After 12 months of planning, our long awaited trip to Malta, Sicily & Hong Kong has at last arrived.

Once again we, Brian & Belinda, are travelling with our very dear friends Tim & Ann Marie Fleming.

Malta – Valletta

After a marathon 38 hours since leaving Glenwood we finally arrived in Valletta greeted by very humid 32 degrees which felt like at least 36 degrees. A bit of a shock to the system after leaving Sydney in the teens.

We spent the first afternoon after our arrival exploring Valletta. The combination of the heat and the hills was enough to ward off any stiffness that may have been possible after such a long trip.

We went to the Upper Barraka Gardens where we saw colonially dressed military fire a canon over the harbour.

One thing we learnt during our stay is that the Maltese love a good explosion. Between ceremonial canons and festivals for saints with fireworks during the day & night I can only think that they wish to convey the feeling of the inhabitants of Valletta during the great siege in the 1600’s.

Day 2 saw us go over to the 3 cities, Birgu, Senglea & Conspicua.

We were originally going to go over on the ferry till we saw a couple of old blokes with their small old boats offering to take us across for €2 head.

Lawrence, our skipper, said he would take us on a harbour cruise for €6 head which we thought was a good deal. He showed us many places around the harbour telling us the facts & stories behind many of the sites. He shared many stories & some potential myths with us which were handed down from his mother. We reckon Lawrence is about 75 years old as he has been doing this job for over 55 years.

We had a look in the Inquisitors Palace which is where the Inquisition in Malta took place. Rome sent the Inquisitors to Malta to basically bring the Knights of St. John to heel as they were getting a bit powerful & straying from the church’s principles.

The Inquisitors room had a half door at the entrance so everyone had to bow to enter, no matter how rich or powerful you were.

We had a wander through the Maritime Museum as Malta’s history is steeped in seafaring due to their island status & position.

We then went up to Fort St. Angelo which is one of Valletta’s main fortifications & the main one that stopped the invasion by Sulieman & his armies back in the 1600’s as well as being a key placement during the WW2.

The following day we had booked a full day tour of the ancient temples & sites of Valletta.

This was a great day & certainly made better by our guide Stephen who was a fantastic wealth of historical information.

We went to Hagar Qim & Taxien temple complexes and the Hypogeum with lunch at Marsaxxlok.

As much as it was fascinating to see these ancient structures it was even more intriguing to work out how they built them in the first place.

How an ancient culture managed to work with and lift a 20 tonne slab of stone as well as map the stars & calculate accurately the seasons through the position of the Sun & the stars is mind boggling.

The following day we went to St. John’s Co-Cathedral which is as magnificent a church as any in Italy. The ornate decoration throughout the church and it’s chapels would have taken hundreds of years to complete. The cathedral also housed a couple of famous Caravaggio paintings including The Beheading of John the Baptist.

We then had a look through the Archaeological Museum followed by Fort St. Elmo after lunch which wrapped up our time in Valletta.

Sicily

Enna

As per usual we had difficulty in picking up the rental car at Catania airport. Firstly we had to wait an hour and a half just to get to the front of the queue. The next hurdle we had to manoeuvre was the requirement for 2 credit cards in the same name which Tim didn’t have. Brian did & suggested they change the name on the reservation to his which was for some inane reason impossible. After half an hour arguing we ended up with the car we booked. The most inefficient car hire branch we’ve ever seen – Hertz.

We managed to get away from the airport & got to Enna around 6pm.

Enna is the highest town in Sicily.

Our B&B we booked was a terrific little place with a very arty influence. The rooms were very modern and the room that Tim & Ann had, The Cloud Room, had a magnificent panorama window over the valley.

View from Enna

We took our hosts advice for dinner that night & were not disappointed. A fantastic antipasto followed by equally good pizzas & desserts.

Next morning we walked up via Roma to Castello Lombardia. On the way we managed to see a massive “viper” crossing our path. It was at this point we discovered Tim’s fascination with the word “viper”.

The beginnings of the castle was built around 100BC and had many additions over the years. Nowadays it is pretty rundown but there is not enough money in all of Italy to restore all their historical landmarks. Just the really important ones.

We had an interesting free tour guide at the castle. As well as giving us the history of the castle he covered many topics from Vinnie Grella & Marco Bresciano playing football in Italy to Silvio Berlusconi’s bunga bunga parties (of which he was obviously a fan).

Massive Viper

Unfortunately many of the churches were not open while we were there which was disappointing as there are some magnificent artworks in a number of them.

