So we had a big giant trip to Paris planned with all four kids for the summer of 2020. COVID ruined those plans, but we were hopeful to rebook for 2021, which I did, and then I cancelled again since the rules were still weird about vaccines, etc. The summer of 2021 quite possibly may have been the last summer where we could snag all four kids and go on one vacation together since our oldest was starting college in…
Gozo is Malta’s second-largest island. It’s known for a laid back “country” vibe, cool beaches, and scenery, so we decided to spend a day here while on our trip to Malta. We rented a car, so we got up super early in Valletta and drove about 45 minutes to the Ferry terminal at the northern tip of Malta. We put our car right on the ferry for the 15-20 minute ride across the channel to Gozo. The ferry itself is…
It is pretty much impossible for me at this point to go to a city, especially in Europe, and not do a food tour. As I’ve mentioned before in several articles, it’s a great way to get to know a city, try some traditional food, and find some hidden gems. This time, I booked a private tour for three of us through Offbeat Malta Food Trails. I would have done a regular tour of theirs, but at this time they…
Domus Zamittello is a boutique hotel located just within the City Gate of Valletta in Malta. We stayed there for eight nights from August 20-28, 2022. As you might know, I always prefer to stay in boutique hotels over big name chains, and honestly, in Valletta, there is pretty much only boutique hotels, so there were a ton to choose from. Some of the surrounding cities like Sliema and St. Julians have Marriotts and Hiltons, but I am super glad…
When our oldest decided to go to Malta for her graduation trip (one year delayed due to COVID), of course, the first thing we wondered was whether there were any Caravaggio paintings to be viewed there. He did spend a year and a half in Malta and was even accepted into the Order of the Knights of St. John AKA the Knights of Malta. This was, of course, until he killed the Knights’ organist, was thrown in prison, kicked out…
Anyone who visits Malta will quickly find out, if they didn’t already know, that there is a ton of really cool prehistoric stuff to see on the islands. I personally didn’t know much about it, and am not super into prehistory, but visiting some of the sites around Malta really enlightened me about this virtually unknown period of time over 5000 years ago. This article is going to discuss two sites which are within walking distance of one another, and…
As the pandemic was just beginning outside of the USA, we embarked on a trip to Panama. We seriously didn’t think the pandemic would amount to much, and didn’t think twice about traveling out of the country during the last week of February in 2020. We were giggling at the vendors selling face masks in the airport on our way home, but we had no idea how much our lives would change in the next two weeks. It was our…
We decided to pop into MUZA, right around the corner from our hotel in Valletta, Malta. It is basically the only art museum of its kind in the area, and I usually find that these smaller museums always hold some nice surprises; and surprise us, it did! MUZA is housed in the Auberge d’Italie, the former home of the Italian Knights of the Order of St. John, so the building itself is very cool. There is not much of a…
For our last night in Spain, we went to a restaurant that was recommended by our Hotel Concierge – Can Cisa/Bar Brutal. It seemed super hip and very wine-centric, which was something that I was especially looking forward to. When we arrived, we were seated towards the front of the space, although the a/c was not working there which made it a bit stuffy. Because of that, though, our water for the night was free, which is something that…
This is the trip that literally saved my mental wellbeing. When the pandemic began in America in March of 2020, all travel was halted. Our trip to Paris in the summer was cancelled, and there was no hope of rebooking it any time soon. For someone who needs travel to keep their head space in check while living a mostly ordinary life with a stressful day job, the toll of not being able to plan a trip for so long…