Dedicated to a friend.

Trip Start Sep 15, 2007
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Trip End Oct 17, 2007


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Flag of Malta  ,
Thursday, September 27, 2007

Set off for a run this morning, the slightly cooler weather of the last few days had subsided somewhat and today was looking glorious indeed. No sooner had my run finished that I had scoffed down breakfast and was making my way to my local watering hole. The rocky coastline north of Sliema was fast becoming my second home and the cool blue/green Mediterranean water beckoned. I was keeping tabs on things in London the last few days weighing up whether it was worthwhile me making the trip there as I originally intended. The weather in London had been abysmal and I was not keen to spend 1 week of my precious time in dreary surroundings like that, especially when Malta had been such a haven for me. Something clicked in my mind during my run and I had decided upon the destination of my mid holiday jaunt, Sicily. It had a lot of appeal to me, not the least of which was the fact I could get there via a short 90 minute ferry ride, it was another island in the Mediterranean that had a rich and deep history, was somewhere unusual that I would not have expected to visit and was small enough for me to get to see most of the interesting places in one week.


On my way to the water I visited the bookshop and picked up a travel guide book for Sicily. I was happy to get a book dedicated to Sicily alone so I would be best prepared for my journey. I spent the best part of the day lazing on the rocks, reading and planning my Sicily trip and swimming in between. Sicily has some amazing history, similar to Malta and it was getting me very excited to learn about a new place knowing I would be there sometime next week. I also called mum and my brother Nick to actually hear some familiar voices and have a quick chat. It keeps me going and recharges my batteries knowing that all is good at home and my family and friends will be there when I return. It was a great day.

Something that continues to become apparent to me is the amount of foreigners that are in this part of Malta, it truly is a holiday destination of choice for many Europeans. Today I spoke with a girl from Russia (Moscow) and 2 others from Switzerland. Whilst at the beach there are many foreign languages I would hear throughout the day and something worth noting is that so far I am yet to come across another Australian. Most of the people I have spoken to say they have not met any other Australians during their time here either.


I had lunch in this bar today near the beach, and the sports news came on. Michael Misfurd a football striker of Maltese background scored 2 goals for Coventry against Manchester United, knocking them out of the Carling Cup. It is massive news over here and I was clapping and cheering with the rest of the Maltese when Michael was interviewed after the game. "He is one of us!" Yes, I am no longer a token Aussie, I am a token wog. I have finally found myself. :)


The day ended having dinner with my Maltese family and home cooked rabbit was on the menu! :) We spent some time after the meal just talking about my extended family and events that had occurred in the past, weddings, births, deaths etc. We pored over a few photo albums some dating back to the 1960s and I saw a photo of my Great Grandfather with my Aunty Julie in Malta when she was a child. I enjoyed the evening.

Despite all the good times I am enjoying here I feel compelled to mention that today I learned a good friend of mine whom I have known for most of my life had fallen on some tough times, he is not the best at the moment and my thoughts go out to him and his family. All the good feelings from today's journal entry are dedicated to him.
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