The Family Arrives……..Almost

One of the best things about travel and adventure is sharing these events with family and friends. This adventure was no different. 3 members of the family decided to join us in Malta around the end of November for a few days and then head off to Ireland to finish the trip. Everything had been coordinated and planned since so there wasn’t any reason to rush around and get things ready. Now enter American Airlines / British Airways. While two of the family flying from San Francisco had no problem taking off on Aer Lingus; our son got stuck on the British Airways flight trying to leave Denver. Apparently this aircraft was just moments away from total destruction so we’re thankful that our son was held on the tarmac for 2hrs until it was determined that the airplane was broken. They returned to the terminal just in time to watch the last flight heading to Dublin depart. So, now that everyone was back at the terminal, British Airways let the cat out of the bag. There is one key part on this airplane that is so special, so unique that it can only be kept in England. Once it breaks, they simply fly another one to the US and replace it. Simple, only takes a couple of days.

Enough ranting, Justin called us (5am in Malta) and we started work on getting him on another flight. Couple of key notes here: if you’re out of the US, you may have to pay for the call to the airline at about $.10/min. When you book a flight and they use one of their partners, any costs incurred because of the delay / cancellation need to be submitted to the airline that cancelled the flight, not the booking airline. Easy.

Justin rebooked on a morning flight with a connection in Heathrow on Air Malta, made it to Malta a day late but in good spirits. What we didn’t know then was that British Airways cancelled Justin’s return flight for reasons only known to them. It wasn’t until we were trying to check in for our flight back to the US that we discovered this last fun fact. Back on the phone and $4.00 later, its done!

Meanwhile, Betsy and Jessie arrive right on schedule, long day but on schedule. Short taxi ride to the apartment and then hit the sack. We have a busy day tomorrow.

Started the morning with breakfast and chatting about Justin’s flight and our plans for the day. We need to be home around 4pm to meet Justin so we couldn’t wander off too far. We decided on a harbor tour and lunch in Valletta. Although we had already done the harbor tour, this was a good way for Betsy and Jessie to see the sites. After the tour we would jump on the ferry and head back to Valletta for lunch and some strolling. They’re on vacation so they picked up strolling fairly quickly.

 

Justin finally arrived at the apartment around 4pm but not his luggage. Seems that when he changed planes in Heathrow, his luggage had to be pulled from the connecting flight going to Dublin. Way too complicated to go into here but his luggage did show up the next day so everything was back to normal. Dinner out at Fortizza, a little octopus, some lamb, a thing called a beef olive and a pizza make up the well rounded meal.

 

 

Got tickets for the bus and off on our journey. Our first stop of the day was the Hypogeum of Hal-Saflieni. Fortunately for us they delayed closure of this site until January so we could get reservations to see it. This is reported to be the oldest man-made structure on Earth. The earliest remains found at this site are said to date back to 4,000BC. The remains of over 7,000 individuals have been found in this underground structure that consists of 3 levels with several chambers. No photography is allowed in this site and only 80 people per day can visit it. The climate inside the Hypogeum is strictly regulated to protect what remains of red ochre paintings on the ceilings. One of the main chambers, the Holy of Holies, was excavated to show a corbelled ceiling cut into solid stone, similar to the roof of the temple at Hagar Qim. Side note: tickets are hard to get for this site. Make reservations as soon as you know your schedule otherwise you may not get to see it.

 

 

 

Next stop was the temples at Hagar Qim and Mnajdra. These temples are located on the south side of Malta and not that far from Sliema but the city bus doesn’t take a direct route so it takes a bit of time. Finished up late in the day and headed back for dinner and some conversation. Check out the miniature Hagar Qim! Dinner in tonight.