We went to Tommy’s Osteria that night for dinner based on our hosts recommendation where we witnessed a traditional “down on one knee” marriage proposal which was given a nice round of applause after it was apparent that she accepted!

Sciacca

Next day we took a leisurely drive down to Sciacca. We got to Sciacca around lunchtime and spent the afternoon having a wander around the city which was pretty quiet and quite warm.

Our B&B was pretty central however Sciacca is built on levels. To get to the town centre there are plenty of steps to negotiate.

Dinner at a seafood restaurant that night was probably an indication of things to come on the food front.

Restaurants in Sicily tend to serve a lot of raw seafood, most of which is really nice but also quite unexpected if you are expecting a plate of grilled prawns as Belinda was that night. The abundance of fresh seafood we feel makes it very unlikely food poisoning would be an issue as everywhere we went is a fishing port and freezing fish & thawing out really isn’t done.

The following day we went to Agrigento which was our main reason for staying at Sciacca.

Agrigento is a valley of ancient Greek temples and structures which date to around 500-600 BC. Whilst good we still rate Paestum higher. We caught a taxi to the top of Agrigento & spent the next few hours wandering down through the temples & ancient edifices left in different states of repair. While there Brian bought a couple of beach towels whilst being howled down by Tim & Belinda.

On the way back to Sciacca we called into Eraclea Minoa beach for a swim & a couple of cooling drinks on the pavilion. Had a great meal in an upmarket laneway osteria that night.

Next day we wandered around the markets set up in the main piazza just down the street from where we were staying where Brian bought another 2 beach towels against Tim & Belinda’s advice.

From there we were going to a couple of seaside towns but got sidetracked when we spotted a sign directing us to Mandrarossa Wines. After doing a U-turn we followed a number of signs which had quite a gap between some of them making us wonder if we’d missed one.

Finally we got to a barrier across the road where 2 boys directed us to park in a paddock across the road from the vineyard. In spite of Annie’s trepidation we decided to march on down with a lot of other people to see what we had stumbled upon.

Between broken Italian & English it was established that we had to pay 2 euro each & we got a wine glass with a pouch, then had to wander up the hill, pick up a box & a pair of secateurs and fill the box with grapes from the vines.

After that we went up the far end of the row where we had a choice of wines for our glass.

After this we were to go across the road where stalls of pasta, charcuterie, cheese, desserts, salads & of course wines were setup.

After paying between 2 & 4 euro per ticket this could be taken to the stall of your choice for whatever food & drink you wanted. You could go back & buy as many tickets as you wished for whatever food & drink you wanted.

A great unexpected day.

Trapani

Our next stop on the trip was Trapani however on the way we called into the fishing town Mazara del Vallo which given a bit more time we would have like to explore more or come back to.

We had the two biggest cannoli we’ve ever seen. Between the four of us we still couldn’t finish them.

We arrived at Trapani & checked in to our B&B which was very nice and had plenty of room. The rest of the day was spent having a late lunch & exploring Trapani.

Dinner that night was a major disappointment, particularly after Tim argued forcefully to go to this particular establishment. We didn’t let him forget it.

Next day we took the cable car up to the mountain top town of Erice and spent the morning wandering the streets of this old town admiring the historic buildings as well as the magical views of the valley across to the coast.

After a pizza lunch at Erice we took a drive out to the coast to Guidaloca beach near Scopello.

We hired a sun lounge on a very pebbly beach but it was at this time that Belinda & Tim appreciated Brian’s foresight to buy the beach towels previously!

The water was great & there is now photographic evidence of Ann getting into the water for a swim.

Dinner at a meat specialty restaurant was a nice interlude in amongst all the seafood.

Following day we travelled to Segesta where again there are the remnants of a Greek civilisation containing a temple, castle & theatre with breathtaking views.

After this we went to Marsala for lunch with an intention to do a wine tasting of the wine of the same name.

We did this and soon learnt that Marsala (the wine) is way overrated. Give us a good Muscat any day.

That afternoon Brian & Tim went to a local spot for a swim off the rocks & met an old bloke from Switzerland who was a pianist in his homeland & a music lecturer in Italy. Reckoned Brian could pass as Italian but Tim is an obvious immigrant!

That night we stumbled across a great little restaurant where Tim & Brian had a feed of mussels you couldn’t jump over & Brian had at this point his best meal of the trip which was Spaghetti with Squid Ink & Cuttlefish.

The boys were a bit hot so decided to do their best Italian playboy impression …. anyone, anyone?

Palermo

The trip the following day to Palermo was eventful, to say the least.

Every city & town in Italy has a via Garibaldi (along with via Vittorio Emmanuel & via Roma). Some cities, like Palermo have more than one. Of course we went to the wrong one first to find our accommodation.

