Tuesday 9 April 2013

Odd Photos from the Malta Trip

 
This one made me think of my MIL and FIL who made similar (but smaller) butterflies at one point.  I am sure that my FIL would have loved making one this big!


 
Simple things amuse me...
 
 
The hunt for a Maltese Terrier continued...
 

 
 
 
 
And I think we actually saw one in the car below.  It was sitting on the driver's lap, but I was too slow with the camera to get a good photo, so you will just have to take my word for it.

 
 
When I first visited Malta, mutter mutter years ago, there seemed to be a lot of homeless dogs running loose in the countryside.
 
This year I was more aware of semi-feral cats...
 
 
These were in a garden in Valletta.  The people running the cafe/ice cream parlour there seemed to look after them well.  There are at least 2 more cats inside the cupboard...
 
 
Valletta has some very sudden level changes - the main city is quite high up, but the docks are, of course, at sea level.
 
To make it easier to get from one level to the other they have just built a new lift, which also includes some stairs...

 
 
Heights have a funny effect on me, giving me a terrible urge to jump.  However, the view from here just made my feet go funny!

 
This suit of armour is in the foyer of the hotel we stay at.  The weapon (a Partizan) will feature heavily in my zombie book.
 

 
 
 
In the middle of nowhere there are the remains of a water pipe system.  No idea how old it is, but bits of it are still in use to feed water into timy fields.  One of the quirky things that I love about Malta.
 

 
The hotel corridors have a gentle curve to them.  My room was at the far end - the walk seemed endless...

 
Found this outdoor chapel during my wanderings on Gozo.  Isn't that wonderful?
 
Finally, I saw a castle on the horizon...

 
Except that closer inspection showed it to be about 5 feet high...  Looks good from a distance, though!

20 comments:

agg79 said...

That's a nice, eclectic collection of sites around Malta. Whenever I travel, I love to go off the beaten path and visit local spots. You have certainly captured some of the flavor of Malta. Perhaps that castle for the Order of short Maltese Knights?

Rock Chef said...

Agg79 - Hm, a Military Order of midgets? That is an interesting thought, especially if you have been watching Game of Thrones...

ShadowRun300 said...

Great pics!
When I lived in Greece, there were tons of cats everywhere. The Greeks never treated them kindly though, so my brother and I felt the urge to rescue them all. My parents kindly went along.

Rock Chef said...

ShadowRun300 - ALL of them? Sounds wonderful! What sort of numbers are we dealing with here?

ShadowRun300 said...

Ok. Maybe not ALL of them. But we had cages in the backyard where we would keep the ones we found safe. One time we found a bag by a dumpster with 8 baby kittens tied up in them. We brought them home to mom before heading to school. At other times, we probably had 3 or 4 at a time that we would try to keep safe. Most of them escaped, however. Not sure we were of much help. But we gave it a great effort!

Abby said...

Nice photos, Malta looks so clean. And, I don't know, the maltese terrier still seems pretty elusive. Maybe they all live in that 5-foot fortress!

Rock Chef said...

ShadowRun300 - Well I am sure you saved those kittens, regardless of the thanks the others gave you!

Rock Chef said...

Abby - It is pretty clean, not that much in the way of rubbish laying around. There are bits which aren't so good, but generally everything seems to be moving in the right direction.

So, I guess the quest for the Maltese Terrier will continue this summer!

Betty said...

I love the butterfly! The cats look friendly and in way better health than the feral ones here. The stairs look endless as does the walk to your room. It looks like a grand adventure of a trip!

Rock Chef said...

Yes the cats did seem to have a good life.

Riot Kitty said...

Awesome staircase picture. And maybe the dog was driving?

Terri said...

There seems to be no shortage of dogs and cats there! Nice for the animal lovers.

My stomach drops when I experience heights of any significance. I felt it drop just looking at your photo of the stairs! Yikes!

Rock Chef said...

Riot Kitty - Wouldn't surprise me, the way some Maltese drive!

Terri - I was pleased with the stair photo - I just stuck my arm over the edge and clicked...

White Elephant said...

If you drag me round too many cake shops, I think we might have to take the stairs a few times.

Rock Chef said...

White Elephant - Yeah, how about that for a step class!

lotta joy said...

Reading this post caused a lot of envy on my part. The things you've seen, the places you've been. And I complain about a three hour drive in any direction.

Unknown said...

Nice pictures. I like the one of the old water system... I wonder how old it was, and it's wonderful that it is still being used.

I hate travelling and it will take a lot more than money to budge me from my homestate.

Rock Chef said...

Lotta Joy - Malta is the only place outside Britain I have visited, so you have probably travelled more than I have. Having said that, Malta is a wonderfully quirky place that I love visiting.

Shadowthorne - Some people have an overriding urge to travel - I don't have that but I do like the throught of seeing new places. Have you ever travelled overseas?

meleah rebeccah said...

What fabulous photos! I love the butterfly and the crazy staircase the most!

Rock Chef said...

Thanks - the stairs are a popular shot, much to my surprise.