe to drink, but you could not get tap water at this place. We enjoyed it, but were not blown away. At least it was fairly cheap. Oh, and it began to fill up with other tourists and Malta business men as we ate.
After, we walked out onto the street almost right into a temporary market. We began heading to the Knight's Palace and spotted some suitcases at the market. Remember, we only brought backpacks. Our plan was to buy a suitcase or bag in Europe to transport our souvenirs back to the states and here was our chance. I asked the price and it was 15 euros for a good sized suitcase. Although I probably should have bargained, I considered that a really fair price and paid it. So now I am trampling around Valletta in my new sandals, fast hubby and new suitcase. And Valletta is mostly stone streets. Fun.
We arrive at the palace and pay more than it is worth to enter. We breeze through the hall, see a few nicely appointed rooms and take pictures with suits of armor.

We pass a Disney tour that we are thrilled to not be a part of because whatever we paid to enter (10 euros a piece), they paid more. (And probably had to spend more time looking at boring stuff/waiting for people to use the restroom) We finally come to the armory which is interesting to James because he can see armor and weapons actually used by the knights in the battles he has read up on. I, on the other hand, pretty bored.
After the palace, James wants to explore and walk down to the fort that he read so much about to see if he can walk around it. On top of all the problems I have mentioned previously, I start to get this sharp pain in my foot that feels like a pulled tendon or something. Does James care? Um, no. I should just "suck it up" and am probably faking anyway to get him to slow down. So after we ramble all the way down to the fort and discover that inside is just a WWII museum (which I already knew due to my research), he decides to not go in.
Now we are on the other side of the city, which granted, is not that big, but we are not in the tourist area anymore. Now, as uncomfortable as I was, I kinda love this part about traveling: seeing how other people live.

My battery is about to die, so I will pick up here later!

 

[kcooley]

More please, but at your leasure of course. Deployment is much more important than doing a TR! My dad was in the USAF for 26 years, so I know about deployments, TDYs, etc. Prayers and best wishes go out to you and your family. I saw today that the US has pulled their last combat brigade out of Iraq, so maybe that will settle the restless natives and make things safer.

We leave on Aug 26 for our Aug 28 11 night Med Cruise and I'm loving the TR. I'd still love to hear about the 1 backpack thing and how that worked out before we pack.

- Keith

 

[cali cruiser]

Hi Kaleigh...I love reading your trip report. It is so funny! But maybe its because my dh is 6'2 and I am 5'4, so I know what you go through trying to keep up. We leave for the Med on 9-7 and my dh wants to visit the places that your dh wanted to see, the fort, armory, etc as he used to be in the military. Our kids want to do the Popeye excursion and go swimming....should be interesting. Can't wait to read the rest of your report and we are blessed to have wonderful Americans like your husband serving our country!!!
Michelle

 

[Kaleigh]

More please, but at your leasure of course. Deployment is much more important than doing a TR! My dad was in the USAF for 26 years, so I know about deployments, TDYs, etc. Prayers and best wishes go out to you and your family. I saw today that the US has pulled their last combat brigade out of Iraq, so maybe that will settle the restless natives and make things safer.

We leave on Aug 26 for our Aug 28 11 night Med Cruise and I'm loving the TR. I'd still love to hear about the 1 backpack thing and how that worked out before we pack.

- Keith

Thank you! I PMed you about the packing. I hope you have a great cruise!

 

[Kaleigh]

Hi Kaleigh...I love reading your trip report. It is so funny! But maybe its because my dh is 6'2 and I am 5'4, so I know what you go through trying to keep up. We leave for the Med on 9-7 and my dh wants to visit the places that your dh wanted to see, the fort, armory, etc as he used to be in the military. Our kids want to do the Popeye excursion and go swimming....should be interesting. Can't wait to read the rest of your report and we are blessed to have wonderful Americans like your husband serving our country!!!
Michelle

Thank you for reading. As for the funny, much of it wasn't funny while it was happening, but you just have to laugh at yourself sometimes. (Like us climbing that bridge) Let your DH see what he wants to see! It is so close to the boat that you and DH could venture into town for the morning and leave the kids at the club, then come back and get them later to do kids stuff. I think the Popeye excursion is a tourist trap designed to pry money out of people with kids who aren't sure what to do in Malta, but I could be wrong. I just know that Valletta is such a cool place, and I would hate to miss seeing it to do something so touristy and expensive. Thank you so much for the comments about DH. This is his first deployment, and we are so stressed.

