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  • Malta – Malta Day Two

    Malta – Malta Day Two

    And the second full day in Malta started well as it looked hot, but not too hot, outdoors. It was the second day in our hotel at St. Paul’s Bay, an unexceptional but satisfactory accommodation.

    We popped to a local cafe for a morning coffee where the service was friendly and welcoming. There was a slight lack of menus to encourage us to order food, so we decided against a more substantial breakfast.

    Then there was just a little exploration around the local area, these are the cart ruts at St. Paul’s Bay that I saw last year, so I decided that Liam would be thrilled to see them too.

    An old house that Liam decided to explore.

    And another look at the area around the Roman baths which are built into the side of the ridge. I then decided that Malta was getting too hot, despite my earlier hopes for a more moderate day.

    We are only booking our accommodation the day before to add some excitement to proceedings, with our hotel choice for this evening being on the island of Gozo. So, we boarded the ferry and here’s Liam preparing to set sail.

    The water between Malta and Gozo is clear and blue, we were fortunate to see turtles and jellyfish on the journey.

    The journey took around twenty minutes and the ferry then docked in Mġarr on the island of Gozo. There was a long queue for the buses which took people to their destinations around the island, but we waited for that rush to subside and then got on a rather lovely quiet bus to Victoria.

    We then had to plan where we had lunch and I very much enjoyed going to Stanley’s fish and chips last year near to the basilica. Something seemed strange though, the blackboard no longer advertised fish and chips and the staff were different. However, one of the other boards advertised fish and chips, so we sat down to enjoy a rather English meal. The friendly and affable waiter, and I think owner, came over to tell us that he’s just taken over ownership and the fish and chips is no longer served, but he had a range of fresh Italian dishes. Having just spent a week in Italy, I decided against more Italian food, so we left as politely as we could, although I suspect we still looked like picky British travellers.

    Anyway, we instead went to the rather lovely, and also small, Black Cat Cafe which was highly recommended. I’ll write more about this later on, but the samosas with sweet potato fries were a delight (other than the hair) and the carrot cake was an veritable delight as a dessert. Well, I had it before the main meal was served, but if I had waited like Liam did with his cake, it would have been a nice dessert.

    After lunch, we went to have a look at the historic Citadel. This is the view from the Citadel over Victoria, or Rabat as it’s sometimes now called.

    And the view over the local countryside.

    With all that rather tiring eating and historical exploration out of the way, it was time to check into our accommodation at Gharb. We’re the only guests in this B&B and the Italian owner was lovely and welcoming. When I was in Gozo last year I didn’t get to see the Azure Window, or what was left of it since it has now collapsed, so we went on a little meander to see that. Lots more photos on that to come later.

    Liam doing some climbing.

    And some contemplating.

    This is the view out from nearby to the Azure Window, all peaceful and serene.

    We walked out to the water, which fortunately didn’t require any scrambling down steep cliffs. Liam would have done that like a shot. I wouldn’t.

    And more water, where we stayed for around an hour before getting a bus part-way back to our accommodation and then walking the rest. No evening meal tonight, we decided to have a picnic of fine local artisan foods, which in my case was primarily crisps made in Malta. We’re back at the accommodation now, and I’m trying to calm my nerves after discovering that the wi-fi didn’t work. Fortunately, by sitting in a certain part of the room, order has been resumed and I can connect to the rest of the world. This is a lovely getaway trip, but I don’t want to getaway from the Internet.

  • Malta – Malta Day One

    Malta – Malta Day One

    This is the first full day of my fourth visit to Malta and Liam’s first. We’re staying for the first two days of this trip in the same hotel that I spent three weeks in last year, but after that we’re moving to hotels which we haven’t booked yet. It adds a little adventure to proceedings and it’s unlikely that the hotels will be booked up in early March. I hope anyway.

    Since we had a weekly bus ticket, we got the bus to the nearby town of Bugibba and then walked into its centre along the coastline. Palm trees always make a place feel just that bit more exotic….

    The first plan was to get breakfast at Michele’s Cafe, which I’ve written about here, with this being my rather lovely Cannoli. Satisfied with our morning food we got the bus back to near the hotel at St. Paul’s Bay.

    We then walked the heritage walk which I really liked last year (and wrote about here), but I was glad to do it again as I noticed a few things that I hadn’t seen before. It’s not that long a walk in terms of the distance, but there were plenty of caves, holes and the like to explore.

    I had seen some caves on this walk last year, but I hadn’t noticed this one. Many of these caves were lived in until relatively recently, some of them looked like quite the prime real estate.

    Liam in front of one of the caves. We had at one stage planned to spend this week doing a long distance footpath in Ireland where it would have likely rained, but we were congratulated ourselves on instead picking a slightly more relaxed week in Malta. We also told ourselves that we shouldn’t walk too far as that might somehow spread the Coronavirus, so we thought we’d stay in more urban areas and spend time eating. It’s a sacrifice that we’re prepared to make.

    I had seen this apiary last year, but there was another one I hadn’t seen before, situated behind the oldest carob tree on the island. We had a look at the punic tomb although the peace and tranquillity was just a little marred by someone recording themselves playing some music….

    After meandering along this heritage trail we tried to reach Mellieha by walking up along the road which switchbacks up along Mellieha Ridge. This worked, but the road comes out on a busy road which was unnecessarily difficult to cross, not the best piece of road planning that I’ve ever seen. I did mutter and moan about these situation for a short while, which I’d say was only thirty seconds, but was probably nearer to five minutes.

    After our bravery with the road, we needed food, so this was the lunch stop at Tal-Puzzu, which I wrote about here.

    After lunch we walked down to the Our Lady of the Grotto, which I wrote about last year here.

    The Maltese flag flying high.

    I had visited the parish church of Mellieha last year, but I had missed this located near to it, the Sanctuary of Our Lady in Mellieha. More on this in another post, but it’s a rather special building.

    An interesting building construction and I like to think that the cave element is incorporated into the new building as some sort of cellar structure.

    And talking about interesting structures, we didn’t create this, but we did watch the water flow into the moat and it was rather professionally created by someone…. Just to show how busy we had been in the morning, I had a little lie down near the beach to have a short nap. After that we had a little visit to Sundancer in order to get an ice cream and drink. I’ve had worse Sundays…..

    After that we got the bus back towards Bugibba and we planned to have a little stop off at a little heritage site that I had visited last year, but the bus driver didn’t stop where we wanted (more because of a technical problem than because he hated us). So, we gave up with that plan for the day and just stayed on the bus all the way to Bugibba bus station, ready for a quick visit to a pub. Although this was when someone got onto the bus and seemed enormously unsteady, before he fell on a woman minding her own business and then he nearly stumbled into Liam.

    A quick beer at the Cheeky Monkey pub, which I’ll write about later. I visited their other outlet in Valletta last year, I found this one a little less impressive, although the views over the water were decent. There is quite an absence of craft beer in Bugibba, it certainly hasn’t improved in that regard over the last year. The town of Bugibba was though busy, plenty of people visiting the local cafes and going for a walk, and had a relaxed feel to it.

    Exploring the beach at Qawra Point Beach near Bugibba. Liam did try and make the jump to the piece of land on the right of this photo, but he claimed it was too difficult. Then we watched someone else go and do it…. I didn’t comment on how much braver the other man was than Liam, as I was too polite and kind.

    A pillbox with extensive views over the sea, located near to what is now Malta’s National Aquarium.

    Walking along the coastline at Bugibba as the sun started to set. After all this walking we quickly popped to McDonald’s for a drink, with the handy advantage that we got free fries after I filled in the restaurant’s survey. Bargain.

    Walking back to the hotel, we didn’t bother getting the bus as the temperature was warm and it’s not the worst of views. Although the nights do seem to get quite cold, the evenings are just perfect. A rather lovely first full day, we’re moving in the morning to a new location in Gozo, which will mean taking a ferry and some more buses. Hopefully the weather will remain moderate and dry.

  • Malta – Northern Region – Oldest Carob Tree

    Malta – Northern Region – Oldest Carob Tree

    Not that I would have known this without the helpful nearby information board, but this is the oldest carob tree on Malta and it’s thought to be over 1,000 years old. Getting on for being 7.5 metres in circumference, it’s certainly a bulky little specimen. It’s suggested that the name of this tree is where the word carat, as in gold, comes from, a derivative of the Arabic word ‘qirat‘.

    Some of the tree’s branches. The information board mentions that a home-made syrup has been made from the fruit of the tree, which is thought to be useful in alleviating the suffering from colds, and during the shortages of the Second World War it was also used as food.

    And a little information board about the tree, which is apparently popular with bees. Just behind the tree is an apiary dating back to Roman times, which is where bees were farmed, or whatever the technical term is to get honey.

  • Malta – Northern Region – Mellieha – Sundancer

    Malta – Northern Region – Mellieha – Sundancer

    And after a busy morning of walking and food exploration, it was time for a little snack….. Mellieha beach was quite busy, despite it being the first day of March, with plenty of children enjoying playing on the sand. Judging by the photos of this beach in summer though, it gets much busier during the warmer months. Most of the food and drink kiosks were closed when we were visited, although Sundancer and a couple of other operators were busy and working as normal.

    The snacks of ice creams and drinks, very welcome in what was becoming an increasingly hot Malta….. The staff at Sundancer were friendly and the prices were reasonable, and we were fortunate to get the last table outside of the kiosk. The kiosk did a relatively wide selection of food, such as pizza, burgers, chicken nuggets and other essential culinary delights, along with ice creams, crisps and drinks.

  • Malta – Northern Region – Mellieha – Tal-Puzzu

    Malta – Northern Region – Mellieha – Tal-Puzzu

    To celebrate not getting run over on the road (more on which later) we thought that a little stop for lunch would be useful. Our walk had ended in Millieha and I had a sudden craving for pizza, which isn’t an entirely rare experience (the craving for pizza that is, not ending up in Millieha).

    I thought about beer, but a refreshing cold drink of Pepsi seemed more suitable, especially as craft beer wasn’t mentioned on the menu. This might be something that I go on about a lot this week….. We opted for the eating outside option at this restaurant and hoped that we wouldn’t be stuck with smokers nearby, although fortunately that eventuality didn’t come to pass. The restaurant was never full, but it remained suitable busy throughout, a mix of local and visitors to Malta.

    And the diavola pizza, which was perfectly acceptable and I think they have their wood fired pizza oven. A thin and beautifully crisp base, lacking perhaps a little in tomato flavour from the sauce (I like a rich tomato sauce on the base), but the toppings had some heat to them and for a lunch-time snack it met my needs. A number of reviews said that the rabbit was one of the specialities of the restaurant, but I’m deliberately not eating that, however much of a national delicacy and tradition it might be.

    Liam’s subtle little calzone, which had ham, mushrooms, tomato, mozzarella and, for some reason, egg, in it. But, it all worked well apparently. All the food seemed freshly made and was at the appropriate temperature, so I felt that we got value for money for the lunch.

    The service at the restaurant was attentive and polite, everything arrived promptly and they had balsamic vinegar from Modena, reminding me of Richard and his gift buying last weekend in Florence. After the meal it was time for some more discovery of the country’s history, with Liam discovering just how tiring this life of exploration actually is. I tell people that, but they often don’t believe it.

  • Malta – Northern Region – Bugibba – Michele’s Cafe

    Malta – Northern Region – Bugibba – Michele’s Cafe

    We had a choice of any cafe in Bugibba for breakfast, but this one was well reviewed so we walked out of our way to go and find it. The welcome at the cafe was prompt and genuine, although we probably could have ordered at the table rather than at the counter. Nonetheless, the staff brought out the food and drink and there was a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere. Many of the customers were sitting outside, but inside looked much more appealing to me away from the road.

    The cakes looked well presented and appetising, a rather delightful sight in the morning.

    The coffee had a touch of richness and appears to be Lavazza coffee, a reminder of Wetherspoons, although it tasted absolutely fine. The environment was clean and the cafe seemed to have as many locals in it as visitors, nearly always a positive sign. It’s also located opposite the town’s bus station, so a handy time to get a quick drink and snack.

