Shay's Italia Adventures: Malta Madness!

Hi you guys, soooo sorry it has taken me this long to put in my last post! After getting home I have been busy unpacking and getting settled in our new home. We moved out of our house and actually back into my first house :) It's been fun but I have slowly been realizing how much stuff we all have and trying to fit it into a smaller space can be such a challenge! So my last trip before leaving Torino was in to the country of Malta. Malta is a small country in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. It was such a fun vacation. I went with Jessica and another girl from her sorority (Lizzy) who was visiting. We met up with a group of guys from the program and took the train to Bologna. From Bologna we took a flight into Malta and eventually found our B&B. It was a really nice place, however the owner was a tad off her rocker. She was a really sweet woman but was a bit on the older side and was very confused most the time. That night we went out to dinner to none other than the HARD ROCK. It was really close to where we were staying and such an amazing spot. There was a strip of bars/clubs/restaurants. This area is where we went out each night. After dinner we grabbed a few drinks and then just went to bed.

We woke up the next day, met up with the guys and headed straight to the beach. We spent almost the whole day at the beach. It was so nice to just lay out, get in the water, and relax. That night we went to the guys' apartment and cooked dinner. We made a giant Mexican feast as it was Cinco de Mayo. We finally met up with Lizzy that night and eventually got ready to go out and celebrate! We had a great night, sampled some tequila, and eventually made our way back home.

The next morning called for some McD's so we stopped there briefly. We also were force fed by our crazy lady landlord, but it was actually a really nice breakfast. We took our time getting ready and then met back up with the 4 guys. We were off to see a few sights and stated our adventure. It took us a few different buses to find The Blue Grotto. We paid for a boat ride that took us in the Sea to see all these amazing caves. The bottom of the water was filled with white sand so the water was SO clear. It was entirely blue. It was such a fun little boat ride and was really cool to go inside some of these caves. After seeing The Blue Grotto, we hiked to see some 7000 year old ruins. We didn't want to pay money to see the ruins so we just saw them from a far. It was so cool to see something that old! It was pretty amazing. We hiked back down the mountain and headed back to our town in Malta, St. Julian's. On our way back to get ready for dinner, us girls decided to get henna tattoos. They were on our hands and looked pretty sweet if I do say so myself. We made our way back to our B&B and then met back up with everyone for our last dinner. We went to an amazing place with great burgers and salads that was right on the water. It was a seriously awesome meal. Right after dinner we headed out for our last night. We hit a few bars/clubs and had a great time dancing. The next morning was full of another great breakfast from the B&B. We took our time getting ready and packing and eventually left that afternoon.

Malta was such a beautiful country and a perfect last trip to end the most incredible semester of my life. The last week was full of packing and saying goodbyes. Jess and I eventually (after 26 hours of travel) made our way back to Seattle. I have been missing Torino, my apartment, and most of all the amazing friends I have made throughout the entire process. We are already planning get togethers and reunions. I miss these people more than you can imagine. I made some awesome lifelong friends and have shared some of the best trips and memories of my life with them. I will miss the Italian lifestyle dearly, but I realize it is time to come back to reality and start a summer full of work (and working out hopefully haha). I only have one semester of school left in my college career....ah!! Once this chapter closes, its time for a new one to open! I hope you all enjoyed this blog. I know I LOVED writing it and informing you all about my life changing adventures. Until next time....CIAO RAGAZZI!! xoxo