Malta Week 39
Malta Week 39 - Transfers, Victoria Line Hike, Permesso in Rome & Karnival are all highlights of the week!
I had an appointment in Sliema on Monday, so we thought it was a nice idea to have lunch at a restaurant by the sea. Turns out it wasn't such a great idea! It was so windy and so cold, the restaurant set up two outdoor heaters by our table and provided blankets for us. Brrrrr!!!! Never again! I don't know when it gets warm here, but I hope it's soon!
Monday Night English Class
Institute on Tuesday night
Wednesday's hike with Torch, Gloria and Jackie.
We discovered a charming little house that reminded us of the Seven Dwarfs'!
As we went further, we noticed these square holes in the rock.
Torch told us they were beehives.
We love the stunning beauty of this verdant countryside.
Next, we embarked on the Victoria Lines Trail.
We took the one on the right (above) several months ago.
This time we took the trail on the left.
We started at the same quaint little chapel and headed up the trail on the left.
We enjoyed the lush green scenery accompanied by the wall stretching continuously along the path.
This church could be mistaken for the Mosta Dome, but it's smaller.
Watch out!
After our hike, we ate at Julieth's Restaurant, The Hungry Wolf. They have great local food. Gloria ordered the Rabbit, but I opted for the Lemon Chicken.
Wednesday Night's English Class
After English class, we hurried to the airport to welcome our new missionary, Elder Dwomoh (pronounced Jumo) He will be taking Elder Parkes place. We left immediately after class to meet him at the airport. He arrived early, which is almost unheard of with Ryanair, so he was already there when we arrived. He is very friendly and always has a smile on his face. We are looking forward to getting to know him better.
On Thursday morning, we took Elder Parkes to the airport. He has only one more transfer before he goes home, so we were surprised that they took him out of Malta. It was sad to see him go. It was super windy day, so we look terrible, but he looks cute! Goodbye Elder Parkes! We will miss you and your British accent!!!
Sister Bennett got transferred as well. Fortunately, she was on the same flight as us. We were heading back to Rome for the Permesso. We enjoyed having her to ourselves while we ate chocolate chip cookies and waited for our flight. She is a cute girl and she will really be missed here in Malta!
Sister Slouf came to replace Sister Bennett. She is from Prague, but has lived in the United States, so she speaks fluent English. (I forgot to take her picture.) She will be Sister Hoyt's new companion.
Off to Rome we go! The Youngs were gracious enough to pick us up from the airport and let us stay at their apartment as I made my second attempt to get my Permesso card! When we arrived at her apartment, she had the most delicious Taco soup waiting for us! We went to bed early so that we could get to the station to make another attempt at getting my card.
When we arrived at the station, I pulled the number 82 and the number they were on was 76, so the wait wasn't very long. This time, it wasn't as cold and I waited inside with my hands in my pockets to keep them warm. I brought some oil to put on my fingers in hopes that my fingerprints would show up on their machine. There was a guy at the window who helped me, but the girl from last week made a special effort to come say hello and wish me luck. He gave me one try and it didn't work! I told him I'd pull out some more gel to see if that would help, but he completely cut me off and told me I needed to go back to the original fingerprint building. There was nothing more he could do for me! I was pretty dumbfounded. But this time he said he would make an appointment for me and he let me choose the date. I quickly looked up the next Zone Conference date, and I chose the day before so I wouldn't have to make a special trip over. I chose March 26 and when they asked if I could come earlier, I said no. They were okay with it, and they made the appointment for me that on the 26th at 10:00 AM.
Michelle and Steve Young, our gracious hosts!
The Youngs had a shift at the VC in the afternoon, and our flight wasn't until 9:00 PM, so we hung out at the mall again. The Millers graciously gave us a ride to the airport.
This has become my favorite Gelato Place in the Roma Mall!
We both had a treat while we waited!
The Millers picked us up and wanted to take us to a Mexican Restaurant on the way to the airport, but when we got there, we found out it didn't open until 7:00 PM. That is very typical of restaurants in Italy. But we managed to find a really great Italian Restaurant and enjoyed a delicious dinner there!
The 9:00 PM flight was on time, and we made it home about 11 PM.
Karnival (The Maltese spell it with a K)
The Malta Carnival (Il-Karnival Ta’ Malta in Maltese) is a Catholic religious celebration with roots dating back several centuries. It is still seen and celebrated by many Maltese people in this vein, although the show and festivities around the event are taken seriously just as much.
Traditionally, Carnival is the last indulgence before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. In fact, the word carnival comes from carnivore, which translates to ‘meat allowed’. The devout made sacrifices during the Lent period, usually giving up meat and sweets. As such, the festival is traditionally seen as the last chance to have what you are about to give up for over a month.
Many Maltese people still do this to honor their faith, although younger generations seem less inclined to practice their religion in this way. Instead, some use the occasion to shed some of the weight gained over the Christmas period and in time for summer.
The YSA Super Activity for Saturday was to go to Karnival!
We joined them and it was so much fun!
A Description of the Carnival by Maltaculture.com:
"The carnival fuses old and modern traditions and brings about a party atmosphere to Malta. From elaborate costumes to massive colorful floats often loaded with loud PA systems, and amazing food, dances, parades, music, and competitions, expect five full days filled with non-stop celebrations!"
We arrived early in the day to make sure we got a parking space. The streets were with filled with costumed dancers making their way to their performance stations, adorned in large and elaborate costumes.
They graciously stopped and posed for anyone who asked to take a picture with them.
While we were waiting for the program, we stopped into City Store to see Ann where she works.
We hadn't purchased tickets in advance, and they were completely sold out, so we had to wait in the standby line for approximately 45 minutes before gaining entry. However, it turned out to be well worth the wait, as the show was absolutely magnificent.
The event featured floats enhanced with pyrotechnics and accompanied by spectacularly costumed dancers. Each float would stop and the dancers would give a magnificent performance for the audience in the bleachers. Once their performance concluded, the float would continue its journey down the main road in Valletta. The dancers would continue to dance in front of the slow advancing float, intermingled with the crowded spectators on the narrow street.
The dancers were absolutely fabulous!
The show lasted for several hours, and after watching it for quite some time, we decided to leave and meet with the other YSA members who had arrived late, so that we could enjoy a gelato together. We were completely unprepared for what unfolded next.
Not only were the dancers performing down the street with the floats but so were all the people. There were thousands of them all dancing in the street. We got caught up in the crowd and were dancing as we tried to keep track of all the YSA's that were with us!
Some of us made it and others didn't, but those who did, enjoyed a Gelato. The rest of them all wanted to stay and hang out for the night, but we decided to head home. We took our Gelato and tried frantically to eat it while we maneuvered through the crowds! It was the craziest thing we have done in a while, but super fun!
Once we got closer to the entrance of the city, the crowds thinned out and all that was left were costumed dancers walking to their cars.
And that was the end of our evening at Carnival!
Dinner at the Becks!
Sunday was our monthly dinner at the Becks!
What a treat it is to eat at their house!
They put on a huge spread for us!
We were also thrilled that they invited the Torch and Gloria to join us.
The Elders are always assigned to sit at the smaller table. We all call it the "kid table". Even with the "kid" title, Sister Beck makes their table just as nice as ours with her fine China and silverware.
It is always a privilege to eat at the Beck's, and we really appreciate their generosity and hospitality.
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