    The Cannoli was sweet with a firmness to the fried pastry, with pistachios at either end to add even more texture and a creamy interior which I assume had ricotta in it. Liam went for a croissant and the prices for this little assortment were very reasonable, just over £3 each. The cafe got quite busy when we were there and they also offer full meals, seemingly getting ready to serve their roast dinners for Sunday lunches.

    So, a rather lovely start to the week of dining in Malta, a genuinely friendly little cafe and I can imagine that the quality of the meals that they serve is high. We could have stayed here for hours, but there is so much to explore, so we forced ourselves out into what was becoming an increasingly warm Bugibba….

  • Malta – Northern Region – Bugibba – Bugibba Salt Pans

    Malta – Northern Region – Bugibba – Bugibba Salt Pans

    These salt pans have, according to the historical information board next to them, been here for “a very long time”, with other sources suggesting that they’re probably Roman. They were rediscovered recently having been covered by the sand, once used by the locals to extract salt from the water. The sign also notes that the workmanship is much better than in other salt pans across the islands, with a level of professionalism to the set-up. Unfortunately, these salt pans were vandalised with paint a few years ago, but were swiftly repaired.

  • British Airways (Gatwick South to Malta) – Fourth Time

    British Airways (Gatwick South to Malta) – Fourth Time

    And my fourth visit to the delightful island of Malta….

    Earlier on in the day the flight was expected to be delayed by around ninety minutes due to adverse weather conditions, but there was then a change in aircraft and the delay became relatively minor. Not that this was a problem, we had arrived at Gatwick early, so we had plenty of time in the BA lounge. The gate was called and it was once again the set of gates at the end of the long corridor, a little bit of a walk from the main terminal. The boarding process was though very well managed, with all the customers boarded by group and this was carefully enforced. There are enough seats in the area as well for customers to wait before boarding.

    Parked up at Gatwick, the aircraft G-EUUT, which has been operated by BA since 2007, which I was on when I returned from Palma to Gatwick South in November last year. The aircraft that I should have been on today, before the aircraft change this afternoon, was the one which went tech last year en route to Palma…..

    I had an exit row aisle seat and Liam had the middle seat, although the window seat wasn’t used so we had the row of three emergency exit row seats between us. The flight was uneventful, which is a useful thing for a flight to be, with the buy on board seeming to be quite popular on this evening’s flight. Then there was just the matter of getting through border control at Malta airport and then the checks for the Coronavirus where everyone was corralled through a checkpoint….

    The flight wasn’t unreasonably priced, costing £44 for a single journey, which I reduced by using Avios. The flight, which took just under three hours, was around 80% full, which meant it wasn’t sufficiently busy to cause problems with space in the overhead lockers.

  • Florence – Boboli Gardens (Photos)

    Florence – Boboli Gardens (Photos)

    Photos from the rather lovely Boboli Gardens.

  • Florence – Museo della Misericordia

    Florence – Museo della Misericordia

    This museum opened in 2016 and it tells the story of the Misericordia of Florence, a charity established in the thirteenth century. It has provided charity, social care and treatment to the people of the city since its creation, with the members of the organisation always helping anonymously, so they would usually wear a mask covering their heads. The museum is located by Florence Cathedral, so it’s easy enough to find.

    I’ve already posted separately about:

    Tribute to the Misericordia by Cesare Riesch

    Saint Tobias by Santi di Tito

    Misericordia Brothers Collecting the Wounded

    Misericordia Brothers Offering Charity

    Saint John the Baptist by Giovanni Martini

    When we went to the museum the staff member was on the ground floor as there were no other visitors, so she guided us in the lift up to the fourth floor. There is a sheet of paper with English translations on, although the text around the museum is nearly all translated into English as well. The museum is clearly laid out, not too in-depth with the information and there are plenty of exhibits. The photographs are particularly interesting, although the head covering does make some of them look a little sinister. The museum is also fully disabled accessible because of various lifts located around, which isn’t always the case with historical locations in Florence.

    There’s a video at the start of the museum which gives some background to the charity, as well as featuring some of the work that they still do. The above photo shows that they still provide medical services at football games across the country. A visit to the museum isn’t likely to take much longer than 45 minutes, but it’s a fascinating look at how the charity has developed over the centuries and the good which it has done.