Category Archives: travel

Malta—a small island with a big history.  Everybody goes to Malta, it seems.  The Sicani went there.  So, too, did the opther ancients–the Greeks, the Phoenicians, and the Romans.  Not to be outdone, later invaders included the Byzantines, Napoleon (who found the cuisine so yummy that he spent the rest of his life reminiscing about it by placing his hand on his stomach), the British, and invading hordes of unstoppable tourists (you didn’t really fall for that last clickable link, did you?).

We were part of that final group.  And while some of the residents of Malta probably considered it an invasion, we came armed with cameras rather than canon.  Speaking of artillery, our ship was given a canon salute leaving the Grand Harbour (thank our British cousins for that spelling of “harbor;” I had nothing to do with it).  At least I think it was a salute, because we never returned fire.  But, then, we were on a cruise ship.

In between arriving in the early a.m. and getting fired upon during our late afternoon departure, we saw some spectacular sights and some classic Baroque architecture.  Speaking of Baroque, I once knew a collector of art and antiques who hated that style.  He would collect anything else, everything else, anything but—no matter what the condition or the price.  As he put it, “If it ain’t Baroque, don’t nix it.”

Sorry.  Couldn’t resist.  I haven’t told a joke, even a bad one, on this blog in quite a while.  That one just slipped out.  Now, back to the travel stuff.

I don’t believe I’ve ever seen so many fortifications in one place during my entire life as I witnessed in Malta.  There were everywhere, but the Grand Harbour in particular seemed ringed with them.  But you know what I say about Europe—where there’s a castle, a cathedral cannot be far beyond.  Malta is no exception.

Interspersed amidst all these castles and cathedrals are colorful examples of typical Maltese architecture.  Elaborate wooden balconies jut out from multi-story apartment buildings at nearly every turn, and varying shades of green seem to be the color of choice for these structures.

So, here are just a few examples of the sights that await you in Malta:

It’s colorful.  It’s fun.  It’s artsy.  It’s both hip and cool.  It’s annual.  It’s El Paso.

It’s Chalk the Block, and it’s a truly unique El Paso experience.

Every year, the streets of downtown El Paso are blocked off, people armed with multicolored chunks of chalk and knee-pads arrive, and sidewalks and streets are turned into a canvas for the creative endeavors of artists both local and from out of town.  The epicenter of this annual happening is the historic San Jacinto Plaza, also known in times past as Plaza de los Lagartos (Alligator Plaza).  Vendors abound.  Savory smells waft into the air, carried aloft by smoke from charcoal- and gas-fueled grills.  Artists who use more traditional media sell their wares from tented kiosks.  Professional “graffiti” artists apply their talents to city mass transit buses that are made available as additional ‘canvases.”

It you aren’t having fun here, amid all this color and cacophony, then you’re actively fighting it.  Charge your batteries, stow some extra memory cards, and bring a digital camera . . . or two.  You’re going to need ’em:

. . .  may live in beautiful surroundings.

If you ever get up Seattle way and rent a car, make sure you head south to Tacoma for a day trip to the Museum of Glass.  If you’re into photography you’ll be very glad that you did.  Unfortunately, photography of the indoor exhibits is prohibited, but the outdoor exhibits more than make up for this prohibition.

Especially colorful and very fun to photograph are the artworks of Dale Chihuly in the incredible Chihuly Bridge of Glass.  The walls are lined with individual pieces displayed within enclosed glass walls.  But it’s the ceiling that will really get your attention.  Above you, light streaming through, are colorful works of hand-blown glass pieces overlaid in a jumble of intense colors, shapes, and textures.

Photographic hint:  If the light is too dim for your camera to take pictures at a low ISO setting, don’t up the ISO too far or you’ll start getting “noise,” the digital equivalent of “grain” in film photography.  Instead, you may want to employ some of the tricks we learned in Available Light Photograph Without a Tripod.  Set up your camera with a two- to ten-second delay.  Place it onto the floor of the bridge with the lens aimed toward the ceiling.  With your head and shoulders out of the way as much as possible, depress the shutter release button halfway to set the exposure, then depress it completely to start the timer for shutter release.  Back out of the way and let your camera do its thing.

The results may astound you: