Tag: travel

Sculpting Tomorrow’s Artisans: The Stonemason School in Pučišća, Croatia

Tricia A. Mitchell26 Comments

Venturing into Pučišća’s Stonemason School feels like entering another era. The soundtrack is the hammering, sanding, and chiseling of stone. A snow-white dust dances in the air, hugging every surface, and carpeting the ground. Classic urns, intricate fountains, and a regal lion fill the school’s sun-drenched workshop. Indeed, the only details that may transport you back to the present are the sweatpants, t-shirts, and earbuds worn by the aspiring stonemasons.

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Into the Forest: Watching a Wild Deer Feeding in the German Alps

Tricia A. Mitchell39 Comments

Sitting on the wooden benches of a rustic shelter, our group waited patiently. We shivered quietly and watched for signs of life in the frosted forest before us. It was twilight, and we had come to watch a feeding of wild deer in the Graswang Valley in the German state of Bavaria. These feeding sessions, called Wildtierfütterung in German, are a popular local tradition, and just one example of Germany’s penchant for respecting the environment

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A Descent into Malta’s Mystical Hypogeum

Forgotten for millennia, Malta’s subterranean Hypogeum offers a fascinating look into the island’s mysterious Temple Builders.

Tricia A. Mitchell26 Comments

Believed to be one of the oldest prehistoric underground temples in the world, the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum is a mysterious and impressive engineering marvel crafted by Malta’s ‘Temple Builders’. Little is known about the sophisticated Temple Builders and why they eventually vanished from the island, leaving only their temples behind. Incredibly, some of their structures predate Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid at Giza.

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A multi-colored wooden fishing boats sits in the water, with the skyline of Valletta, Malta in the background.

A Guide to Exploring Valletta: Malta’s Tiny, But Mighty, Capital City

Tricia A. Mitchell27 Comments

Malta’s capital, Valletta, is a grande dame undergoing rapid change. With more than 300 monuments crammed into the city’s small peninsular borders, Valletta has one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world. This means that there are lots of things to do in Valletta, whether you’re an architecture aficionado, military-history buff or passionate wanderer eager to see a city reawakening from a long slumber.

Shawn and I were delighted to have called Valletta home this past year, living on one of the city’s most infamous streets – a narrow lane which was once a red-light district that lured sailors. When we first learned we’d be moving to Malta for Shawn’s studies, we thought we might develop island fever living on a tiny island nation for twelve months. Surprisingly though, there was so much to experience in and out of Valletta that our weekend calendar was always replete with activities.

A decade before moving to Valletta, I also played tourist in the capital city, making it my home base during a long-weekend visit. Back in 2006, Valletta was eerily quiet. Half of the city’s buildings were boarded up and abandoned. Accommodation in Valletta was so scarce that I literally had to sleep in a spacious maid’s closet for one night, until a proper room became available. Coincidentally, ten years later, my future in-laws would choose to stay at a boutique hotel located just across the street from the same guesthouse in which I stayed as a solo female traveler in 2006. It’s funny how life comes full circle like that!

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A man, dressed in swimming gear, holds a Jack Russell Terrier dog in his arms. The dog has a water bottle in her mouth, and there is blue water in the background. The man and the dog are famous in Malta for doing synchronized dives.

Malta’s Cliff-Diving Dog Captures Hearts Around the World

Tricia A. Mitchell17 Comments

It was a sweltering September afternoon on the sunny island of Malta when we headed to St. Peter’s Pool. With its dramatic limestone cliffs and access to the Mediterranean, St. Peter’s isn’t a pool in the conventional sense. And at this point, it should ceremoniously be renamed ‘Titti’s Pool’ in honor of its most famous diver: a Jack Russell Terrier dog who has captured the attention of animal lovers worldwide.

Upon reaching a point overlooking the picturesque swimming venue, I had already spotted Titti –  a stocky, black, white and brown ball of energy. St. Peter’s Pool is photogenic in its own right, but the swarm of swimmers sporting mobile phones and cameras instead tried to capture Titti’s every move. This proved to be tricky because of the dog’s sprinting maneuvers and high jumps alongside her master’s ankles.

Anticipating her owner’s hand signal, Titti waited at the jagged cliff’s edge, an impatient aura about her. With her master’s motion now executed, her stubby little legs launched her into the azure water below. Titti’s makeshift paparazzi documented the split-second maneuver, and applause and yelps of delight followed as Titti’s head emerged from the foamy water. In her mouth, she carried a prized plastic water bottle which she’d just fetched out of the sea.

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Putting Malta in the Limelight: Valletta’s Manoel Theatre

Tricia A. Mitchell21 Comments

 

From the outside, Malta’s Manoel Theatre is handsome, but unassuming. Step through its main entrance and into the theater though, and the 285-year-old Valletta structure is dazzling – bringing to mind a gilded jewelry box or a terraced wedding cake.

Stopping by this Maltese landmark on an overcast morning uncharacteristic for sunny Malta, Shawn and I were greeted by Josette Portelli, a veteran employee who has been with the Manoel Theatre for more than 40 years.

Upon entering, Josette’s colleagues fumbled with the complicated switchboard at the back of the seating area, trying to illuminate the theater. Soon, the space went from pitch black and mysterious, to opulent and inviting. A delicate chandelier high overhead was the stunning focal point among a sea of smaller crystal sconces, bathing the 65 or so theater boxes with mood lighting.

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Green & Tranquil Malta: Tasting Maltese Food & Wine in the Countryside

Tricia A. Mitchell27 Comments

Close to where Malta’s Victoria Lines fortifications taper off, there’s a little piece of Mediterranean paradise –  a plot of land where olive and pomegranate trees, along with chickens, goldfish, frogs, and bees mingle. The spot, called the Tan-Nixxiegħa Olive Grove, began its transformation from overgrown and forgotten, to tended and tranquil, just over a decade ago, thanks to two farmers named Charley and Raymond.

The duo, who are part of the Merill Ecotours Rural Network, converted the green-space, allowing the parcel’s flora and fauna to thrive. Today, thanks to Charley and Raymond’s hard work, you can hear the clucking of chickens, the whisper of the trees’ branches as they dance in the air and the babbling of a tiny fishpond.

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Seeing Red: Capturing the Island of Malta in Cardinal & Crimson

Tricia A. Mitchell59 Comments

 

When we moved to the Mediterranean island of Malta last autumn, we envisioned our leisure time swiftly being spent exploring the country’s plentiful heritage sites, soaking up the sunshine, and strolling by the beautiful blue water encircling the tiny island. Back then, we couldn’t imagine all the red tape that we’d have to ‘cut through’ in order to settle into another new country. At times, we were feeling a bit daunted by it all.

Once we’d overcome bureaucratic tasks like securing a visa and finding an apartment, it was time to begin getting acquainted with this island, which boasts 7,000 years of history and a fervor for festivals. Not long after we arrived, Malta ‘rolled out the red carpet’ for world leaders attending a high-profile summit and meeting of Commonwealth nations. And soon, Malta’s communities began ‘painting their towns red’ with traditional saint’s day festivals (festas), and lively celebrations of the Carnival, Christmas and New Year’s sort. In finally being able to soak up all these details, we went from feeling daunted to delighted by our new surroundings.

As I looked back on the past six months here, I noticed that of all the fantastic color that makes Malta’s street scenes come alive, red hues are especially plentiful. From the island’s flag, to its ubiquitous crimson-colored phone booths and enclosed balconies, red simply abounds here.

What follows is a photo essay of some of the splashes of red which I’ve spotted. Continue reading “Seeing Red: Capturing the Island of Malta in Cardinal & Crimson” →