Malta - Sicily - South Italy

April 16 - 28, 2012

In the footsteps of Paul - Acts 28

Monday 4/16/12 This was another trip planned by Frank VanderZwan - the minister who teaches the Sunday School Class I attend. I have enjoyed several other trips with him - especially these trips that follow in Paul's footsteps. There was another woman in our class who was looking for a roommate so Gail and I decided to join up for the trip. Her neighbor offered to drive us to the airport so he picked me up at 3:45 PM and we headed to SFO where we met the rest of the group. After checking in we went through security and hung around the airport until departure. Our flight was 10 hours to Zurich and wasn't too difficult. The food was reasonable and plentiful and I got a bit of sleep. The security check in Zurich was rather annoying. First we didn't expect it since we didn't think we had left security so we weren't prepared for it. So most people had water in their bottle which they had to quickly drink or throw the bottle out. But I had a very full bottle of water in the bottle I brought from home - so I couldn't drink it all and the officer wouldn't let me pour the water in the trashcan. I eventually persuaded her to take an empty bottle from the trashcan and pour the water in it so I could have my bottle back. She was annoyed but I wanted my bottle. Another time as we went through a security line they had a large container with a sign telling people to pour their water in there. Now that was a smarter arrangement. Eventually we boarded our plane for a one and a half hour flight to Rome - arriving about 7 PM on Tuesday 4/17/12. We drove south along the coast to our hotel. I was surprised from both the bus and the plane how green the area was and how much woodland forest was around Rome. We had a very elegant dinner and then went to bed for a good rest before out next flight.

Wednesday 4/18/12 We left this morning for our short flight to Malta - no customs, no passport stamps. The airport had an extra long landing strip and our guide said it was an emergency landing site for the space shuttle. I haven't been able to confirm that so I don't know if that is the reason or not. We met our wonderful guide, Dane Munrow - he was an excellent guide around the Island. As we were driving to our next location he shared some interesting facts about Malta. Malta has 500 Internet gambling companies and 500 churches. Half of their exports are electronics. Malta is considered a "happy" country according to some surveys. They have no homeless, vandals, graffiti. They take life slowly and are a relaxed people. Driving I noticed how green everything was - the countryside was very pretty and modern was interspersed with ancient. We continued on to Rabat to visit St. Paul's Grotto where it is believed that he stayed during his time in Malta. Although it is a known fact that Paul visited Malta (ship wrecked there) it isn't really known for certainty where he stayed so some of these sites are more by tradition. Here we also visited "St. Paul's Catacombs" which represent the earliest and largest archaeological evidence of Christianity in Malta. It is amazing to walk around in the various catacombs and see the degree of care they took with their dead. Miles of carefully dug walk ways and niches must have taken a great deal of work. There were some statues and wall paintings that still had some paint left on them from several centuries ago. From here we went to Mdina, Malta's first capital dating back to before Roman times. St. Paul's Cathedral was built in the late 17th century on the site of an earlier Norman church that was destroyed in an earthquake in 1693. Tradition says this church was built on the site of the house of Publius, the Roman's chief man who was converted to Christianity by St. Paul in AD 60. We enjoyed walking through the narrow streets admiring the houses and especially the colorful doors with interesting door handles and knockers It was pointed out to us that the streets were curved and bent for defense - an enemy with bow and arrow wouldn't be able to shoot around the curves. Many of the homes have been lived in by the same family for several generations - once sold there would be no coming back. We continued on to Valletta for dinner at our very elegant hotel. Dinner was wonderful - I wish I had taken photos of dinner so I could remember our plates but I did note that it was wonderful.

