Saturday, June 20, 2026
Today is our second day at sea as we travel along the north coast of Sicily. Kenna and I took advantage of the morning light exercise and stretching that was offered. After breakfast, guests that had pre-qualified for physical readiness (primarily stair climbing and balance) were given an opportunity to climb the ship’s riggings to the first level of one of the masts. Kenna and Dave participated in this, while Jan and I photographed. Each climber was fitted with a safety harness and assisted by a crew member as they ascended and descended. There were additional crew members at the top, assisting with transferring the climber to the platform, ensuring a safe climb.
After a short wait, Kenna and Dave climbed in quick succession and had a couple minutes each to admire and photograph the view before descending to make room for the next climber.
Later, the crew offered tours of the ship’s engine room for those that were interested (Dave and I were, of course). The tour consisted of a quick walk through the engine room itself (it was quite warm), and a briefing with pictures in the control room showing various other engineering systems on the ship.
With very calm seas, we also had an opportunity in the afternoon to go swimming in the Mediterranean. The crew set up a platform from which we could climb down (or jump) a short distance into the water. We were surrounded by a roped-off area in which we were allowed to swim, and pool “noodles” were available for those who wanted to use them. I took advantage of the opportunity to swim, and it was refreshing on a very warm day. The Mediterranean looks just as blue from the water as above! We were told that the water was 2 km deep; I don’t think I ever swam in such deep water although it doesn’t matter much if you can’t touch bottom anyway.
For dinner, the restaurant staff demonstrated filleting a whole tuna they had obtained. Dinner of course featured tuna tartare, grilled tuna, and sashimi.
The ship ended the day near the island of Stromboli, an actively erupting volcano. As the sun set, many of us took pictures as an active vent periodically spewed fire and ashes.
One of the traditions on the Sea Cloud II is an evening where the crew sings sea shanties and guests are invited to sing along. It seemed a little corny at first, but quickly we were enjoying singing along to songs like, “What Do You Do with a Drunken Sailor?”
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Malta and Sicily. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Friday, June 19, 2026
Overnight, the Sea Cloud II took us to the northwestern Sicily city of Erice. Erice is a historic triangular-shaped city situated high on a hill, with commanding views of the surrounding countryside.
The main church (duomo) was notable for its intricately carved ceiling, and was generally lighter in color and brighter than many churches in the area. Our local guide also described the convents, whose nuns had no contact with the outside world other than to observe through barred windows. Our guide also recommended we visit Pasticceria Maria Grammatico, a notable pastry shop that was started by a nun who used recipes from the local convent. Kenna and I bought a couple of genoise pastries to enjoy later.
Following Erice, we took our bus to Marsala. We stopped first at the archeological museum there, which displayed very well-preserved ships and pottery from the Punic and Roman eras. We then continued to a local winery, Cantine Florio, for a tour of the wine cellar and lunch featuring delicious Sicilian small bites. Marsala is a sweet, fortified wine so we had other wine to accompany lunch and Marsala wine with dessert.
Following lunch, we took a short walking tour of the town of Marsala and then returned to the Sea Cloud II for cocktails, our daily recap, and dinner.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Malta and Sicily. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Thursday, June 18, 2026
This morning we docked at Port Empedocle in southern Sicily for a short bus ride to the Valley of the Temples in nearby Agrigento. “Valley of the Temples” is really a misnomer; the temples were built on a ridge looking down on the surrounding landscape.
We walked a mile or so, visiting various ancient temples. The temples were of Greek architecture, although repurposed by later civilizations, including Romans and, later, Christians.
During the walk, we stopped for a refreshment break. It is here that I discovered “granita limone”, basically a very lemony Icee. It was delicious, to the extent that I had to deal with significant “brain freeze” as I was eating it. Nevertheless, I expect to have numerous lemon granitas during our days in Sicily.
Following the tour of the Valley of the Temples, we made a short stop at a nearby museum. There we were able to see various artifacts from the temples that had been moved inside for protection. Most significant was a very large statue (telamon) that was originally part of the Temple of Zeus, a replica of which had been installed outside.
We returned to the Sea Cloud II for lunch. The afternoon was spent on the ship, with cultural and historical lectures and other leisure time, followed by the usual cocktails and dinner.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Malta and Sicily. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
Our first full day aboard the Sea Cloud II is an “At Sea” day as we sail from Malta to southwestern Sicily. It was also the first opportunity to deploy the sails and actually sail without benefit of the ship’s engines.
