Rome and Kenya

our view from the porch in Kenya
Angie and Bryan's place
Definitely not the honeymoon suite!!
granite bathtub in the vatican museum
Colleseum
we left Malta for Rome, Nov 3. after a great time in Malta we were a little sad to leave but ready for the next adventure and anniversary fun in Rome. Well, let's just say we'll always remember this anniversary. pics will have to come at a later time. we had a half trailer/mobile home with immovable bunk beds! Good times. we spent the day looking at the vatican museums. The history is amazing, really you could spend months looking at everything. this part was fun. then we managed to have perfect timing to hit a down pour and get totally soaked. then we headed back to the trailer a little defeated, although Ben still had a good attitude and we had a nice take out dinner from our hostel restaurant in our trailer. Next day we got lost on a bus which took up too much time, and saw the Colleseum which was a wonder to see. that was our time in Rome and off to Kenya.

So we've now been in Kenya for a week. I have had a bad cold for 6 of those days. Ben has stayed healthy though, so that's good. We're staying with our friends Angie and Bryan on a piece of land in the Rift Valley. We sit on their porch and watch the monkies and baboons play, it's truly beautiful and amazing. It's about 45 min drive to Nairobi where we get groceries and do errands so the rest of the time it's very quiet. We're going to really be in shock when we hit India now! Our friends are still trying to find work or coming home to Calgary in Dec so our expected time here might be a bit shorter than expected. Possibly we'll be in India by mid Dec. We'll see though, still a bit early to tell. Our friends Kari and Marty that we had lots of fun with in Malta are coming to Kenya the end of Nov so more fun is to be had still. We'll hopefully be doing a camping safari and hiking and some more outings. Although just driving around yesterday we saw wild zebras, giraffes and other interesting wild life. Bryan and Angie are into bird watching, so i think of you often dad, you would love them here!
so not too much to report as it's been pretty quiet here. internet connection isn't very accessible where we're staying but we'll keep trying to keep in touch as much as possible.

we love you very much and miss you all, and often think of you!

Love
Leah and Ben

Almost time to move on.

Leah looking for some adventure in the Calypso caves in Gozo.
The Azure Window.

Piercing fun!

There's a new addition to my nose! All is healing well!

Malta

We've now had 2 weeks in Malta, and our time here is half complete already! It's been a fabulous time here. A place to relax after much chaos of trying to get ready for this trip, and also a time with great friends that we get to hang out with everyday! We like Malta!

Ben usually starts his day getting up early, walking around the neighborhood taking pictures, visiting the locals and gettin a donought like what he had when growing up. It's no Timmies, but he likes. I choose to sleep in until blinded by sunlight, then enjoy coffee with everyone. No hurried times here, it's great. There's lots of sightseeing to do here as well as some beaches and snorkelling. Our friends Kari and Marty also have a bunch of friends here from their previous visits so we have lots of social time with their friends as well. Food here is fabulous, produce just tastes so good here, not quite like home!

Today we're off to a beach to try our snorkel gear, then Kari and I are out for dinner. We now have internet access from our "flat" so we'll try to keep up with the blog and pics!
Chow!!

Only in Malta.

I saw this sign on what they call the beach. The yellow rail on the left is a handrail for getting in and out of the sea not for boats.So my question is what are they towing ?

Lost in Malta...

Hello all from Malta.Here we are with Kari and Marty from Gull Lake enjoying our first dinner in Malta
Here is our bed in Malta, and a mighty fine bed it is.
Be carefull about the nudity of your lighting they get very upset about it here.
This is one our views that we were greeted with upon our arrival on the island. Not bad huh? The weather here is very hot in the mid twenties and apparently we are here in the fall and the weather in the summer is around the mid to high thirties with hardly any breeze. The island is beautiful and can be really harsh. The people here are terrific and the food awww soooo good. When you get here you have to try pizztizeria ( pea cake or cheese cake) I am telling you it is great. The island is very small compared to Canada but you could get really lost here. The villages around here were built in the olden days to confuse and slow down invading armies. So bring a map that is up to date!!!! Imperitive on the latter. You never know what is going to change on the island. The only constants are the chuches and ruins.

Are we really in New York?????

The Phantom of the Opera.A really great show.



Where is the statue of liberty?I think we need to get a little closer.










Times Square is there enough lights on?
New York the city that never sleeps.
An understatement for this city. If you have the stamina for this city all the power to you.after two days we are running on low. Too much to see,do and eat. The fact that you can lose yourself here in the mass of humanity and still be sane is really incredible. The people here are really friendly and helpful, which to me seems odd for a city that runs at a cutthroat speed.If slow down you will be run over,this doesn't seem to be the way things are.Because if you need to stop you can isolate yourself in the park or if you need people you walk a block in any direction. The city seems to feed you soul if it were. You need energy, stand in the street at night on Time Square and the mass of humanity that descends to see the sights will energize you,with the enthusiasm of the buskers and vendors to the awestruck tourist holding everything in unabandoned excitement. The park in the middle of the city strike me as oasis of calm and serenity in an jungle of humanity and concrete. Refreshing ones mind and body from the rigor of constantly moving, because stopping completely is not an option on the street. The draw to this city is very strong because there is no end to the happenings or things going to happen in this city. The thing I am learning from this city is enjoy this moment because you never know what is going to happen next. Till next time life is short live it well.