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March 2019: Marrakech Memories.

We stayed at the Riad dar Moulay Ali in Marrakech for the first 4 nights of our 11 night trip, making the reservation via Booking.com website. My TripAdvisor review

The photo at the top left of this set is the Le Caspien Hotel in the Gueliz (New Town) district of Marrakech. The link just above takes you to my review on TripAdvisor. It was another accommodation reservation via Booking.com, chosen for the location and to provide a different experience to staying in the medina.

We did lots of walking as the Le Caspien is around 25 minutes walking distance from the main square at Jemaa el-Fna. But, it's close to Marrakech railway station and also the Supratours bus station.

Our 7 night stay at the Le Caspien was split midway as we had already booked another riad, staying by the Atlantic coast in Essaouira, some 3 hours journey by road on the Supratours Confort (Comfort) service bus. It has less seats inside the bus. The bus journey includes a rest stop of approx 20 minutes at a midway point in each direction.

Thanks for reading, Shell xx

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Streets of Birgu, also known as Città Vittoriosa.

One of the Three Cities of Valletta on the island of Malta.

We crossed from Valletta by one of the small traditional water taxis, which are extremely close to the water!

There's a beautiful original, privately owned Norman house which is open for visitors.

Search for Casa Normanna on Google Maps.

Birgu is a lovely little place, quiet and very picturesque - perfect for architecture lovers.

📍Birgu, Malta

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Memories of Melbourne

The Block, an amazing shopping centre, or 'alleys' as they are often referred to, situated in the middle of Melbourne with a very photogenic interior of this fabulous building architecture. It's why Melbourne was added to our Australia trip.

Shared from Unsplash Free Images license

An ex-colleague from my travel days recommended visiting Melbourne for its different feel and vibe to Sydney and the NSW areas we would be visiting along with Canberra, back in April 2023.

It's hard to believe it's almost 2 years ago now.

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500 likes!

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Travel Plans 2025 = 3 in the Bag!

Well, we haven't wasted any time in the "Travel Planning Department" for the coming year.

We currently have 3 places in the bag as I write this, in the last few days of December 2024

Number 1: We couldn't wait for Trip Number 2 to arrive, so we sneaked this first one in a few days ago...

It's a destination we haven't returned to for almost 8 years. And as of today, 21 Feb 2025 - it's almost upon us...

Trip Number 1 has now been completed.

Read here about our 7 Days in Malta.

And then, we did it again - travel trip Number 1 is shorter than we usually take, but we've gone and chosen to stay in another accommodation just for 1 night almost at the opposite end to the resort we're basing ourselves in.

A resort we visited just once when we visited the beach area and thought "there's nothing here" so we walked up into the village/town (I'm still uncertain as to its official title) and had a little wander.

It's one of the resorts that tends to come up at the lower priced offers if you sort the searches as Low to High and generally apartment stays.

However, we've chosen an accommodation with the character and architecture that we've come to love on this island.

Number 2: Going even further back in time, a trip to a destination we haven't visited for over 30 years!

Number 3: A firm repeat favourite for a Winter Break where we know there's always something to keep us occupied and of course, new discoveries.

We took a bike ride through the mountains here, the last tour group before the Lockdown for the pandemic arrived in March 2020.

Do you know where we're heading on these trips?

Check the photos, see if you can work it out and drop a comment if you think you know!

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"Naughty By Night" Super Yacht

📍 Senglea, Cospicua Malta

Photo: Unsplash Free Images

Thank you for crediting the Creator.

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Malta 2025 [25 FEB - 04 MAR 2025]

A 7 night short break on Bed + Breakfast board basis, staying in IL-Gzira at the Bayview Hotel ST chain of accommodation.

It was in a perfect position right on the waterfront offering views to Valletta and along Sliema.

A short walk from the ferry to Valletta and a bus stop on either side of the road from the hotel entrance.

We explored lots and walked our socks off!