Thursday 4/19/12 4:00 AM wake up! But they had breakfast ready for us and it was a wonderful selection. Then we went to the harbor to meet the boat that would take us to St. Paul's Island. Paul was being taken, by ship, to Rome to be tried as a political rebel but in Acts 28 we learn that due to a violent storm they were shipwreck on an island called Malta. They were treated with "great kindness" by the people who lived there and during their stay on the island Paul converted many to Christianity. There is a statue to Paul on the island, built in the 1600's, restored in 2010. Also there are the remains of a chapel from the 1500's. There is nothing else on the island and not many tourists are allowed to go on the island so we felt privileged to be there. While there Frank read Acts 28 and I found that a very special moment. It is so special to me to be near where such a major part of Christian history occurred. It was a special time for me on this trip. After returning to the main island of Malta we went to Valletta. In its small area Valletta has some320 monuments, a very concentrated historical area. It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and the capital of Malta. We visited the church of St. Paul's Shipwreck which is very simple on the outside but inside it has some beautiful artworks and part of the column on which Paul was beheaded in Rome. We also visited St. John's Co. Cathedral which is the Knight's of Malta conventual church. (A Co-cathedral shares the function of being a bishop's seat with another cathedral.) The Knights played a large roll in the history of Malta and continue to do so today. This church also has a stark exterior contrasting with its lavish interior including the paintings by Caravaggio depicting the beheading of St. John. We had lunch together in a plaza with many dishes of food to choose from. I asked about the significance of the Maltese Cross and I was told the eight points represent the 8 beatitudes so I decided to buy myself one for my trip souvenir. Barb helped me buy one so that was fun. We ended our day with a tour of the Casa Rocca Piccola, the only privately owned property opened to the public in Valletta. It was built in the 16th century for Don Pietro La Rocca, a Knight of Malta and is now the family ancestral home of the 9th Marquis de Piro. We walked through several rooms all elegantly furnished with the family's history. Back to the hotel for another lovely dinner.

Friday 4/20/12 We left early this morning to take a ferry to Sicily. The ferry takes cars as well as people so it was rather large with plenty of comfortable seating, a shop, and food to buy. We all made ourselves comfortable and had a rather pleasant 3-hour ride, landing in Pozzallo on the eastern side of Sicily. We met our delightful tour guide, Enza Volpe. She was with us for the rest of the trip and was a wonderful guide, very knowledge and patient with all of the various situations that would arrive along the way. We really enjoyed her. We loaded up the bus and headed north along the coast for the Valley of The Temples in Agrigento, an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The drive was beautiful, lovely green countryside with lots of green agricultural fields with stonewalls. It looked very much like some area of the Central Valley of California. Many small towns all with produce vendors along the way. Enza gave us some background history of Sicily and Italy which was interesting but I can’t remember all the details. That is what history books or Wikipedia is for! Rome settled Sicily about 2000 BC and used it for agriculture. Sicily was called the wheat container of Italy. We stopped at a roadside store to use the restroom and decided to use the stop for our lunch break. Here was my first introduction to a delicious Sicily meal called Arancini. They are rice balls coated in breadcrumbs and fried. They are filled with different things such as meats, tomatoes and other vegetables. The ones I really liked were filled with rice and spinach and in the shape of a small volcano. Others filled with other things are orange shape so maybe the shape indicates the filling. Anyway they were very good and made for a good lunch. We proceeded to Agrigento and the great temples of Hera (Juno), Lacinia, Zeus, Concordia and others. There is not much left of many of these temples from the fifth and sixth century BC. But the Temple of Concordia from the fifth century BC is remarkably well preserved. It was remodeled in the fourth century AD as a Christian basilica. This area of ancient Akragas was a flourishing cultural center which gave the world Empedocles, the pre-Socratic philosopher whose concept of matter as divided into four elements – Earth, Air, Fire, and Water was the foundation of science for many centuries. From here we drove to Siracusa to our very elegant hotel Villa Politi which was built on an ancient archeological site. (In fact it is hard not to build on some ancient sites in much of Italy. This hotel was built in 1862 but has been nicely updated.