We began with a detailed description of the sail deployment process from the ship’s First Officer. With three masts and 23 sails, a great deal of crew action is required to climb the masts to unfurl the sails and then to operate the many ropes involved in furling and securing the sails. The well-trained and experienced crew performed this operation expertly.
In order to have favorable winds for the sails, we took an indirect route to our next stop, Port Empedolce. We spent much of the day admiring the ship with its sails, and were given an opportunity to board Zodiac boats to take pictures from a short distance.
Later in the day, the crew furled the sails, and we had another opportunity to admire their skill and the choreography that goes into operating a ship like this.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Malta and Sicily. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
Today is the last day of our pre-trip, and in the afternoon we will board the Sea Cloud II.
We boarded a small bus, traveling to the south side of Malta’s main island. We were scheduled to take a boat into the Blue Grotto there, but weather conditions didn’t permit that, so we instead stopped to take pictures from the shore. We then traveled on to an archaeological site near the coast. There we visited two megalithic temple complexes, Hagar Qim and Mnajdra. The temples are said to be among the oldest examples (~3600 BCE) in the world. The stones from which the temples were constructed are enormous, revealing considerable sophistication in their construction. Various artifacts found in the area also give insight into the lives of people at that time.
From there, we drove to the fishing village of Marsaxlokk, where we had a delicious lunch at Harbour by Johann. I had pre-ordered the red snapper, and what I got was a whole red snapper (apparently traditional) to eat, expertly barbecued. Kenna had several large prawns in a tomato sauce.
On the way back to Valletta, we stopped at Għar Dalam, an underground excavation. In a cave, they have been able to uncover successive layers of archeological history, ranging from pottery to multiple layers of animal habitation such as dwarf elephants, species of hippopotamus, and other long-extinct animals.
We then returned to Valletta to board the Sea Cloud II. After passing through the usual security formalities, we were welcomed aboard by the ship’s officers and quickly found our cabin for the trip. The Sea Cloud II is a gorgeous yet modern tall ship, built to follow the style of the Sea Cloud that was owned by Merriwether Post in the 1930s. It does an excellent job of merging that style with modern amenities like WiFi, air conditioning, and an automatic espresso machine.
Soon after, Dave and Jan knocked on the door of our cabin, and we toured each other’s cabins. We had the usual safety and lifeboat briefings, followed by a cocktail reception and buffet dinner as we sailed out of Valletta harbor as the sun set. We will have a very comfortable home for the rest of our tour.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Malta and Sicily. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Monday, July 15, 2026
Our “official” pre-tour began today. We met our tour guide at 9 am in the hotel lobby for a half-day walking tour of Valletta. This covered some of the same territory as our do-it-yourself pre-pre-tour yesterday, but had the benefit of informed commentary from our local guide. There were about 12 of us on the tour; it was a nice sized group.
Along the way, we got our first glimpse of the Sea Cloud II. It is a gorgeous ship, and we are now looking forward to our cruise even more.
The tour then took us on a boat ride around the Grand Harbour that dropped us off in Birgu, on the opposite side. We toured Fort St. Angelo, guarding the harbor from the opposite side, and learned quite a bit about the Knights of the Order of St. John, who played an important historical role and who continue to manage the fort.
We were served an extensive and tasty lunch at a restaurant close by. After returning by bus to our hotel, we had a free afternoon.
Following the pre-tour, Kenna and I again set out walking and visited the St. John’s Co-Cathedral. It’s described as a “co-cathedral” because Valletta shares an archbishop with Mdina, the former capital of Malta. The co-cathedral was very elaborately decorated, and included an extensive display of Caravaggio’s art, including his “Beheading of St. John the Baptist”, an enormous painting for which he is best known.
We weren’t especially hungry after our big lunch. Kenna noticed a notable sandwich shop we had encountered in Florence last year, All’Antico Vinaio, on the main street in Valletta. We shared one of their large and delicious sandwiches on the plaza opposite the Triton Fountain just outside the main Valletta gate.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Malta and Sicily. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Sunday, June 14, 2026
Today is a day on our own, having arrived a day early for our tour to protect against flight problems. Jet lagged, we got up early and had breakfast at a nearby Starbucks. Their breakfast selections were locally-inspired, such as the breakfast sandwiches on Maltese bread. This Starbucks is also the first I have seen that offers coffee cocktails (like coffee martinis), but of course it was much too early for that.
We set out on a walking tour of Valletta using a guide we found online. Valletta is a compact walled city, and is very walkable if you don’t mind a few hills. Our hotel is just outside the city gate. Since it is a Sunday, some of the stops on the tour weren’t available (like the city’s “co-cathedral”), but for the most part it was a good way to get an introduction to the city.