But, it was good to take in a few different locations than we had seen on previous visits many years ago...

Take a quick peep - the photos in this blogpost are all in Day by Day order. There's a link at the end of the post, which leads to my Flickr album containing the mobile photos and videos I took during our 7 night stay Malta.

Day 1: Flying to Malta from John Lennon Airport with easyJet Holidays.

Day 2 - Exploring our new surroundings.

Il_Gzira to Valletta by ferry, walking upwards into the capital city centre at the very top and then down the Barrakka Lift in Lascara (video here) to catch the water taxi boat to Birgu.

A totally new discovery of a lovely peaceful area (other than the work around the square), fabulous architecture, an original Norman House (Casa Normanna), before making our way back into Valletta.

The weather was very mixed and it did rain quite heavily at times, but it cleared later in the day and, in the evening we walked through to Ballutta Bay for a few drinks.

Day 3 to 4 - Mellieha Moments.

An overnight stay in Mellieha at Dom's Boutique Living Hotel by the parish church in the main town/village perched inland and high above the main tourist beach resort. [a couple of photos here below].

We explored the main town and made a visit to the Pergola Hotel & SPA, which boasts having its' own cave bar. It's often advertised on travel offer sites such as CheekyTrip.

Thoughts: We weren't overly impressed by what Mellieha had to offer us as a couple in the mid-60s age group. There's a good selection of restaurants in the main town with a few bars, mostly combined with an eatery - but we live to see live music / entertainment and we found little evidence of it in the town, similarly when we headed down to the beachfront of the resort itself. Walking back up the hill from the beach in the direction of our accommodation, we passed the Luna Holiday Complex hotel/apartments which is generally one of the places to stay in Mellieha at the top of the lower priced lists - it's probably because it's up the hill from the beach so if travelling with young children, you may find you're reliant on taking a bus or taxi back (unless there's a shuttle bus which picks up there). We also stopped off for a coffee in Nora's Pub (the blue link takes you to their Facebook page) and then caught the bus from the nearby stop into the elevated town, which was more akin with our kind of travel based on traditional architecture and Maltese properties.

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The next day, we made our way back towards IL-Gzira and in the evening, something to eat and to sit and watch a local band play in the Black Gold Bar. Keep your eyes peeled for Roxanna the band, on either a Friday or Saturday night.

Day 5 - Spinola Bay and the night where just one drink turned into Three!

Spinola Bay near St. Julian's during the daytime, where I spotted a local photography group session using a life model of a very smartly dressed gentleman. I grabbed my mobile just in time as the session was ending and he turned into my direction - so I captured him very quickly, as he gave a wry smile afterwards when he realised I'd got him.

I think it's one of my favourite photos of our 7 night stay in Malta.

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In the evening, we hopped on the bus in the direction of Valletta but disembarking in Floriana to stick our heads into Fsobians Club, at 11 Triq Sant'Anna, Floriana, Malta, FRN 9012 (Floriana School Old Boys Association) intending to have just one drink...

However, that all changed when we got chatting to Ray Schembri the Secretary and husband of the owner of the bar, previously owned by her father.

Three drinks later with our heads filled with the history and wonderful photos of his family, we headed back to IL-Gzira - rather later than we originally intended.

Day 6 - Revisiting Bugibba after 8 years away.

Monday 3 March 2025, we decided it was time to visit our old stomping ground for many years on previous visits, where we flew at this same time each year from our home in Cyprus, to catch up with my parents whilst they were on holiday in Bugibba / Qawra resorts.

We spent a couple of hours or so wandering, had a drink at a bar close to the Aquarium (cheaper and a far better service than we found at the Aquarium). The guy at the Aquarium bar/restaurant rushed us into a seat, dumped a couple of menus and then didn't return. Two ladies seated at a table just behind us were waiting ages for their order to arrive, so we got up and walked away whilst still waiting to be served there - heading to the bar directly opposite which was a kiosk window where you paid and took your order to a table. Later in the afternoon, we had a late lunch at a small Sicilian family cafe that has been on the main street of Bugibba for several years. Find it on the corner where the fruit and vegetable van is generally sited on the car park.

