Our final night in Gozo over, we meandered through the town of Nadur to get to the bus stop, passing the friendly stray cat at the accommodation. Although that wasn’t before I finished off the pizza left from the night before as a healthy little breakfast…..
Walking through Nadur, this whole plan was coming together. Get the bus down to Mgarr and then get the ferry back to the main island. This went marvellously until it was clear that our bus was a few minutes late and then a local came to tell us that due to a road diversion, the bus would no longer stop where we were waiting. We were sceptical of this, as the bus company had a sign on the lamppost saying that services wouldn’t operate before 9am and 11am of the previous day, so it seemed unlikely they hadn’t mentioned that the bus wouldn’t run at all the next day. But, nonetheless, our bus wasn’t there and so perhaps the man was right.
Fortunately, the walk to the harbour was only twenty minutes and we would have walked it usually but the road looked like it might be busy. The road actually looked like the above, it was closed off (hence the bus diversion), making walking it easier than anticipated. The only little problem was that there was a missing chunk of road, meaning we had to walk down a muddy hill and the mud on that bloody field was like some form of liquid earth glue. I was very brave though and managed to get to the bottom of the hill without getting too irritated.
Liam looking over Mgarr harbour, perhaps recreating the look of the Knights of St. John as they surveyed the landscape.
We bought a ticket at the ferry terminal, I muttered that the cafe didn’t have any green cakes (I had a lovely green cake there last year and I’d note that the green is deliberate, it wasn’t mouldy) and then back to the main island.
The on-board snacks, the rather lovely bacon flavoured Tastees crisps and a Fanta. Living the travel dream.
A little Asian meal for a lunch-time snack.
Saint Julian’s Tower, and what a lovely name that is, which is a watchtower which was completed in 1658.
The coastal area near to St. Julian’s, which is all built up, but the beach area is still attractive.
We checked into our accommodation at Sliema and then headed into Valletta, one of my favourite cities and also the smallest capital in the European Union. Above is the Prime Minister’s parking space, located just opposite the Parliament building.
I was going to show Liam where the saluting battery took place in the morning, only to discover that by chance it also takes place in the afternoon and we only had to wait for two minutes to see it. Fortuitous timing indeed and the noise of the cannons being set off was as loud as I remember it.
The defences of Valletta.
Part of the old defences of the city.
Looking out onto the harbour.
Looking out over Fort St. Angelo, which I visited last year. After all this walking, I felt that it would be sensible to visit a few of the city’s craft beer bars. Unfortunately, there aren’t a vast number of bars which sell craft beer in any measure, but I picked the three that I thought would be the best.
The Beer Cave, an interesting set-up in the cellar of an historic building, with a reasonable selection of beers. Unfortunately, the music was at a ridiculous volume and since we were the only customers in there, it wasn’t somewhere that we could possibly stay at. I’m nervous about any bar that plays music so loudly in the afternoon, it suggests to me a desperation that they’re trying to create an atmosphere as the venue can’t generate its own. In this case, that fear was justified, it was an unfortunately soulless place, although I’m sure it’s more exciting in the evening.
Liam outside Wild Honey, which was our second choice of the night. I looked upon a beer that seemed interesting in the fridge, but it was €13, so I decided against that little plan.
Instead, the friendly barman at the bar suggested the Chocolate Cherry Yeti from the Great Divide Brewing Company, which was a perfect recommendation for me. More on this bar later on in a separate post though.
The beer at 67 Kapitali, a restaurant which specialises in platters and craft beer that I visited last year, which was our third bar of the night. The beer, in an intriguing bottle, is the AMA Mora from Birra Amarcord.
The food at 67 Kapitali, this sandwich was first rate. Liam got a platter which had more food than he could finish (I managed his crisps), all for a very reasonable price. Again, more on this in a separate post……
And we’re staying at Europa Hotel in Sliema for one night, which has wonderful views over the sea. Well, our cheap room doesn’t, but the hotel does.