We noticed that Valletta was much more crowded than it was when we first arrived, and found the cause: a very large (Celebrity) cruise ship was docked on the south side of the peninsula. Some stores were offering discounts to their passengers.
We spent most of our time at Fort Saint Elmo, at the end of the peninsula that comprises Valletta, and at the military museum located there. The museum helped us to understand Malta’s history and strategic position in the Mediterranean, and specifically how much they were bombarded in World War II. Historically, Malta has suffered numerous invasions and occupations over the centuries, and Fort Saint Elmo has evolved as a result.
We continued back towards our hotel along the south shore of the peninsula. Pedestrian traffic increased as we got closer to the cruise ship terminal.
We had dinner at one of the many Italian restaurants in Valletta. We were a little concerned because all of the restaurant listings said “book ahead” but it turned out not to be a problem at all.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Malta and Sicily. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
As I have often done in the past, I am blogging our current vacation trip to Malta and Sicily. I will be posting daily installments over the next two weeks, offset by three weeks from our trip. The trip involves a short pre-trip tour in Malta, followed by a cruise around Sicily on the Sea Cloud II, a sailing ship. Once again, we are meeting our friends Dave and Jan on this trip, although they will not be joining our pre-trip tour because they are attending another event in Italy.
Friday-Saturday, June 12-13, 2026
Rather than a direct flight to Europe, this time we are taking an Air Canada flight to Toronto, connecting onward to Frankfurt, with a final flight to Malta on Lufthansa. Because our flight was early in the day, we decided to have our breakfast at the Maple Leaf Lounge at SFO, which was pleasant but very busy. It seems that airport lounges have become very popular recently, and are less peaceful than they once were. Once we found a table, the breakfast items were adequate but not extensive. We were a bit disappointed that the decaffeinated coffee wasn’t working.
When we arrived in Toronto, we were offered the use of the Air Canada Signature lounge during our layover. It was busy enough that we had to wait in line a few minutes to enter. The lounge was somewhat upscale from their Maple Leaf lounges, with table service. We had a light snack in consideration of the meal we would be getting on our next flight.
Our flight to Frankfurt was delayed, initially by a late incoming aircraft, and additionally by the time needed to tow the plane to our gate. We were concerned because we had a short connection in Frankfurt, and had heard stories that entry to the EU is slower than usual because of a new requirement to enroll in a biometric entry system. But we were reassured by the fact that there is a later flight to Malta if we missed the one we were booked on.
We managed to get some sleep on the overnight flight, but as usual never enough. On arrival at Frankfurt, our plane was as usual parked out on the field with buses to take us to the terminal, which again made us nervous considering our late arrival. We made our way as quickly as possible, passing through EU immigration without the biometric enrollment delay. Then we discovered that we needed to take yet another bus to get to our departure terminal, and there was a nervous wait for that bus to arrive.
Moving quickly through the departure terminal to our gate, we were much relieved to see that, despite the late arrival and bus delays, we made it in plenty of time for our flight. Following our 2.5-hour flight, our bags were thankfully promptly delivered.
We weren’t sure how to get to our hotel from the airport. Google Maps suggested the public bus as a good option. A public bus desk told us which bus to catch, and the bus was equipped with luggage storage and only cost 3 euros apiece. It was a short walk to our hotel, the Phoenicia Malta, where we checked in. While doing so, we met another couple that is on the same cruise.
As it is usually a good idea to spend time outside to counter jet lag, we took a walk through Valletta. We encountered a crowd carrying Albanian flags having a peaceful demonstration in the square next to the hotel. They were protesting the plan to put a resort by Jared Kushner on parkland in Albania, echoing large protests that have been occurring in Tirana.
The main street of Valletta has many cafes and souvenir shops. We stopped at a souvenir shop with a particularly friendly owner for a Maltese flag (for Jim) and pin (for Kenna). Upon returning to the hotel, we stopped by its cafe for a light dinner and then turned in for some much-needed sleep.
A couple of things surprised us about Malta, both probably the result of British influence: (1) They drive on the left side of the road. (2) The power outlets in the hotel are the British style outlets, not the continental style. I had brought the continental power adapters without checking, and we needed to borrow an adapter from the hotel.
