WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2012 - CATANIA, SICILY, ITALY - We awoke to find rain that had been coming down most of the night.  With lots of plans for the day we didn't let "a little bit of water" stop us.  We gathered at our usual assembling location on the ship and proceeded together-- armed with rain slickers and umbrellas--off the ship to meet our arranged transportation.

Sicily is located at the toe of the Italian boot, where the waters of the Mediterranean, Ionian, and Tynherian Seas meet.  The island has been inhabited for tens of thousands of years; long before the first Phoenician and Greek traders and colonizers came ashore.  On the east coast of Sicily, between Messina, to the north and Syracuse, to the south, lies the beautiful city of Catania.  Though it is not as well-know as other Sicilian cities, Catania, with a population of around 300,000 is the 2nd largest metropolitan area on the island, following Palermo.  Catania is actually a city upon a city, upon another and another.  Repeated conquests, powerful earthquakes, and Mt. Etna's eruptions have caused the city to be rebuilt time and again.

We passed through Catania and continued to the area of Syracuse.  And, the rain continued.  Arriving at our destination, The Archaeological Park, we met our guide for the day (with a large umbrella in-hand).  The Archaeological Park is the main historic attraction area of Syracuse.  Our excursion began with every person cover by an umbrella.  The first stop was at the site of the Roman Amphitheater, created during Roman rule.  Here, gladiatorial performances were mounted.

 

And the rain continued to fall.  As the guide talked the water gathered until we were all standing in it.  Our guide took us inside what appeared to be a small cave where we were protected for a few minutes.  But, the water started to run inside the cave and suddenly we were standing in a few inches of water.  At this point the group of 16 of us decided that we would spend some time inside the archaeological museum that was located within this park and hope for better weather so our guided tour could continue.

 

Inside we learned that the highlight of the site is the Greek theater, the most complete theater of its kind existing today. Constructed in the 5th century BC by the Ancient Greeks, plays by Euripides were performed here.

Nearby is the Latomia del Paradiso, one of the quarries from which the great monuments of Syracuse were constructed. It is nicknamed "Dionysius' Ear" after one of the despots of Syracuse, who is reputed to have led prisoners inside. The quarry is renowned for its remarkable acoustics.

Also at the site is the Roman Amphitheater, created during Roman rule. Here, instead of plays, gladiatorial performances were mounted.

But the rain didn't let up.  Finally, after approximately 4 hours we decided that we would begin our return to Catania and our ship.  As we traveled, concern about the conditions of the streets, i.e. flooded with "rivers" running across low spots convinced that we had made the correct decision to start early our return to the ship.  We made it back to the port with no incident and back on the ship before our 4:45 p.m. scheduled sailing time.

So, on another trip we'll have Sicily on our "to visit" list.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012 VALLETTA, MALTA We arrived at the port city of Valleta on the island of Malta at about 8 a.m.  The city of Valletta is the capital of the small independent nation of Malta.  Located in the middle of the Mediterranean, 52 miles south of Sicily, the Maltese archipelago consists of three inhabited islands.  Malta has a population of over 370,000 inhabitants.  Valletta is Malta's largest city with a population of approximately 6,500.

Founded by the Knights of the Order of St. John after the islands were given to the Knights by the Spanish crown in the 16th century, the Order fortified the harbor to defend against marauding pirates and provided protection for Christian pilgrims traveling to and from the Holy Land.  The members of the Knights were drawn from the most distinguished aristocratic families in Europe. 

The country's strategic location in the Mediterranean has resulted in a series of invasions by the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, Berbers, Turks and most recently, the British.

 

Below, our first view of Valletta. (Taken from the ship).

 

 

 

Geologically, the island is composed of limestone; therefore, all buildings on Malta are constructed of the sand colored stone, creating a unique blending of man-made structures and the surrounding landscape.

At the dock in Valletta, Malta, Celebrity's Silhouette and some of our friends.

Through our friend,  Carol  Velocci, a taxi had been engaged to transport us through the city of Valletta and to the various locations that we had planned to visit for the day.

And, to our first stop, Casa Rocca Piccola, a 16th century palace of over 50 rooms, originally the property of Don Pietro, La Rocca, a Knight of Malta and Admiral.  Casa Rocca is now the ancestral home of the 9th Marquis & Marchioness de Piro.

A parrot in the garden of Casa Rocca Piccola.

Inside the Casa Rocca.

And back in the lovely garden.

Our next stop was the Rotunda of Mosta.   The Church of the Assumption of Our Lady, commonly known as the Rotunda of Mosta is a Roman Catholic church in Mosta, Malta.

Built in the 19th century on the site of a previous church, it was designed by a Maltese architect.  Its unsupported dome is the third-largest church dome in Europe and the ninth largest in the world with an internal diameter of 122 feet.  The rotunda walls are nearly 30 feet thick.  The architect's plans were based on the Pantheon in Rome.  Construction began in 1833 and was completed in the 1860s.

Below, inside the beautiful dome.

