Malta

After Salzburg,  Michael had a work trip to Czech Republic and Slovakia.  It was a productive trip for him and a lot easier for me to be alone in Romania this trip than the last trip.  We have been so grateful for our opportunities to travel around Europe.  One downside to being here is that Michael has had to do his American job while still progressing on his assignment in Europe. Which basically means that on many days he has been working Romanian office hours and then staying late so that he can work some American time zone hours too.  It hasn't been too bad.  Just long.  So we decided to take a trip that was not work related and escaped to MALTA!  We had loved Isle of Capri off of Italy so much that we wanted another beautiful island escape.  While I thought Malta would look more like it's Italian and Greek neighbors, it surprised me by actually looking more like it Arabic, North African neighbors.  Put that incredible detailed architecture and beautiful blue sea together and you get the amazing country of Malta!

Laila loved getting off the airplane this way.

We took a taxi to the hotel and went up to the roof to enjoy our view! We are all so happy to see that beautiful sea again!

Then we walked down and enjoyed some beach time!

These two beach bums are my favorite!

The next morning, we got on a bus that took us to the boat that we road out to the Blue Lagoon. The kids loved playing around on the boat for a few hours and then we made it to the lagoon. Oh my blue! It was so stunning!

Nice hat, H-Man!

Family hugs!

Despite seeing jellyfish, we took turns playing in the water.

The water was so clear! It was unbelievable! We had a nice day trip.  On the boat ride there, we sat by a cute family that also had two little kids.  We started talking to them and found out he is in the air force stationed in Germany and she is German so they have been living there and stationed there but they will be moving to Tucson soon!  Small world!  Sweet family! We enjoyed getting to know them.  Then we got back on the boat to head back to the other side of the island.  We loved the ride and the views all the way back.

One of the stops on our way back! ^

Our favorite travel companions.

We were also able to celebrate Father's Day while in Malta.  This special moment at dinner one night really seemed like a great way to sum Michael up as a Dad.  He loves being and playing with our kids and as you can see by Laila's smile, they love him too.  I love seeing him grow as a dad and he loves being a dad.  We are glad we have him!

We have had lots of adventures in Europe, but the next morning in Malta was one of the craziest adventures we have ever had.  It looked like this....

That's Michael driving a stick shift on the other side of the road! Oh man! I'm glad it was hime driving and not me.  But there were a few times that I had to say- wrong side! Thankfully, we are safe and now can laugh at the crazy memories.  Our first stop for the day was called St. Peter's Pool.  We had wanted to have the hotel arrange a babysitter for us to go alone that day. But we had forgotten to call and confirm far enough in advance so we brought them along with us.  It was a bit off the beaten path but oh so, so worth it!  We parked in this little lot and then hiked down to the pool.  The kids were able to play under the ledges in the shade while we took turns jumping in.  Thankfully, we also had kind strangers watch the kids and take videos of us jumping in together.

It was a super fun start for our day!  We spent the rest of the day enjoying driving around and stopping at different beaches.  It's a beautiful country!

Even the wrong turns that we took had a pretty view.

We LOVED playing on the beaches! The next morning we were able to swim on the rooftop before we headed to the airport.  And, of course, we enjoyed a nice tradition of having a yummy (non-alcoholic) pina colada pool side.  Mmmm!

Because of the beauty of the water, the beaches, being together, and the nice relaxing time we had, Malta is definitely one of our family's favorite places!