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Our route home takes us first to Tokyo Narita, with a 10-hour layover before our onward flight to San Francisco. The 3 1/2-hour flight to Tokyo on ANA (All Nippon Airlines) left about 12:25 am and gave us an opportunity to get a couple of hours of sleep before they served breakfast. The business class seats did lie flat and were comfortable enough to get some sleep.
On arrival in Tokyo, we were among the first arrivals of the morning, so when we went to the ANA lounge, it was empty. We found some comfortable seats for the duration and took turns getting food and drinks and exploring the facilities of the lounge. I took advantage of their shower facilities, which were excellent and even allowed me to shave.
During the day, we were able to see the lounge fill up and partially empty as busy flight times came and went.
For our 9 1/4-hour flight from Tokyo to San Francisco, also on ANA, the seats were somewhat roomier than the flight from Hanoi. We slept much of the flight.
On arrival in San Francisco, I declared that we had been in proximity to livestock on our trip (thinking back to the oxcart ride on Day 8). We were interviewed briefly by the agriculture inspector, who mostly made sure that we weren’t carrying a bunch of mud on our shoes. But it was a smooth arrival back into the United States.
This article is the last a series about our recent trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.
Friday, February 20, 2026
Today is our last day in Hanoi; very early tomorrow, we fly home. But we have basically the whole day to continue sightseeing.
After re-packing our bags, checking out of the hotel, and storing them there, we set out for the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology to learn more about the many ethnic groups of Vietnam. It was some distance from the hotel, so we called for a ride with the Grab app, which is somewhat analogous to Lyft or Uber in the US. A car soon came to take us there; we fortunately had the right change to pay for the ride because Grab doesn’t handle the payment. But soon after waving the cab goodbye, we discovered that the museum was closed for Tet. This hadn’t been clear from the online information, and we saw several others who were similarly surprised. We walked around the outside and read some informative signs on the fence around the museum, and then continued toward our next destination, a nearby shopping mall.
En route to the mall, we were in a newer and less congested part of Hanoi and encountered many more businesses closed for Tet than we had seen in the more touristy parts of town. Eventually, we got to an area with a couple of shopping malls across from each other. We were considerably ahead of schedule, having not taken time for the museum, so we did some shopping, drank Vietnamese coffee, and had a phone call with our daughter, for whom it was Thursday evening.
We had heard about a very good pizza place in Hanoi, Pizza 4P’s. It requires reservations, and we had made a lunch reservation for 1 pm. It was a very elegant restaurant with a variety of Italian food, not just pizza. We opted for the signature pizza, which was good but really didn’t live up to the hype.
Our next stop was a bit of a distance, so we again grabbed a Grab to take us to the Ho Chi Minh museum. It also appeared not to be open, so we walked around to an entrance to the grounds for the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. We had to go through a security check to enter the grounds, but it turned out to be a cursory check, and we entered easily. The mausoleum itself is a large rectangular concrete building reminiscent of similar memorials we had seen elsewhere in Asia. The grounds were immaculately kept, and there was an honor guard that also kept people from sitting in or wandering into the wrong areas.
Exploring the grounds, we came across the One Pillar Pagoda, a Buddhist temple almost 1000 years old. We took many pictures of the attractive exterior of the pagoda, but opted not to go in.
From the mausoleum complex, we continued to the “train street”: a narrow street with a train track running down the middle. The train still operates, and restaurant and cafe customers sit at tables only inches away from the passing trains when they go by. The street was very crowded at the time we were there, and I couldn’t get out of there fast enough so we didn’t get to experience the passing of a train.
We returned to the hotel, again checking out nearby restaurants for dinner, but having eaten so well on this trip we yet again returned to the rooftop restaurant for something simpler. After a leisurely dinner, we returned to the hotel lobby about 8 pm for our transfer to the airport. Due to crowding and street closures, the car could not stop in front of the hotel, so the bellhop helped get our bags to the car, a block or so away.
When we got to Hanoi Airport, it was super crowded, and the car couldn’t drop us off at the correct level for departures. We got out on a different level and found our way to departures, with long lines even for the escalators. My best guess is that this was a surge of travelers returning home after visiting relatives for Tet. Fortunately, our business class tickets got us into express lines, so we didn’t have much of a wait to check bags or go through security, although we did have a bit of a wait at immigration.
We were able to spend the time before our flight in a business lounge. When we got there, we again met up with Jeff and Barbara, who were flying to the East Coast via Dubai but leaving at a similar time to us. We had a pleasant time exchanging stories of our activities that day before heading to the gates for our just-after-midnight flights.
This article is part of a series about our recent trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. To see the introductory article in the series, click here.