------0000------ Returning to our hotel for a few hours, we decided to spend our last evening in St Julian's and ended up stopping to have a drink only in an Italian restaurant overlooking the bay - which led to us sharing a pizza whilst surrounded by photos of famous people who have either visited the restaurant and/or the wonderful historical island of Malta.

Peppino's is the name of the bar - excellent personal and friendly service. Check out the blog post via the blue link by "The Punk Rock Princess." Look out for Peppino's! It's definitely worth a visit and, it has a rooftop terrace so perfect for the summer evenings.

Day 7 - the Final Day of our Malta Visit.

Our final day in Malta (4 March 2025) so we headed in the direction of Valletta but being unlucky with buses being too full (or travelling too fast to stop), we walked a good way around the marina and the bay to where it appeared there were several foreign embassy offices waving various country flags.

Eventually we hopped on the Number 15 bus into the main bus station and then wandered until we found a nice sunny spot, where we shared a bottle of wine topped off by the supplied free nibbles and a lovely chat to a couple sitting nearby who it turned out weren't a million miles away from our home town.

Then, we had around 45 minutes back in IL-Gzira giving us time to collect our bags from the free lockers (Bayview Hotel ST) and to be outside waiting for our minibus transfer back to MLA airport.

We booked a seaview room, but there are other options, which provides free access to the Aqualuna Beach Club. As it was February, we gave that one a miss, opting for a balcony to sit on and awake to a view every morning.

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Fifteen minutes after arriving at the doorway to the Terminal building, checking-in and the Security Check, we were inside the Departure Lounge waiting for our flight home. It left on time and - arrived early!

Ciao, Malta - I'm sure there will be another visit in a few years time….

PS: If you want to see more photos, you can view the whole album through my Flickr account here.

Thanks for visiting WalksWithMyCamera tumblr blog.

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Travel Photography: Malta Seascape.

The outskirts of the bastions of the city walls of Valletta.

Yellow wildflowers in bloom along the street walls with views down to the sea, looking across a small hamlet, painted wooden boats and the capital city of Valletta in the background.

Free to use under the Unsplash license - please credit the photographer.

📍89 Lvant, Il-Belt Valletta, Malta

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"A Case History" by John King.

Sculptures in stone of suitcases and guitar cases.

A creation to evoke the arrivals and departures of the people who converged on Liverpool from all over Europe intending to emigrate to America – those who stayed, as well as those who were merely passing through.

📍Hope Street, Liverpool L1 9BQ

Free to use under the Unsplash License.

Curated Unsplash Photography content for travel blogs, websites or wallpapers.

Thank you for crediting the Creator 👍

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Travel Plans 2025 = 4 in the Bag!

Well, we haven't wasted any time in the "Travel Planning Department" for the coming year.

We currently have 4 places in the bag as I write this, in the last few days of December 2024

Number 1: We couldn't wait for Trip Number 2 to arrive, so we sneaked this first one in a few days ago...

It's a destination we haven't returned to for almost 8 years. And as of today, 21 Feb 2025 - it's almost upon us...

Trip Number 1 has now been completed.

Read here about our 7 Days in Malta.

And then, we did it again - travel trip Number 1 is shorter than we usually take, but we've gone and chosen to stay in another accommodation just for 1 night almost at the opposite end to the resort we're basing ourselves in.

A resort we visited just once when we visited the beach area and thought "there's nothing here" so we walked up into the village/town (I'm still uncertain as to its official title) and had a little wander.

It's one of the resorts that tends to come up at the lower priced offers if you sort the searches as Low to High and generally apartment stays.

However, we've chosen an accommodation with the character and architecture that we've come to love on this island.

Number 2: Going even further back in time, a trip to a destination we haven't visited for over 30 years!

