<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by letiole:
I'm enjoying your report and eager to hear about you wire/ferry troubles. I've been through wire he-l-l before so I have a feeling I may know what's to come. I have friends who live in Malta - one's a pilot for Air Malta. They've refused to allow us to ever rent a car there - claim they'd be accessories to murder. 
One little tidbit about Malta: You may have noticed there aren't many birds around. The young boys there tend to shoot at just about anything that moves. As a result many types of migratory birds have learned to bypass Malta in their migrations. When they'd first moved there, my friends had a bird feeder near a window and were feeding one little bird. It didn't take long before there was a hole through the window and the little bird was gone.
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Thank you for your comments,
letiole. Not only will I detail the money wire (which is still unresolved) in a future post in this report, but wait until you hear about my limousine ride from Salerno to Sorrento...or did I even
ride in a limousine?!?
The wacky details of both stories are to come...
Actually, I noticed plenty of birds at the Hilton in Malta. I can hear them on my video tape as well upon playback.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Bretteee:
One year ago we paid only $100 a night at the Westin Dragonara. The Hilton was $200 and there was no room available.
Our room at the Westin overlooked a small pool; nothing special but the room was large.
The Hilton is "heaven"; and the pools are gorgeous.
The only thing though is that you cannot swim in the Med from the Hilton.
The Westin guests have guest privileges at a Beach club next door from which it is very easy to swim in the med off a large rocky pier; however the sea was cold.
I would highly recommend Gozo nearby. The Kempinsky San Lawrence is a dream and we only paid $100 a night. </font>
The exchange rate between the United States dollar and European currencies — including the Euro and Maltese liri — was terrible, especially considering that the dollar was reaching new lows while I was there. Were you upgraded at the Westin, just out of curiosity,
Bretteee?
I forgot to mention in my last post that as I was checking out of the Westin the next morning, workers were bringing large framed pictures into the hallway to be hung. Perhaps the sparse look and feel of the hallways and the room may have been attributed to the possibility that the walls have recently been painted a pale Pepto-Bismol blue.
Yes, I know Pepto-Bismol only comes in pink; but if it came in blue, the color of the Pepto-Bismol would look like the shade of blue on the walls in the halls on my floor of the Westin.
Yes, you are correct,
Bretteee — one can go swimming in the Mediterranean Sea from the Westin but not from the Hilton. While the Westin’s coastline was rather rugged and more accessible, the Hilton’s coastline with the Mediterranean Sea was far more rugged and far less accessible.
As far as Gozo goes (a little alliteration — hey, I did it again!), my experiences — including an excursion to the Blue Lagoon off Comino — will be coming up in a future post for this report.