Malta

The final stop on our cruise in May was Malta. I have been wanting to visit here as my Dad was stationed at the Navy Hospital in Bighi. He was a sick berth assistant and often worked with the dental surgeon, he was only 19.

I have a few if Dad's photos and one in particular was always special. He is standing outside Villa Bighi, the main hospital, in his full navy uniform. The building is quite distinctive with the Roman numerals above the doorway.

Our daughter and now husband holidayed in Malta in 2019 and managed to find the villa. Once in port Hubby and I took an Uber, lovely driver, and he dropped us right outside. Although the front and paving looks very different now, it's a wedding venue, the building and doorway is the same. It was quite a moment standing there. We now have a photo spanning three generations and nearly 80 years!

Malta is a beautiful place, I can see why Dad had fond memories of it and why our daughter fell in love with it. The stonework is a lovely sandy colour, looking vibrant against the sea and sky. We docked in the Three Cities area and once back at the ship from visiting Villa Bighi we took the water taxis across to Valetta where the views were amazing. 

To us our cruise ship (left in the photo just over the tree) is large but it is tiny compared to some, like the MSC (right in photo). I'm not sure I'd want to be on such a huge vessel.

From the dockside in Valetta there's a lift up yo the city. My Dad's photo is of an old, maybe wooden structure, his comments say it all. Nowadays it's a solid metal lift that takes many passengers each time. 

Always happy to try local we enjoyed a pint if Maltese beer, Cisk, recommended by our daughter, very refreshing.

I'm always up for a ride on a petit train, Hubby does keep telling me it's just a tractor but I love them. We had a great tour of Valetta through narrow streets, up and down hills with views across to Sliema.

Cruising is a great way to see many new places but you don't get long in each and it was soon time to leave Malta. The views leaving were as beautiful as arriving, especially seeing the harbour entrance as Dad often told stories of how they used to swim across it.

It was a superb end to our cruise, one more day at sea before flying home from Corfu. I loved every minute of it and will certainly be cruising with Tui again.

Here's my final sunset and time tracker I've added links to each of my blog posts too.

Funchal 20.42 UK time

Gibraltar 21.03 UK time plus 1 hour

Motril 20.57 UK time plus 1 hour

Palma 20.39 UK time plus 1 hour

Cagliari 20.15 UK time plus 1 hour

Valletta  19.49 UK time plus 1 hour

 

Sardinia

Day 10 of our cruise last month saw us arrive in Sardinia, an Italian island we have not visited before. We decided to take another Tui excursion, Flavours of Sardinia. This included visiting an olive farm and museum, an ancient church and a vineyard, perfect.

Leaving the ship at 9am our guide was superb telling us all about Sardinia's history and it's own language. She informed us that there were two coaches for this excursion and we were the lucky ones as we were visiting the vineyard first... wine for breakfast!

Cantina Audarya was about half an hour inland, what a beautiful country to drive through. The views from the vineyard were amazing.

We had a super tour of the winery, including seeing some interesting shaped vats for making dessert wine which apparently add to the concentration. The vast stainless steel vats stood proud in the fermenting room. I always love to see the stored barrels of wine, they look inviting with an air of anticipation.

After our tour we settled in the tasting room which had been laid ready for us, each place having a platter of cheese and meats with a delicious bread that was as thin as a crisp.

Our first wine was 100% Vermentino,  pale straw colour with citrus flavours finishing with a touch of minerality. The wine was so clean and delicate but with lasting flavours.

Our next wine was a rosé made from 100% Cannonau, a grape I haven't tried before. It was very similar to the white wine but with added tropical fruit flavours.

The final wine was my favourite, again made from Cannonau but left to mature on the skins to give a rich deep red colour. It has great depth of fruit flavour along with light spicy notes, I really enjoyed this wine.

Our vineyard visit was a great way to start the day with beautiful views, lovely food and amazing wines. We would have loved to have bought some home but as with the whisky in Gibraltar the bottle weight would have caused a suitcase problem.

Not far from the vineyard was the next stop on our excursion. Driving through the narrow streets our coach arrived at Dolianova Cathedral which is dedicated to Saint Pantaleon. This Roman Catholic church is one of the main Romanesque buildings in Sardinia, it is said to be over 800 years old.

Outside, although a huge building with a dominant tower, it isn't an amazing Cathedral, and inside it was also quite sparse but with some amazing features.

The gems in this Cathedral are on the walls, painted frescos that have survived 100s of years. They are open to the elements and not behind glass to protect them. The Tree of Life must have been amazing when first completed and the full alter would have been stunning.

After the Cathedral we visited an olive oil producer, passed down through the generations producing oil in the traditional grinding method not pressed like many modern producers.

A tour of the production area was followed by an education in tasting, such an enlightenment as I knew very little about olive oil. We tasted olive oil, lemon olive oil and chilli olive oil (not me). The flavours were amazing and surprisingly there was no oily after taste or texture in our mouths. 

Our excursion in Sardinia was a super way to see more of the country, it's certainly a place we would like to visit again. 

As we had some time before departure we walked into Cagliari, a busy city on quite a hill. There was no way we were going to miss having an Italian pizza and to my delight the four cheese pizza had no tomato base ... delicious, especially as accompanied by a glass of Italian wine. A great end to our day in Sardinia. 

Keeping up with my sunset and time tracker I've added Sardinia.

