Time for Sightseeing Break to Rest, Paint After 100 Days at Sea

Days 101-103, 2025 European Odyssey

Tuesday to Thursday, Oct. 7-9, 2025; Taormina, Sicily, and Valletta, Malta.

Sometimes I just need to rest.

At least, that’s what my body told me during our second stop this fall in Valletta. I wasn’t in pain or sick, but just tired and feeling more-than-the-occasional vertigo that I’ve felt off and on for years. My first clue was falling asleep by 8 p.m. and still sleeping late the next morning. I had no mental energy or desire to write. I think I also was a bit dehydrated. So, I stayed mostly on the ship during our two-day visit to the wonderful island country of Malta, drank lots of water and took it easy.

By the time we left Malta Thursday evening, I was back to feeling myself. I guess the days of rest did the trick. But the hardest part was canceling my overnight booking at a guest house in Marsaxlokk, a nearby fishing village known for colorful fishing boats in its picturesque harbor. I had planned to rise early there to catch the first sunlight hitting the harbor – with my camera and perhaps in a sketch. The practical side of me won out, knowing I should stay close to “home” on the ship in case I felt worse. So, I canceled the booking and enjoyed Malta from the ship.

There could be many worse places to spend two days. We were surrounded by history: fortified palaces, sun-drenched walls, colorful covered balconies and mega-yachts in the harbor (plus two other cruise ships). I wrote about it all during our visit a couple of weeks ago. And by today, the second of our two days here, I was inspired to sketch even if just from my Lido table. My view was Vittoriosa, just across the harbor, whose bell towers and domes caught my attention.

In actuality, my rest time resulted in a spurt of completed watercolors, including:

On Tuesday I returned to a favorite stop from last November – the amazing village of Taormina perched on the edge of Sicilian cliffs. I had so enjoyed my few hours there that I once again signed up for the ship’s transfer. A bus took me to the ground floor of a parking garage, and I emerged from the elevator seven stories up into the town.

Last time workers were hanging Christmas decorations along the main street that stretches between the two gates to the city. Many shops were closed for the season, but my friend Deb and I enjoyed a sidewalk café while I made a mediocre sketch (proportions all off and a lack of variety in the values – I eventually gave up).

This week the tourist season was still in full swing. It was difficult to make my way down the crowded street, as many people stopped abruptly to window shop or take photographs.

My goal was the ancient theater that dates back to Roman times (and is featured in HBO’s The White Lotus and the film Mighty Aphrodite). We never made it there last fall, and I almost turned around Tuesday when I saw the ticket line. But it moved quickly, and before long I climbed the hill to the amphitheater, found a seat and pulled out my watercolor pad.

An hour later, I had completed my sketch (painted back on the ship) of the stage in partial ruins but still used for concerts and productions. And realized I needed to hightail it back to the garage to meet our bus. Thoughts of enjoying my now-customary glass of wine in one of the many sidewalk cafes were gone.

I do wish that Holland America’s tour had allowed us more than two hours in Taormina. It deserves at least three and I would enjoy four. On my next two returns to Sicily this fall we’ll dock in Messina, also close to Taormina, but the transfer visits won’t be any longer. I’ll have to decide if it’s worth the travel time and expense of returning again to what has become one of my favorite places in Italy.