Saturday 4/21/12 We left at 8:30 for a trip to Catania on the coast north of Siracusa. I was interested in Catania as it is the family home of my son’s father-in-law. He still has some brothers and sisters living there plus nieces and nephews. On the drive to Catania we had beautiful views of Mt. Etna covered by snow with the sun shinning in a clear sky. We drove to the Plaza of the Duomo. The Duomo was built in the eleventh century and reconstructed after the 1693 earthquake. The church has a chapel dedicated to St. Agatha and the remains of the musician Vincenzo Fellini are also buried here. The center of the plaza has the Fontana dell’ Elefante which is the symbol of Catania. The fountain is an Egyptian obelisk on top of an elephant. The reason for the elephant being a symbol for Catania has several explanations in ancient history. This is one of the largest fish markets you will find. In addition to fish and meat there is also produce and cheeses and whatever you would need for a sumptuous meal. We walked through this area and enjoyed seeing the locals coming for their shopping. Enza was with us part of the time and she helped me buy some cheese to take home to my family. She said it is made here in Catania like nowhere else and she always buys some to take home with her. Since my family like all kinds of cheeses I thought this would be a good souvenir to take home. I was told that vacuumed packed it would make it home in good shape and then would last as long as a year in the refrigerator. So I bought two smaller sizes and brought them home. One of them did have mold along the bottom but we cut it off and the family enjoyed the rest of the cheese. I felt good that my “shopping” was over. I did buy more things throughout the trip but I was glad to have a good souvenir for my family. After the fish market some of us went inside the church to enjoy the beauty there. Then several of us met at a café for something to eat – I think I got a gelato – always a good choice. On the way back to the bus we spent some time with a guy who had a motorcycle attached to a gaily-decorated cart – lots of photos and fun.

In the afternoon we headed towards Siracusa, site of Paul’s arrival in Sicily en route from Malta to Rome. Details are uncertain and exact places are not known for sure. But Acts 28 does say that they put in at Syracuse and stayed there for three days. Paul is given credit for bringing Christianity to Sicily. It is interesting in Siracusa to see new and modern buildings next to large archeological areas that are many centuries old. This was an ancient Greek city - Plato spent time here as did Archimedes. The Temple of Apollo is from the seventh – sixth centuries BC. The Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Lacrime built around 1960 is an especially interesting contrast with its steel structure in the shape of an upside down ice cream cone. We walked through narrow streets to the plaza with a Duomo consecrated to the Madonna del Pilar; the interior was beautiful. The interiors of churches blend in my memories but I always enjoy going inside as many of them as I can when I travel. I think what I love is the feeling of centuries of fellow Christians who have all worshiped together there. After walking around the plaza for a while Frank treated us all to gelato, which was fun. Then we went to The Archaeological Park, which has the most famous remains of the ancient city. There are quarries here where during the time of the Greeks the limestone needed to construct the buildings was taken. We went inside the Orecchio di Dionisio (ear of Dionysius), a large opening in the rock with amazing acoustics. We sang “Halleluiah” here. Then we visited the Greek Theatre, which is from the fifth century BC, an amazing construction. It could hold up to 15,000 spectators. We visited the catacombs of San Giovanni, one of the earliest-known Christian sites in Siracusa. It is an amazing place – built like a huge city with niches for the dead. – all underground. These tunnels were dug during the fourth century AD. There were some amazing frescoes from the time that still had color on them.

Sunday 4/22/12 Today four of us went to a nearby church for the morning service. (Frank, Betty, Barb, and me). It was a wonderful start to the day. Even though the service was Catholic and in Italian I still felt I knew what was being said and when I left I felt like I had worshiped God in church. Afterwards we stopped at a nearby café and had a cappuccino. It was so pleasant sitting outside in the sun, talking, people watching, and watching ships coming into the port with Mt. Etna in the background. We then packed up the bus and headed to Taormina, which is north along the coast on the other side of Mt Etna. This medieval mountaintop town was founded by the Greeks from Naples in the sixth century BC. We parked our bus at the bottom and took a shuttle bus up the steep narrow road and then spent time walking around the town. We stopped at a café for lunch and I had an Arancini which was just as good as the first time I had one. We walked through the town enjoying the variety of buildings and shops and churches. Lots of cliffside building and all with a lovely view of the mountains and the sea. We then went to the Greek Theater which is well known for its impressive location with views of the mountains and sea. It was built by the Greeks in the third century BC and rebuilt by the Romans during the second century AD. We enjoyed walking around this theater. After some leisurely walking around we headed down to our bus to drive to our dinner spot. Tenuta San Michele is located in the shadow of Mt. Etna between Taormina and Catania. They have a family owned vineyard and winery run by several generations of the Murgo Family. We were given an introduction to the area and a tour of the winery. For dinner we were given several different types of wine to taste along with each course. The food was delicious and as usual too abundant but I have learned to not “clear my plate”. After a long dinner we loaded up and headed north to Messina to board the overnight ferry to Salerno. After too short of a time in Sicily we would be leaving. It was interesting to watch the huge ferry unload very large container trucks – the drivers drove them like racecars. We had to wait quite a while before we could board because they wanted all the trucks off. Finally we were told to board but it seemed like they were not at all prepared for us. Maybe few tourists with suitcases took this ferry, as we first had to walk along the truck ramp hauling our suitcases while at the same time the trucks were driving up the same ramp to load up. Then they had only one small elevated for 1 or 2 people at a time. When we got off the fifth level there was no information about were to go. Eventually we followed an yellow line, through piles of dirt, grease, and tire chains and finally found a lobby of sorts to go inside. I thought it was rather funny but some people were really upset and poor Enza was in tears because this wasn't at all what she expected. Finally we were assigned our rooms so leaving our suitcases locked in an office we retired for the night in our small but efficient cabins. Fortunately we had private bathrooms with shower and the bunk was comfortable so I slept well during the 8 hours crossing to Salerno on the west coast of the mainland of Italy.