Number 2a: Oops, yes we did squeeze another one in between.

November seemed way too long to wait and there's no way we can rely on getting a Great British Summer.

So, we're making our way back to N. Africa to a new destination where our accommodation has some interesting features.

Number 3: A firm repeat favourite for a Winter Break where we know there's always something to keep us occupied and of course, new discoveries.

We took a bike ride through the mountains here, the last tour group before the Lockdown for the pandemic arrived in March 2020.

Do you know where we're heading on these trips?

Check the photos, see if you can work it out and drop a comment if you think you know!

[walkswithmycamera]

We're ready to travel again 🇪🇸

So, it's Sunday and my bag is almost packed ready to hop onto that orange bird called easyJet as we make our way to sunny Spain.

We booked our main stay in Benidorm, a regular pre-Christmas 'office party' break but added a couple of days in Denia too.

The last stop is LPL for an overnight city stay. We have plans!

UPDATE 21 February 2025:

I've been having a few health issues since returning from the trip, which means I haven't been able to concentrate on sitting and writing up on the Denia sojourn from Benidorm.

I've been doing a bit at a time but it's definitely a 'draft in progress' at the moment.

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British Pubs - the Druids Head, Brighton and Hove, UK.

Source: Michele Chapman Unsplash

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Tuesday of this week, an afternoon in Blackpool with friends at Ma Kelly's Station for free live entertainment and drinks, followed by the half price steak meal offer at West Coast Diner.

A quick nip to the promenade with my other half and James, who grabbed this shot of us both in front of Blackpool's famous landmark.

Then the Famous Five took the bus back home at 19:00hrs.

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Sliema to Valletta by ferry.

Sliema to Valletta Ferries.

Experience the beauty of Malta as the blue-painted foot passenger ferry glides smoothly across tranquil waters from Sliema to Valletta.

Photo Source: Unsplash Free Download Curated Images by WalksWithMyCamera The picturesque skyline of Valletta is a stunning backdrop, with elegant masted sailing yachts and vessels dotting the waterscape.

This serene journey not only showcases the vibrant culture but also offers an unforgettable view of our maritime heritage.

Don’t miss this unique perspective on your next visit! INFO:

Is there a direct ferry between Sliema and Valletta? Yes, there is a direct ferry departing from Sliema and arriving at Water Polo Pitch. Services depart hourly, and operate every day. The journey takes approximately 15 minutes.

Schedules & Prices. There are two ferry services. One from The Strand – Sliema to Valletta and from Valletta to the 3 cities. This service runs daily from early morning to late afternoon / evening, till late night in summer all day, every day. View the full details of the Valletta Ferry Services for Summer and Winter schedules here. Enjoy your journey!

Thanks for reading, Shell xx

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Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy

Manarola village on the Cinque Terre hiking trail viewed from the small harbour slipway below the clifftop village.

Did you spot the wedding couple on the balcony? If not (here's a tip) you need to click through the blue link above which says "Manarola village" to see the bigger image on Unsplash.

Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy: looking down on painted houses and people walking through a narrow street with the sea in the background.

Photo: 28 September 2024, a visit to Manarola during our travel exploration of the Cinque Terre villages on the Ligurian coastal region of the Italian Riviera.

Our journey started from NCE airport on the Cote d'Azur taking us through Genoa to Rapallo and beyond.

We visited all 5 of the villages along the route, starting out at Riomaggiore (the furthest point from our hotel accommodation in Rapallo) and ending at Monterosso, before heading to Vernazza to catch the train back to our hotel.

Photos ITALY Travel and Tourism: Unsplash.com

If you would like to follow our journey from the beginning, you can read more here about the trip which started and ended in NCE on the Cote d'Azur 🇫🇷

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Guadalest, Spain

Photo source via Unsplash Free Images

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My life in Cyprus after leaving UK in 2004 to 2016 and some of the things I did to keep my head above water and a roof over my head.