Along the way some crazy woman was standing on the side of the road wanting us to slow down. When we didn’t, she spat at us when we went past.

Shortly after with, Brian driving, when crossing tram tracks after getting a green light to cross & move into the parallel lane on the other side of the tracks a motor scooter flashed up on our right side as Brian braked violently & pulled the wheel to the left. We weren’t sure if we hit him or not.

After skidding & coming to a stop across the lane in front of us the rider got off his bike, leaving his son sitting on it, and started yelling abuse at us. Brian would the window down to apologise so he knew we weren’t Italian when the bike fell & his son hit the deck!

After picking him up he continued shouting as a truck driver started abusing him for coming from behind him into our lane. Truck driver gave us the thumbs up & told him to get going.

We hadn’t got to our B&B yet!

We at long last made it to our accommodation after entering the controlled traffic zone, which you are only supposed to enter if you have a pass!

We chose this B&B as it was a penthouse with a private rooftop five floors up.

One thing we didn’t realise was that it didn’t have an elevator.

The day was around 32 degrees & 85% humidity, so by the time Tim & Brian carried the bags up the stairs there was a bit of sweat flowing.

As we couldn’t book in till later, we decided to go get some lunch & a drink.

Palermo is famous for its street food. One of the most famous foods is a spleen sandwich with caciocavallo cheese. The most famous vendor of this sandwich is San Francesco Foccacceria.

Amazingly we stumbled upon this place about 400mts from our accommodation.

A lunch of spleen sandwiches & arancini with meat and cheese fillings was an improvement on our earlier start to Palermo.

We went back to the apartment to meet the owner to check in and we took up his recommendation of the best gelato in Palermo as it was still very hot & humid particularly after a brief downfall.

Palermo is a grungy city with some very nice historical sites but I would say the impact of billions of dollars being stripped out of the economy over the years by the mafia has led to very poor infrastructure.

We had numerous blackouts and had to go downstairs to reset the power as we were operating too many appliances. Doesn’t matter if it is wiring done on the cheap or they limit your consumption the result & cause is the same.

Next day we went to the royal palace and the the Palatine Chapel which is up in the top bracket of chapels in the world due to its magnificent mosaics. The detail is spectacular and like the Sistine Chapel looks like it might have been finished last week, it looks that good.

We also went to the cathedral and climbed to the rooftop to get a great view of Palermo.

Decided to eat in that night up on our rooftop. Tim & Brian cooked & it was a very pleasant evening up there.

The next day we took a hop on hop off bus around the city to get good idea of where we had & hadn’t been. Finding the bus stop was an effort due to street diversions but we got there.

We wandered to La Vucciria markets and went to Oratorio del Rosario di Santa Cita & Oratorio del Rosario di San Domenico which have probably the best examples of Stucco decoration by Giacomo Serpotta.

We also saw the Fontana Pretoria, otherwise known as the”Fountain of Shame” due to all the statues around the fountain being naked. It was originally in a garden in Florence when over 650 years ago the Palermo senate purchased it for the square.

Back in 1992 Giovanni Falcone, an Italian judge, who was investigating the Mafia was assassinated in a car bombing.

He is now a revered person in Palermo with monuments to his memory & anti-mafia sentiment quite prevalent, even though it is their stronghold. He is buried in San Domenico and his marble headstone or plaque is covered in flowers & notes and people stop to pray there. Something we’ve really not seen outside the Vatican or at a saints’ resting place.

The following day we ventured out of Palermo firstly to the seaside town of Mondello.

This is one of those seaside towns that is a “locals” holiday spot not generally patronised by tourists. Think of the Central Coast, The Entrance & Port Stephens to get an idea.

Very Italian in that most of the beach was split up into sections that you had to pay for a lounge &/or that had “beach sheds” which families appeared to either own or rent.

Either way a quaint little spot.

From there we ventured up to Monreale where the main feature here is the Monreale Duomo with the incredible Cristo Pantocrator mosaic.

For a mosaic done over 800 years ago it is an amazing sight which you could was just finished recently.

Monreale is perched high above Palermo so the views back to Palermo & out to the Tyrrhenian Sea are spectacular as well.

Drove back to Palermo & on the way back called in to “another” Capuccin Crypt where they display dead bodies of hundreds of years gone by – seems to be their thing.

Cefalu

We left Palermo behind and whilst glad we went there, happy to be leaving.

On the way to Cefalu we stopped in to Caccamo and visited the castle which dominates the skyline around this little village.

The castle was a real little gem steeped in history & well preserved with lots of old & not so old exhibits from the region.