Monday 4/23 We arrived early this morning and after coffee and a croissant we disembarked and loaded up our bus ready to drive along the Amalfi Coast. We drove along the beautiful coast headed to Amalfi along a narrow winding two-lane road. When we got to the top we saw a sign that said the road was closed ahead because of a landslide. It would have been nice if a notice had been put at the bottom, as we had to turn around and retrace our drive. (The last time I was in this area in 2005 the same thing happened.) We had a problem because there were no shops or rest steps in the area. Finally we stopped at a small local store and all bought something to eat while we waited for our turn to use the one rest room they had. It took a long time with 20 people in line! Finally we reached Amalfi where we had a tour of the area including another beautiful church, the Cathedral of Amalfi. The original church, which is now, a museum dates to 596 AD and the new Cathedral was built beside it in 1100. There were many artifacts here. This coastal town is built along the cliffs that climb up above the sea. The only approach in ancient times was by the sea so when the Romans settled this in 300 AD the harbor was very important. Eventually it would hold some 1000 ships. We went inside St. Thomas Cathedral, which had a gold statue from the 1500's. Eventually we continued on to Sorrento where we checked into yet another elegant hotel. After a good dinner we were off to bed.

Tuesday 4/24 Today we were off to Pompeii. Lots of traffic because 4/25 is a big holiday celebrating liberation from the Nazis. We had a guided tour of the city that was buried under ash by a sudden eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD. It is interesting to walk through the streets and see the layout that would have been much the same as any city Paul walked through at the time. He did land near here at Pozzuoli and spent a week there with some teachers. We ate lunch here and wandered around some of the shops and bought some limoncelo flavored candies. Sorrento is where limoncelo was first made. Then we went back to our hotel - arriving early for us - 3:00. After a brief rest we walked into town, I wanted to buy a music box so Enza offered to show me where they were made. Last time I was here with Diane we had wanted to get boxes but we were supposed to go to a factory the next day and were encouraged to wait. But the next day we had to leave early and drive directly to our next stop because the road was being closed for repairs and we would have missed Pompeii if we didn't leave early. I think Enza brought me to the same store where Diane and I had looked at them before. The lady there showed us how they made the wood inlay - such intricate work, a dying art. The family store was Gargiulo & Jannuzzi. I found a lovely little music box that I bought for her and I'm excited to give it to her. This is a special year for my friend so this is a good time to do something special. After this some of the ladies went shopping for purses and shoes so I left to walk back to the hotel. I did stop at a few shops and bought some lemon smelling soap to bring home for souvenirs. Sorrento is a pleasant and friendly town with lots of interesting sights along the way. I also bought a 2-quart bottle of water - at least I'll have enough water for a while. Water and restroom stops were in short supply for parts of this trip! We had another absolutely wonderful dinner.

