Here are a few more photos of our Malta Xperience which includes some more instructions we found in the bathroom as well as more pictures of st. John's Cathedral. I also have a few pictures of us pulling out of the port in Malta to give you an idea of the amazing views as we leave and head out to sea. We'll be at Sea tomorrow and then into Barcelona on Saturday morning.
No fair, the boat next to us has a water slide on top!
We pulled into the beautiful port of Valletta on the island nation of Malta, known as the place the Apostle Paul was shipwrecked on his way to Rome. We first visited the Catacombs where the poor buried their dead. We also learned about how people went to the bathroom and what they did with the pea pods in ancient times. You can see the description in the picture below.
These catacombs were also used as shelters during WWII. The area you see in the first picture was where they held worship underground while bombs fell during the war.
The catacombs lead to Paul's grotto where it is believed Paul lived while on the island. Our team read that story from Acts 28 and said a prayer together for healing for those we know who are ill as Paul was said to not only have survived a poisonous snake bite here but healed many who were sick. The second picture is of the Grotto and then the area outside the grotto that leads to the church.
You also will see a picture of the eight-pointed Maltese star and a girl making those stars using silver from Malta. This is the symbol of the Knights of St. John who made Malta their home in the mid 1500s. The eight-pointed star represents the 8 nationalities of the Knights as well as their Creed which is the 8 Beatitudes. You will see in the next picture the cathedral they built to st. Peter and st. Paul which sits atop a Hill near Paul's Grotto.
We then made our way into Valletta and spend the afternoon here, first going to st. John's Cathedral which commemorates the beheading of John the Baptist. Caravaggio's great painting is in this Cathedral which is stunningly inlaid with 24-carat gold. You will see a few pictures from inside the cathedral along with the picture of Caravaggio's painting. There are actually eight worship spaces in the cathedral representing each of the eight nationalities of the Knights of st. John.
I then was able to go to mass at the Saint Paul Shipwrecked Cathedral and afterwards found a small hole in the wall restaurant and ate the best lasagna I've had in years. You will see a picture of the statue of Paul outside of the church as well as the front of the church which is in a small alley. I then took a picture from where I ate my email looking down one of the streets of Valletta. The narrow streets are at signature of this beautiful town.
I then had some free time and so I made my way to Fort St Elmo which is at the entrance to the bay where our ship came in and was an instrumental Fort during World War II in keeping out Mussolini's Army out of Malta which was a strategic stronghold for the British army and Allied Forces. You will see if you pictures from the fort looking out across the bay to the fort on the opposite side of the inlet.
The time in Paul's grotto was probably one of my most favorite memories of the trip. It was a very meaningful time of prayer and scripture for our entire group, to think that the Apostle Paul spent five months in this space ministering to the people of Malta until the ship could take him and the rest of their party to Rome to stand before the emperor
After a night at sea we ended up in port at the Almalfi coast in Italy, a beautiful spot that Paul would have passed on his way to Rome. It is renowned for its fishing villages and it is the gateway to Pompeii. The first photo is the sunrise that greeted us this morning.
In the morning I took a boat ride to Amalfi village which had a beautiful church and quaint little shops. You can see photos of the boat ride and the village in the first few pictures below. After returning by boat to the main port we were treated to an amazing Italian feast for lunch and then boarded a bus to Pompeii.
The other pictures below are of some of the ruins in Pompeii as well as a pomegranate tree in the middle of them because my daughter loves pomegranates! Pompeii was destroyed in the first century by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius which carbonized many of the inhabitants. The second to last photo in the group below is believed to be the first pizza oven because they found the remains of a pizza fossilized in the oven!
The final photo has Mt. Vecuvius in the background of the ruins. You will see that it is shaped like a V because the middle and top of it blew out during that eruption. It still is an active volcano underneath and is monitored on a regular basis.
Today we are at sea as we head to our next destination and there is always lots to do on the ship. We actually have worship every morning but on the days at sea we also have a presentation from Father Ron Rohlheiser who is a Catholic priest in the Oblate order. He is originally from Toronto, Canada and is currently the head of a seminary in San Antonio, Texas.
Ron has written several books and the theme of each of his talks is about the different seasons of our spiritual Ives. The first season of our spiritual Ives he calls, "The struggle to get our lives together." I have found his words to be inspiring and encouraging as he talks about the fact that we all see life differently in different times of our lives and I have found this true in my life as well. This first season of our lives is really just a struggle to figure out who we are and who's we are. He talked about the importance of Sabbath rest in getting our lives together and that being on a cruise can be a good way to take some time away and I have found that to be true.
After our time in the morning together, we then all have free time on the ship. There are several swimming pools and even a grass area on the top deck for laying around that are all helpful when trying to get some rest.
Great meals are included in the cruise and they have a wonderful workout area that looks out over the ocean so you can work off all of the extra calories. The first picture below is the area off of our room that we have to use to enjoy free time. I also have included a few pictures of our ship and of a sunset we got to enjoy tonight. I hope this doesn't make too many of you to jealous!
Our trip from Newark to Spain actually spanned two days because of the time changes. After arriving in Barcelona on Monday October 3 we were taken to the seaport and then headed out towards Rome. Our first day of touring was actually on Tuesday, October 4th which we spent in the city of Rome.
Our first stop was the Coliseum, which wasn't built until after the time of the Apostle Paul. Construction was begun by Emperor Nero and was built near an area where it was believed that the Apostle Paul preached when he was in Rome. More importantly, this was an area that was populated mostly by people who were poor and some historians say that Nero had it burned down on purpose so he could build the Coliseum in this place. Nero then blamed the fire on Christians living in Rome and he used it as a reason to persecute them, including killing the Apostle Paul as part of that persecution.
Below you will see a few pictures of the Coliseum I was able to take. We also drove by the church of St. Paul Beyond the Walls which is located outside of the city center and tradition says is built on the place where Paul is buried.
We also visited the cathedral named St. Paul and Chains which has artwork depicting the beheading of Paul, along with chains encased in glass that are said to be the ones that held the Apostle Peter which were miraculously removed from his arms while he was in prison.
We then went to the Vatican museum which took us through St. Peter's Cathedral and the Sistine Chapel, leaving us outside Vatican square when we were finished. While you are not able to take pictures of the Sistine Chapel there are several pictures below of St. Peter's. One of the most fascinating areas of the museum was a room called the map room with maps painted on the walls from the 1500s that are as accurate as Google Maps.
The second to last photo is of the inside of St. Peter's Cathedral and the orange light you see in the middle is light coming through the stained glass image of a dove representing the Holy Spirit. The final picture is on the road back to our seaport where they're were miles and miles of grapes and wineries.
