When home dealing with my father’s health crisis, I got the unusual chance to spend three days alone with him in Philadelphia. Due to weather and back to back appointments at the prestigious UPenn Medicine hospital, my dad and I decided to get a hotel near Philly. Now, the days were full of appointments, but…
Coffee by the sea. Colorful fishing boats filling the harbor. A small market with food, linens and souvenirs. Limestone buildings in the background. That’s what vacation is made for. That’s why you leave the comfort of your home to explore places unknown. And that’s what you get with Marsalokk. We actually first went to Marsalokk…
We woke up the morning of our fifth full day in Malta to cold. Not Chicago, Polar Vortex cold. But cold for us Northern Californians. It was 50 degrees Fahrenheit and windy. So we put on layers, hats and gloves, and came to find our tour guide for the day was dressed like an Eskimo.…
It started as a normal day. I was making plans for my dad’s trip to California that upcoming weekend. We were making a plan to get the house clean. Drove to work and excited about an easy and fun Friday with my coworkers. Called dad to ask him if he rented a car yet. “Not…
When people hear Malta, they often are only thinking about the island of Malta. But the country of Malta is actually made up of four islands. Gozo is the second largest and second most populated of the four islands (the other two have little to no people living on them). The island is small (26…
New Years Morning, after a night of drinking and talking until 3am, 6 hung over zombies – I mean 6 strong independent women, and 1 very energetic baby managed to get on a bus, and make it to the Phoenicia Hotel just outside Valletta to start our walking tour of the ancient city. Our tour…
Our first full day in Malta. After getting in around 2am, I had trouble getting up and out of the house for a 1pm tour. I’m tired, I’m groggy, I’m jet lagged. But I’m in Malta so I’m determined to make the best of it. The guide stops and makes us walk down steps half…
This is the year that many of my friends hit a big milestone birthday. 40 always seemed like a daunting age to me. It felt like the time when you become “old”. When my mom turned 40, a neighbor put up “Over the Hill” decorations. It seemed like an age I was not excited to…
During my time in Barcelona in early 1999 my mom went on a quest for the mysterious cousin M. This was someone she had been close to when she was younger. Cousin M had moved to Barcelona for a scholarship opportunity. Then…she seemed to disappear. Mom knew a few snippets. She had some kids. She…
In the middle of the urban jungle that is Barcelona stands a little mountain, an oasis of green in a sea of concrete and steel. Montjuïc is where you go to get away from the bustle of the city but still walk down and be able to get lunch with a friend. My mom saw…
I LOVE to shop. It’s my second favorite activity (after traveling). I got this from my mother. So imagine I’m in Barcelona – with my mom – and we are near one of the most famous shopping streets in the world. You know we are going to make a stop along Paseo de Gracia. Paseo…
“Guys, we have 7 hours at Heathrow. Is that enough time to get out? I’ve never been to London”. It started an easy enough question. Some of us in the group had never been to London. My best friend R was turning 40. To celebrate, we were doing a girls trip to Malta. But on…
I’ve talked about this before. The end of 2015 saw great changes in our family life and lifestyle. 2016 w as a year of transition and 2017 was a year of adjustment. But the end of 2017 saw yet another change in our family situation, and allowed us some wiggle room to breath and more…
The University of Barcelona is a sprawling organization with campuses all over the city. However, for whatever reason, in 1999, all the exchange students took classes at the old campus, right off Plaza Universidad. The building, built between 1863 and 1882, is classic Moorish architecture, with big courtyards and lots of greenery. I remember being…
“My cousin wrote back…she wants to meet for lunch!” “Your cousin? The one in Barcelona you haven’t seen in 40 years?!” “Yep, here is the address of the restaurant we are going to meet at.” Look at map…”Are you serious? If I remember correctly, that’s the not so great area of Barcelona. It’s full of…
