Malta Vox Mundi Choir Trip

November 2017

Oh how I adore these amazing ladies I get to sing with. We had the most wonderful time together.

L-R (Shauna McHenry, Lene McCormick, me, Carmel, Kelly, Gina Goodrich, Jenn Bell, Brigitta Andersson, Iona Ryan, Michelle Bricker, Geraldine Scott, Jolanda Hout, Wendy Bates, Melanie Barker, Harriet Timms, Stella Therond, Val Macaula and Barbara Keyes)

The landscape of Malta was incredible with great sky lines and beautiful clouds with

hundreds of historical sites dotted all over the island.

The evening we arrived in Valletta (This is the church at St. Julians- we performed at that evening)

and as we turned the corner, we arrived at our hotel.

Le Meridian Hotel

Warming up for our first performance in Jenn's hotel room.

Parish Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Balluta Bay in St. Julian's

On our journey out to Mdina and Mosta

me, Val, Birgitta and Michelle (roomie!)

Entry into Mdina (The Silent City)-a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Some of the things I learned.."The history of Mdina traces back more than 4000 years (when the Phoenicians founded it). According to tradition it was here that in 60 A.D. that the Apostle St. Paul is said to have lived after being shipwrecked on the Islands."

Malta had a beautiful mixture-feel of Spain, Greece and Italy.

The absolutely beautiful and quaint alley's of Mdina

The Maltese are huge fans of bling in all its forms, and this also extends to the front of their doors with their intricate door-knockers.

The romance of this city lies in getting lost in all the back streets and alley ways and then it opening up into these fantastic city squares. The architecture was breathtaking.

Do you see the beautiful ornate designs on the sides of the streets and their hand painted street name plates?

We stumbled into this amazing crypt called the Carmelite Priory. It was SO interesting.

Yes, the door-knockers and colors of doors continued to slay me x

Driving out to Mosta

The Miracle Church of Mosta, Malta

This church has the greatest story...I learned it from another blogger, Adventurous Kate:

Malta is home to more than 360 churches in total — an incredible feat when you consider that the island is 122 square miles.During World War II, Malta was heavily bombed, being a strategic outpost for the Allies. The bombing was so extensive that by the end of the war, Malta had become the most-bombed nation on the planet. (Laos holds this title today, following its bombing during the Vietnam War.) On April 9, 1942, two German bombs fell on The Church of the Assumption of Our Lady in Mosta, a city in central Malta. Mass was going on at the time, and more than 250 parishioners were in the church. Alarms rang out ahead of time, and while some people left the church, others stayed inside and prayed. The first bomb pierced the dome, ricocheted, and fell onto the floor of the church. The second cleared the left side of the triangle on top of the church’s facade.Those bombs had every reason to explode — but neither of them did. It was hailed a miracle. Somehow divine intervention prevented the church — and the town — from turning to rubble. The bombs were promptly defused by the military and later dropped into the sea. Churches are VERY sacred in Malta

I found our church!

We had the most delightful lunch with the other two choirs. There was live singing and family style much served. We just ate what was ordered for us. Very fun afternoon.

Floriana- St Publius Parish Church

Parade Time!

Choirs from around the world come to participate in the Malta International Choir Festival. Some choirs compete, some just perform (us) but everyone joins in the parade. It was amazing singing and hearing all the different languages and sounds as we walked through the streets.

This was a boys choir group from Poland with boys ranging from 10 - 17. They were absolutely phenomenal and had the most beautiful sound. They were right behind us in the parade, and we had more fun listening to them then singing ourselves!

This one of the many views you can see of Floriana/Valletta as you walk around this incredible city.

We were able to perform at St. Johns Co-Cathedral.

We sounded really nice in this beautiful domed church. It was so much fun performing.

The next morning our coaches left for Cirkewwa Quay to travel by water taxi's to:

(Stella, Carmel and me)

Mgarr, Malta

Gozo!

The Ġgantija temples are the earliest of the Megalithic Temples in Malta. The Ġgantija temples are older than the pyramids of Egypt. Their makers erected the two Ġgantija temples during the Neolithic (c. 3600–2500 BCE), which makes these temples more than 5500 years

The landscapes were very hard to capture on film. But they were so fantastic.

An ariel view of what the temple site looked like.

We had lunch together out on the pier. It was SO lovely x

Just walking along the coast line in Gozo was absolutely breathtaking. Completely loved it.

me, Val, Shauna, Iona, Jenn and Stella

Basilica of Our Lady Ta Pinu

Gorgeous mosaics were on the outside of the basilica of the Savior's birth, life and death.

I was able to teach many of the ladies in my group what all the pictures meant.

It was really fun that I knew what every picture meant!

We stopped along the coastal line for more gorgeous views from the coast of Goza

and we found these beautiful shells imbedded in the rocks.

Val, Brigitta, me and Lene

Barbara, me, Geraldine, Val and Michelle

The Gozo Cathedral

This was truly magnificent! The Citadella, also known as the Citadel, is a historic fortified city or castle which lies in the heart of Victoria, Gozo, Malta.

The views from the top of the Citadel looking out over Gozo

I know, I took a few pictures..but check out the sunset and how picturesque!

Gozo Cathedral, Rabat (Victoria)

A beautiful farewell dinner for our three choirs. It was a fun evening.

"Singing in the City" at the Valletta City Gates.

This was a powerful memorial of Daphne Caruana Galizia, one of Malta's best known investigative journalists, was killed after a powerful blast blew up her car. She was known to have exposed the corruption in the Maltese government. SO sad that this ever happened. Freedom of speech is a gift.