Kifint, Malta? or, New People I Love (part one of many!)

Just a warning (not like it's a bad thing, it's a very very good thing!!), there will be more than one entry about Malta, because: We spent 2 weeks there, did TONS of stuff, and met some amazing people (most of whom are family). So, I need the space and time to write about this amazing part of our trip properly. Please be patient =]

Rita, our second cousin, was lovely enough to pick us up from the airport and drop us off at our hotel. Later that evening, she met us outside with a bag full of pastizzi ( my kind of girl!!) and Johnny, Ian, and Giada in tow ( more second cousins). In true Maltese hospitality ( the friendliest people on the planet, really!), we were served Cisk beer and talked as if we had known each other our entire lives. 

This is one of the many reasons that I feel so lucky to be a part of this family through my husband. I come from a very small family and was fortunate enough to marry into the biggest family I could have ever imagined! I still haven't met everyone, after 3 years of being together! And it's not from lack of trying! haha!

From left:Giada, Ian, Johnny, Rita, myself (my honey took the photo)

The next day, we were hungover, so we detoxed at the beach. I found some kitties hiding in the bush!

 These are like natural hot tubs from the ocean!

Sunday, we went to meet some family. This is Dave's grandfather (recently deceased) Nannu's brother Gianni. He's so funny and reminds me so much of Nannu. It's the cheeky Galea side!

Plenty of group photos coming! Us, Rita, Giada, Ian, Aunty Maria, and Uncle Gianni.

As you will see from this point on in our trip, we are always lucky to arrive somewhere when there is a local festival. This is a festa of a specific part of town. Here, people were chanting, the feeling was incredible ( I have goosebumps thinking about it!). 

Here, we met Alaya, Olivia, and Jason!

Lovely Rita!

Blue Grotto

Lovely ladies, all Galeas now!

We did a LOT of swimming, snorkeling, tanning, etc... In Malta, and I have to say it's the best in the world. 

More to come, don't you worry!

Rodos, Greece

I didn't know much about Rhodes island before we got there. I figured we should go there instead of going back to Athens before flying to Malta, and the flights were the same price. We got there at around noon, sweating because it was boiling hot and there were no showers on the ferry this time ( we got on the ferry at 11pm, and had some issues with people in our seats, etc...). All we wanted was a shower. We got to our hostel Amaryllis, the young guy there was not very knowledgeable...After having a shower, we found some food and went to the beach for some relaxation. For dinner, we went to a place called Artemis ( or was it Aphrodite?) and we treated pretty rudely. But, there were kitties!!

The next day, we went to the Rhodes Aquarium. It's very small, but for 5 Euros it's not so bad. They had some cool creatures! 

Where's the beach?

Seriously...!

This place was easy to get to, full of fish, and the water was warm.

Heaven:

More kitties!!! At the beach this time =]

On the bus ride back, we were slowed by protesters. Everyone got off the bus but we hung out with the driver, who explained that there is a protest practically every day. This time it's the childcare people.

This is from the Valley of the Butterflies! It's the same price to take a tour and to do it on your own.

Found this jumping platform! I'm afraid of heights to this was not working for me haha

Greece was good to us. I had been dreaming of going there since I was a little girl, and it didn't disappoint. 

But, we were so excited for MALTA that we could barely contain ourselves!!

I like getting on planes from outside. It's so glamourous!

Part one of Malta coming very very soon!

Syros, Greece

We decided to go off the beaten track and picked an Island recommended to us by a friend of my mother's (Thanks, Spyros!). We were not disappointed! 

Greek people are overall pretty nice, especially the owners of the place where we stayed, who picked us up when we arrived at 1am! Even with the language barrier, we managed to get along quite well.

If you're looking for a party island, this is not what you want. But, if you want to relax, soak up the sun, and not get overcharged for food, this is your place!

We hired this buggy:

See how happy he is? <3

We took it around and stopped by a few beaches on the island to snorkel:

We found this abandoned house which inspired me:

Paradise.

Goof.

I made a dog friend while I was sleeping

After 2 nights, one day, we were off to Rhodes. I would love to come back to Syros one day, though!

Short but sweet. Next time, Rhodes Island!

Athens, Greece!

Let me preface this next group of photos by saying that we met some super cool people on the ferry on the way to Patras. Aaron and Carolyn are really cool and we are so happy to have met them! Aaron speaks perfect Italian and helped us even before we all formerly met! We hung out with them for the entirety of our time in Athens and truly enjoyed their company. Through them, we also made friends with Nicholas and Semina, he is from Cyprus and she is Greek. We ALSO met Pancho from mexico! Nicholas and Semina were nice enough to teach us all a few words in greek and showed us a great restaurant so we got a chance to have authentic greek food. Thanks again guys, hope to see you again =]

Aaron

Our ferry

Night view of the Acropolis, so beautiful!

Nicholas and Semina!

Dave and Aaron (nice face!)

Carolyn and I (pardon my stray hair)

Dave and Greek guard

Aaron is so outgoing, being a photographer, these breakdancers were super nice!)

Akropoli!

Another thing about Athens you have to know, is that there are dogs EVERYWHERE. I don't know if they are all strays and 100% homeless, but there are bowls of water left out for them by shop owners and stuff. They are all just hanging out in the shade as it is extremely hot. And gosh, aren't they cute?

Again, thanks to Aaron, we were warmly welcomed by this guy at his restaurant, which was good and pretty cheap.

Most sights only have a few original pieces still standing.

As a kid, I wanted to be an archeologist.

Dave and Pancho!

Cute, I know.

And that's Athens for you! We ate so much good food ( especially Tzatziki and Gyros, mmm!!!)

Until next time, when I write about Syros Island!