Funchal 20.42 UK time

Gibraltar 21.03 UK time plus 1 hour

Motril 20.57 UK time plus 1 hour

Palma 20.39 UK time plus 1 hour

Cagliari 20.15 UK time plus 1 hour

Musicals Afternoon Tea

I do enjoy the sea days as much as visiting new places. I also enjoy making an effort for dinner, not dress to impress evening wear but the chance to be less casual than when being a tourist on land.

The middle Sunday, a sea day, of our cruise gave an opportunity to 'go posh' in the afternoon. Once on every cruise there is Musicals Afternoon Tea in The Dining Club, there was an additional charge for this but it was worth every penny.

Each table was immaculately laid, even with opera glasses. The menu was themed on various musical songs and George, the ship's Musical Director, played the piano in our exclusive dining room for about 30 people.

Our Kir cocktail was served with the most amazing popcorn, each piece seemed to have a different flavour, not just sweet or salty. 

Our first course just confused me. A cold strawberry and Cointreau soup that my brain said 'no' to but which delighted my tastebuds. I would never have served a cold sweet soup as a starter but it was superb and a perfect light start to our afternoon tea experience.

George played a variety of songs from various musicals and after a while gave a welcome to us all announcing 'be our guest' and striking up the said song from Beauty and the Beast. Upon which all the waiters paraded round the room carrying the three tiered afternoon teas, it was quite a moment. 

The Afternoon Tea was amazing, I have enjoyed quite a few of these in some very expensive hotels and this was by far one of the best. Delicious sandwiches, warm scones and a selection of small cakes each with a theatrical style. 

When the waiters had been parading round I recognised two of the show cast. They appeared a little later carrying, then dropping a tray of cutlery and bursting into 'Anything you can do I can do better'.

What a treat to have George playing and two of the show cast singing live, they performed a few show songs which had everyone smiling ... it was an amazing experience.

I absolutely loved The Musicals Afternoon Tea, a real treat midway through our travels from west to east. 
 

Spain and Mallorca

Our cruise on Marella Explorer at the end of April into May was a repositioning cruise. We began in the Canary Islands, had a great stop in Maderia and then cruised to Gibraltar.

Our next day was in port at Motril in Spain. This was a stop I was looking forward to as Motril is the nearest port to Granada where the Alhambra Palace is. We were very keen to do an excursion to see this ancient palace and fortress but unfortunately there were no tickets available so no excursion.

We decided to take the shuttle bus into the town of Motril. It was a fair distance away from where we docked, we discovered later there was also a beach which some of our fellow passengers visited. 

Directly in front of us as we got off the bus was a beautiful church. It was on quite a steep slope and unfortunately closed but it did reveal perfect views back to the port and Marella Explorer. 

We wandered around the town which was quite hilly. It wasn't a particularly exciting town but we did find a pleasant square with plenty of outdoor cafe seating. Having a sweet tooth I selected a cream cake, delicious, as was the coffee: Hubby went savoury with an open tomato and ham bread.

And that was Motril, returning to the ship we had a leisurely afternoon on our balcony with a glass or two of Prosecco.

A day at sea followed which we filled by having a late breakfast, a stroll around before going to one of the talks in the Squid and Anchor (the ship's pub) followed by another chilled time enjoying our private balcony space. Our evenings were for me the best bits; pre dinner drinks, dining in Latitude 53 (waiter service), watching a show ending with drinks in the Lounge singing along to the band with our fellow cruisers.

Our next port was Palma Mallorca, another place I was looking forward to as our daughter was an au pair here over a summer mid university.

We had booked an excursion which we thought included seeing Palma Cathedral and then travelling inland to Valdermossa, a place our daughter often visited.

Having to be dockside by 8.30 it was an early start. Our guide was quite chatty as we travelled through Palma but we didn't stop at the Cathedral, luckily we were the right side of the bus to catch a glimpse, it looked stunning.

We were soon travelling out of the city, our guide telling us there was a cycle race and we had to get through before they closed the road. It was quite a misty morning being so early but the views were beautiful, especially as Valdermossa came into view.

Valdermossa is a small ancient village, very picturesque with a lovely main street. Arriving at 9am had the downside of no where being open, our guide informed us the shops would open at 10am. Expecting a guided tour we were surprised when the guide gave us brief directions to see the best view and the gardens and then said to meet back at the coach at 11.15, a long time in a small village not yet open.

We wandered around, I'm sure the building were significant but we didn't know why. We enjoyed a coffee and croissant before browsing the eventually open shops full of souvenirs.

Returning to the coach our guide said he hoped we'd get back through before the road closed again and that we were visiting Belver Castle. I had never heard of this and wasn't sure it was on our itinerary.

The castle overlooks Palma giving spectacular views, our reason for the 10 minute visit ... not into the castle itself.

Back at the ship we decided to have a wander around the local area as we a while before departure. There was a shopping centre nearby where we enjoyed a refreshing beer.

Our excursion had not really been as we expected and whilst our day was ok we were a little disappointed. We did discuss the excursion with the ship's destination team (as did other passengers) and they did refund part of the excursion cost. I think if we visit Palma again we will stroll along the marina to the Cathedral and the city.

Keeping up with my sunset and time tracker I've added on Motril and Palma, it's so interesting to see how it changes as we travel eastwards.

Maderia 20.42 UK time

Gibraltar 21.03 UK time plus 1 hour

Motril  20.57 UK time plus 1 hour

Palma  20.39 UK time plus 1 hour