Wednesday 4/25 We hated to leave this hotel and city - there was so much more to do but it was time. We went to the National Museum, which had a lot of artifacts from Pompeii. The mosaic artwork preserved from that time was especially amazing. There was so much work done just for pure enjoyment it reminds me of what a rich culture they must have been and how important the arts are in the health of a nation/culture. We left here and continued to drive north where once again we started discussing the need for a restroom and food stop. Soon we were stopped by a motorcycle police and after much discussion and orders/threats mostly with Frank it was revealed he was Enza's boyfriend, Enzo. They had arranged to meet here - in the middle of "nowhere" to have a little fun. While most of this was going on the rest of us found a restroom and then some food to buy and had a nice little break. When we finally left here Frank rode on the back of the motorcycle to the next stop. We also all got a taste of the limoncelo that Enza makes - her boyfriend bought a bottle with him. After all this excitement we headed along the Appian Way to a well-preserved Roman village, Minturno. Since this was the only route to Rome Paul most surely walked along the road here so it was especially meaningful to walk along the extant part of the Appian Way knowing that Paul walked here too. We met our guide for Rome here, Susanna. Her daughter of about 4 was here for a while and she came running up to me and gave me a big hug. She must have recognized that I was a Gramma in need of a hug. Her name was Maria Sophia! She then went around giving each of us some flowers that she and her father had picked at the beach. They had driven her mother down here from Rome and then drove back as Susanna joined us on the bus to Rome. In addition to Enza who was with us the whole time in Italy we had professional guides in each location who told us the history and details of what we were seeing. We continued on to Foro Appio - a place mentioned in Acts where Paul met with his fellow Christians. We stayed at Mansio Hotel which was built where an ancient roman resting place was located. The building was very old but had been restored and was most comfortable. We had a dinner based on ancient recipes. I took photos because it was hard to know just what we were eating. Bread or pastry was the "plate" for several of the foods and much of it was finger food. It was a fun meal.

Thursday 4/26 We left this morning following the Appian Way on the way to Rome to first visit the area where Paul lived while in Rome. We know for sure the area where Paul lived because of the description in Acts and the evidence that this was a Jewish area and the tanners worked here. The homes are underground now - most of Rome is built over past eras. We went underground and walked through the rooms were Paul likely lived while he was awaiting his trial and execution. We went to a nearby square to go through the market and have lunch. Then we went through ancient Rome and spent some time walking around the Colosseum, an amazing everlasting symbol of the greatness of Rome. We then walked through the Roman Forum surrounded all the remains of so much ancient history. We also went to the church of San Clemente with it's history traced down each level - the top level from 12th century, down one level the 4th century and then further underground the first century - said to be the home of St. Clement. Then to our lovely hotel where we had a very wonderful dinner up on the roof with a wonderful view of the city. We had a very pleasant evening - our last dinner all together.

Friday 4/27 Today we drove outside of the city walls because the burial areas were always outside of the city. We went to the Abbey of the Three Fountains, the traditional place of Paul's martyrdom. It was very moving to stand there at the beginning of the path preserved from Paul's time and think of him walking along those very stones on the last day of his life. It once again reminded me how very precious is our freedom to worship as we choose, I found it an overwhelming reminder. I almost felt as though I knew Paul and his death just happened yesterday. Then we went to the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls - a beautiful church built over the burial place of Paul. It was from the fourth century. Then on to the Trevi Fountain where we all tossed a coin so that we would come back some day. From here we broke up into separate groups - some wandered around the area for a while until time to go back to the hotel while others went on to the Vatican. I went back to the hotel as I had been to the Vatican twice before. I rested up and did some packing at the hotel. We were on our own for dinner so Gail and I went to a nearby cafe that she had discovered earlier in her wandering around. We sat outside and had a delicious pasta dinner with relaxed and friendly conversation. It was a very pleasant end to our lovely trip to Malta, Sicily, and South Italy.

Saturday 4/28 At this late day (a month after I got home) I can't remember much about our trip home. I know it took some 23 hours from start to finish and I was really aching by the time I got home. In going over my photos I have many good memories and it was a great trip. I feel so fortunate to be able to travel on a trip like this.

Written from my notes, photos, and memories so mistakes may have been made!

Penelope Bowen as of 5/27/12

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All of the albums are dated so my journal will tell you where they were taken.