 

 

On April 9, 1942, during an afternoon air raid, a German bomb pierced this dome (two others bounced off) and fell among a congregation of more than 300 awaiting early evening mass.  It did not explode.  Its replica is now on display inside the rotunda.  A local version  of this event states that, upon opening the bomb, it was found to be filled with sand instead of explosive and contained a note saying "greetings from Plzen", (from the workers) at Skoda Works in the German-occupied Czechoslovakia who had allegedly sabotaged its production.

Outside, we waited in the courtyard for our driver.

Back in the vehicle we proceeded to the countryside where we could view our destination, the ancient city of Mdina

At the city of Mdina the driver dropped us and we entered across the bridge that spanned the moat and viewed the ancient wall.

   

 

Inside, a beautiful statute.

 

Like most ancient cities, the streets are narrow.

and the buildings beautiful.  Most of Mdina's palaces serve as private homes.

This door decoration was interesting.

We walked toward a beautiful church.

 

The impressive Cathedral of the Conversion of St. Paul is fronted by a large square.  Only a limited number of resident and emergency vehicles, wedding cars, and hearses are allowed within Mdina.

We chose to walk as did most of the people visiting Mdina that day.

We climbed a couple of floors above the street to Fontanella Tea Room, a restaurant famous for its delicious cake.  There we had lunch and shared a huge, delicious piece of cake.

Continuing back to the place where we were to meet our driver, we walked past this beautiful statute.

 

The bougainvillea was so beautiful!

 As was the countryside.

 

Months prior to this trip each couple in our group of 10 had all obtained tickets to visit the Hypogeum in Paola, Malta.  After lunch, our driver then took us there where we waited for our 1:00 p.m. scheduled visit.  The Hypogeum is a subterranean structure dating to 3000-2500 BC.  Thought to be originally a sanctuary, it became a necropolis in prehistoric times.  It is the only prehistoric underground temple in the world.  The site was closed to visitors between 1992 and 1996 for restoration works; since it reopened only 80 people per day are allowed entry. 

 

The Hypogeum was discovered by accident in 1902 when workers cutting cisterns for a new housing development broke through its roof. The workers tried to hide the temple at first, but eventually it was found.

 

Prior to our entry into the Hypogeum our cameras were taken from us and locked away.  Thus, we made no pictures of the site.

 

Our driver took us back to the center of the town of Valletta where we, in a group of 6-8 walked through the shops, including a few bakeries.  In one such place we bought wonderful cannolis (vanilla on one side, chocolate on the other) that were really delicious.  After a walk through a very beautiful upscale shopping area near the port we returned to our ship. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2012 - DAY AT SEA

Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012 - Dubrovnik, Croatia
Nestled along the southernmost region of the Republic of Croatia lies one of the Mediterranean's best kept destination secrets:  Dubrovnik.  Called "the Pearl of the Adriatic" by the poet Lord Byron, the city is rich in history and natural beauty.  With bays, beaches, steep cliffs and dense woodland areas, Dubrovnik's landscape is beautiful and unexpected.

Our early morning first glimpse of the modern part of the city of Dubrovnik (taken from our ship balcony).

 

At the dock we met our guide and proceeded to pass through Old Town's stone walls where you are transported into the breathtaking medieval world of "Stari Grad" (old town).  Marble-paved squares, monasteries and fountains are just a few of the antiquities still standing just as they were over a thousand years ago.  The City Walls are among Europe's finest and most complete.

The walls of Dubrovnik are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the citizens of the afterward proclaimed maritime city-state of Dubrovnik, situation in southern Croatia, since the city's founding prior to the 7th century as a Byzantium castrum on a rocky island.  With numerous additions and modifications throughout their history, they have been considered to be among the great fortification systems of the Middle Ages, as they were never breached by a hostile army during this time period.  The walls run an uninterrupted course of approximately 6,360 feet in length, encircling most of the old city, and reach a maximum height of about 82 feet.    The walls were reinforced by three circular and 14 quadrangular towers.

 

Next, we boarded the van for the climb away from the coastline.

 

 

In the next pictures you can see the sea and the city below us.

 

A short stop took us by a church

and along a street where some shops were open.  Note the umbrella and the wet pavement.

 

Back in the van we passed some beautiful bougainvillea

 

before we parked to see more of the Old City buildings and the wall.

 

We visited the Holy Annunciation Orthodox church, a Serbian Orthodox church located inside the wall.  It was built in 1877 and sustained damage from bombing during the Siege of Dubrovnik.

The pictures below are from the inside of  this church.

  

Outside, notice the people gathered in the street.

And the narrow passageway.

 

The umbrellas indicate the weather conditions.

 

 

Our plans for the remainder of this excursion were to walk the wall of Dubrovnik,  one of the most popular attractions of Dubrovnik.   Because of the weather conditions with rain having started mid-morning and still coming down 2 hours after noon we followed the advice of our guide and decided that with the stone wall being so wet and slick,  we would need to return to Dubrovnik on another occasion for this walk the wall event. 

 

So, we returned to the ship and later snapped these pictures of the beautiful red roofs of the buildings as we departed that evening.