We moved on to Cefalu and eventually found our apartment.

Once again we went for a penthouse apartment with views & a large deck on the roof.

Once again we forgot about the small detail of an elevator. Having said that the walk up these stairs felt like only half the height of the Palermo apartment.

On our first full day we took up the challenge of walking up La Rocca, the towering rock edifice looming over Cefalu itself.

We took off relatively early to get the best of the temperature but can confirm that between the height & length of the walk and the steadily increasing temperature sweat was being measured in litres not millilitres.

We made it to the top & why nobody has opened a bar up the top is anyone’s guess because they could charge whatever they wanted.

After this we made a bee line for the beach where we relaxed for the rest of the day.

Had a nice seafood dinner at a restaurant owned by a fisherman which was a great finish to the day.

Next day we took a drive out to Castelbuono. This town barely rates a mention in the guide books but I’m glad we dug a bit deeper than that.

It was a terrific little town that although it is well named with a castle that due to timing we never went into, it is a beautiful little town with so much character. We spent a few hours wandering the town, having lunch and generally just chilling.

After which we came back to our apartment, had a few drinks on the rooftop & watched the sunset till we went out for dinner on last night in Cefalu.

Lipari

We drove to Milazzo to drop off the car & get on to the ferry to Lipari, one of the Aeolian Islands.

Upon arriving on Lipari our hotel picked us up from the port. We quickly booked in & went back down to the town for a late lunch & a bit of an explore.

We then decided to go back to our hotel & chill out around the pool.

The other guests (poms mostly) got a bit of a shock when Brian jumped in rather than their demure entries via the steps.

They got a bigger shock when Brian lifted himself out of the pool from the other end & his swimmers fell down & they got a good look at what he had for lunch that day!

Dinner that night was at Ristorante Cusamano. The owner was a quirky fun old guy who directed us beautifully on the wines and served up a terrific meal.

Next day we had a more thorough exploration of Lipari including the Duomo & Marina Corte.

Lunch was at a restaurant strangely named Filippino which we thought was the cuisine. Thankfully it wasn’t what we expected but a fantastic lunch highlighted by Anne & Belinda’s lobster pasta & Brian’s squid ink spaghetti with cuttlefish.

That night we were picked up & taken to Da Lauro restaurant in Acqucalda.

We were advised to get there early for the sunset which was magnificent as it set over a few of the other Aeolian Islands.

A fantastic dinner which was the highlight for Brian as he rated the spaghetti with sea urchin, clams & prawns as probably the best dish he has ever eaten.

A great night was had by all & I would recommend if going to Lipari, go to Da Lauro but also get over to this part of the island.

The following day was the best day of our holiday.

The four of us hired a boat with a skipper, Silvestro, for the day.

We first went to Vulcano to could walk up the volcano so we could relax for the rest of the day.

This was a tough walk which took us about an hour but we got to the caldera.

After this it was back to the boat for swimming & relaxing for the rest of the day.

Around lunch time Silvestro got his BBQ out while we were swimming and proceeded to cook up some huge prawns which he served with an Italian tomato salad which can only be appreciated eating Italian grown tomatoes.

After that he filleted some fish he had caught which was the main meal which was all washed down with a couple of bottles of Italian Chardonnay.

Unfortunately we followed this up with the worst restaurant/meal of the trip at Il Tritone.

Basil Fawlty would have had a great time here.

The following day was spent travelling to Catania which we set out exploring in the afternoon.

Catania was a bit of a surprise as it is steeped in history that is not as overt as some other Italian destinations.

There is quite a rivalry between Catania & Palermo. Palermo being the capital tends to look down on Catania. We’d take Catania any day.

At night streets of Catania which look like slums during the day come alive with a great variety of restaurants & nightclubs.

All good things must come to an end & so it was that the following day we left Italy to travel to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong

I think Hong Kong is a place that you either get or you don’t.

We’re probably in the latter.

We are probably used to going to places seeing the natural beauty on offer whereas Hong Kong by its very nature is designed or formed.

Having said that we still enjoyed ourselves going from markets, shops, a multitude of restaurants and watching the night laser show over the harbour.

The public transport system is great. The amount of people they move on th train system is phenomenal. In peak hour trains are arriving at 1-2 minute intervals. As soon as the platform is empty it is full again.

We also visited Macau & thanks to Peter & Kristal Maguire’s recommendation to have lunch at Fernando’s we had a really good day with Fernando’s prawns being the highlight.

Whilst in Hong Kong we all had a half hour foot & leg massage to rub away all the aches from all our walking.