 

[Kaleigh]

Day 4- Trampling around Valletta. So, last I wrote, we were wandering in the residential section of Valletta. We saw a little shop, and James decided he wanted more souvenirs, so he went in to look around. A group of kids that had just gotten out of school raced passed me in their uniforms (most kids on Malta go to Catholic school) and I began to wonder what was taking James. I go in, and it turns out he is trying to pick out a birthday present for me which is the next day. The lady running the shop had a daughter a little older than Veronica, and she was so cute. She was running around, talking to us and pulling things off shelves. I ended up telling James not to worry about it and purchasing a corkscrew and cork for some wine we had bought at the terminal in Barcelona.
When we left, James got a wild hair to find the church with the dome that you can see in the skyline. Crazy enough, he led us straight to it. But boy, it was not easy to find. It is just a small door, and in Malta, most things look the same. There was no big outside facade, but we headed in and there was this priest manning the door. It was free, but you could give a donation. The church was all white on the inside which turned out to be rare in Europe. The acoustics were amazing. I wanted to sing so badly, but I restrained myself. I sat down for the first time since I got that suitcase and prayed a little while James explored the church. Even the church is fairly new, we felt it was worth seeing if only for the dome. It was impressive.
After, we kept walking up the street (literally up, apparently the Maltese built their city this way on purpose to make it difficult for those who may attack to get to the city center), we ended up right where we started on the main street in town. I was exhausted and still in pain by this point, so I begged James to let us go back to the ship for some rest and a shoe change.
We ended up staying on the ship, relaxing and snacking. He wanted to go back out, but I was done. The morale of this story: don't burn out immediately. There is time to see stuff, and if you don't get to it, at least you enjoyed what you did see.

 

[mrp4352]

Just checking in to see if you have an update! I've been missing your report...


Please don't take this as pressure though - I know you have a lot going on. Thank you and your husband for your sacrifice!

 

[mkmommy]

I am enjoying all your details thank you for sharing.

Question on taking the train from the Airport. The station that you got off at was there a metro stop, and if yes do you remember the name of it?

The bus to the port (that you did not wait for) I have read that it is hard to find the stop, do you have any hints on finding it?

Looking forward to the rest of your report. Malta looks beautiful.

 

[Adsmama]

thanks for the TR- I just got off the 18th med trip! My hubby will be going to afganistan shortly. He has already been to Iraq a few years ago- a couple years after we got married but with DD (now 6.5 months) it's even more hard! I know what you are going through... military spouses have to sacrifice so much but you can do it. If nothing else, you will see how strong you truly are.

 

[Kaleigh]

Thank you to those who are still checking in and to those who are praying/sending good thoughts to my husband. I went to visit him in New Jersey, so that is why I have not updates. I hope to write a nice, long installment later today.

mkmommy- The train does stop at a metro stop, but we were unable to find the access to the rest of the metro when we got off. It is Passeig de Gracia. It was only a couple of blocks from the Placa de Catalunya. If you were able to find access without leaving the stop, you wouldn't have to swipe your card for another ride though, so it would be free.
As for the bus to the port, the stop I would use is the one on the Columbus monument circle. Look for the blue sign on the harbor side of the circle. We caught it just fine on the way back from the Maritime Museum.

 

[Kaleigh]

Day 4- Back on the ship. Relaxing etc.
When we get back on the boat, of course we have to eat because it has been like 3 hours since lunch I got a drink of the day, none of which were really to my taste, but they were cheaper, so I kept trying them. One thing is for sure, they do not skimp on the alcohol for these creations. Especially if you order directly from the bar and talk to the bartender a bit. I refilled my drink with Sprite when I got halfway through twice and was still tasting the alcohol. I really enjoyed this afternoon, watching The Jungle Book on deck, eating pizza and drinking my very strong concoction while looking out on the beautiful harbor of Malta.
After a nap, James and I decided to scope out a "Cruisin for Trivia" that was to take place in the Promenade Lounge. When we got there, 5 minutes early, Oscar was already packing up and no one else was there. We pointed out that it wasn't even supposed to have started yet, and Oscar did the game just for us. Now, James is VERY competitive and we have different scopes of knowledge, so as a team, we are really strong. Despite the fact that we were playing against no one, we still got 19-20 questions correct and probably would have won anyway. So we got these snazzy baseball caps that say "Winner" on them, ensuring that you can't actually wear them anywhere and are extremely proud of ourselves.
We decide to test our luck further and play "Mediterranean" Bingo which is for cruise merchandise in addition to the money. Although we didn't win any money, James was one of the 3 people to win a prize and got the one I wanted: the coffee cup.
That evening the entertainment was, finally on the big stage, Phil Keller: Magician/Illusionist Extraordinaire. And, of course, his lovely assistant in her leopard print, halter top, catsuit. So, here are the highlights:
1. The typical, cut her in half thing, except her head ends up on a different table across the stage and one of the heads is obviously a mannequin or something. Yay!
2. He calls a kid up to make his tennis shoe disappear and reappear. The kid is entirely uninterested the whole time and actually says no(!) when Phil offers him something for his trouble. Phil had to practically force him to take the magic kit he had for the kid.
3. Best for Last! Phil was going to levitate about his chair. In a karate gi. With Eastern style music playing. And his assistant dramatically swiping her arm under ONE side of Phil between him and the chair, not the other because that is where the pole was holding up his little lift under his bumm. It was so dramatic!!!
Dinner at Animator's Palate followed. I have pictures, but they aren't great. If you want to see them, you will have to tell me. Dinner failed to impress, and I have to admit I was disappointed with the "show". The Disney Cruise Line show on the travel channel makes it out like it is way better than it is. And the food wasn't great.
We actually went to bed right after dinner missing the adult performance of the ventriloquist which we heard was hysterical. Next time!

 

[Kaleigh]

Day 5- Today we get to Africa! This is the only true port excursion that we booked because, after all the research I did, I just didn't feel comfortable that we could do everything we wanted on our own and not get ripped off. Plus, we wanted to see something that, apparently hardly anyone else was interested in seeing....Dougga. What is Dougga, you ask? Well, imagine Pompeii without the crowds in the middle of nowheres-ville Africa and you have Dougga. It was a Roman city way long ago, and somehow the ruins survived very intact. From what we heard, Carthage was not anywhere near as nice as Dougga. Unfortunately, I think Disney quit offering this excursion. Why? Well, we were about to find out.
So we got up, all excited, and had room service for breakfast so that we could get down to Sessions in time to leave for our excursion. As we pulled in, we were treated to a great view of the port from our veranda. There were belly dancers, people standing on camels and a marching bad. It was really hard to imagine that, here we were in Africa, considering that we had only recently added Europe to our passports. And it is my birthday. How weird is that?! Celebrating a birthday in Africa. It certainly will be one I always remember.
After taking pictures of some of the craziness going on outside, we head down to meet up for our excursion. Now if you have ever been on an excursion, you know there are usually quite a few people involved, even some of them filling up multiple buses. Ours? Us and 3 other couples. Yep. We are the youngest of the couples. One of them looks to be maybe my parents ages, and the other two are easily in their late sixties. This was the cheapest excursion also, so I have no idea why others didn't want to do it. Maybe because Carthage has more name cache or something, but let me tell you... we got a deal and had amazing personal attention from our tour guides as there were 2 of them for 8 of us.
As we prepare to leave, somehow restroom facilities come up in conversation, and I think to take a roll of TP from the ship to "cover our butts" We all load up on our huge bus and start the long trek to Dougga. Now, the excursion description said that it was an hour and a half away, but I assume someone was lying to someone about that because, while it was 90 miles away, it was no hour and a half.
Baby just woke up, I will pick up here later.