Month: October 2018

Today is our final day in Malta and as was forecast, it is a miserable, cool rainy day.  We met Carol Farrugia for coffee this morning, which was nice of her to suggest.  There is a place just down the street, Cara’s, where we have met Carol in the past.  Because it was raining, the cafe was full with people skipping in out of the rain.  Carol entertained us for quite a while, retelling family stories, and giving lessons on the family tree.  When it was time to bid her farewell, it was pouring rain and so we stayed longer until we all could walk home without getting totally drenched.  Eventually, the hard rain subsided a bit.  For us, we had to take a detour because a street we had to cross was like a raging stream, with the water rushing down the hill.  It was rather like the day we left Malta in September with the flooding down College Street.  We walked uphill a couple of blocks to be able to cross the street without having to jump over the stream.  Eventually, we made our way back to the flat with only one of my shoes and both lower legs of my pants soaked.  I don’t know how Christine managed to stay dry.

We ate our final last yummy sandwiches of Maltese bread, tomatoes, turkey and cheese in the flat.  The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging around, with Christine catching up on emails and personal things until she couldn’t keep her eyes open.  She went off to lie down for a nap.  I’m in the middle of a murder mystery and read for much of the afternoon.

We’re being picked up by taxi at 5:30 in the morning.  Our flight to London departs at 7:55 a.m..  We have a 5-hour layover in London, and then its on to Newark.  We get in at 7:55 p.m.  Interesting that the departure and arrival times are the same.  Because we will have been traveling about 18 hours, I didn’t want to drive home to Binghamton in the dark Thursday night, so we’re staying at a Hampton Inn.  Then Friday we’ll make the drive home.

While we are both ready to be home, neither of us really wants to leave Malta.  We do really love it here.  Christine is having some re-entry anxiety because she has a new customer and things for the deployment of the software are very different.  She’s been out of the loop on this and is feeling unsettled about it all.  We also will be driving back to NYC the following Wednesday for a checkup with Dr. Gobin.  Christine will have an MRA and then see Dr. Gobin in followup of her rupture and coiling.  The MRA will also give us information about the still existing aneurysm and whether it remains stable, i.e., not getting bigger.  Fingers and toes crossed!  So we will plunge right back into life when we get home.

The rest of the day was spent getting ourselves and our stuff organized and trying to manage our flight bookings and getting checked in.  For some reason, I was not able to select seats during the British Airways check in and we were assigned the worst seats on the plane, very last row, center section, right next to the bathroom, ugh!  Hopefully, we’ll somehow talk a ticket agent into reassigning us.  But as Christine says, at least our seats are together.

We had our farewell dinner at Peppi’s.  Although we weren’t able to sit out on their balcony, we still enjoyed sitting next to the window and looking out at the bay.  I drank my final Cisk and Christine had Sangria, a light variety that had passion fruit and cucumber peel in it.  We shared a funghi (mushroom) pizza and it was all good.  It is now 8:30 p.m. and we’re doing our last bit of packing.

This has been a fabulous trip.  It’s hard to leave Malta, but we both are ready to be home.  We’ll be home by early afternoon on Friday.  What a fantastic time we’ve had!

After a foggy night, today was clear, bright, cloudless and sunny.  It was beautiful and our rocks were calling to us for a swim, especially since the forecast for tomorrow is rain nearly all day.

I went up the street to the market to buy a small loaf of Maltese bread and a couple of tomatoes.  We have been enjoying our sandwiches a lot.  Christine packed us our picnic and we set off a little earlier than usual.

We sat on a little wall near our rocks.  In this area, Maltese tend to congregate, especially some older men who swim long distances and then sit and chat after their swims.  We arrived before they did this morning.  Soon, a Maltese woman arrived for her morning swim.  She leaned over the railing to inspect the water and turned saying, “it’s no good today.”  With the wind yesterday, the water was pretty churned up and murky.  She said that because it was murky, it was difficult to see jellyfish and told us that 2 people she knows were recently stung by jellyfish while swimming here.  We have not been aware of jellyfish during our visit.  Maybe it’s best that we were not aware.  The woman sat and chatted with us.  We had a long talk, exchanging stories about living in Malta.  The woman, Doris, moved to England with her husband after marrying, but they returned to Malta upon retirement.  Doris said that Malta is great for older people because there is lots to do and easy to make friends.  We saw that in action when Doris was joined by a friend walking by, a part-time Malta resident from London and then another Maltese lady.  It was fun chatting with Doris and listening  in on her conversations with her friends.

After Doris left, we braved the murky water and took a dip.  We were really off-put because earlier we had seen a mysterious thing in the water that was moving around this way and that.  We initially didn’t have a clue what it was, but I went to the edge of the rocks to try and get a better view.  What I saw rather shocked me.  It was a fairly large piece of fish.  I think it came from the fishermen who throw bait in the water at the jetty to attract fish.  This piece was encircled by probably a thousand small fish in a swirling school.  They were getting their fill nibbling on the piece of fish.  The movement of the swirling school caused the whole bundle to move around.  This, and the fear of unseen jellyfish, had us bobbing around for just a few minutes.  Christine chose not to take a swim down the shoreline and very soon we were drying off and sitting on the wall.

By that time, several older men had arrived.  One of them started talking with us and we heard his life story.  He was Maltese and lived in Malta his whole life doing various things including running a girls’ school.  It’s kind of interesting hearing about people.

We enjoyed our sandwiches and watched the comings and goings for quite a while.  It was such a beautiful day that just sitting on the rocks taking it all in was fulfilling.  Christine then suggested that we walk around Exile point and say goodbye to the sea.  We found a spot close to water’s edge and watched the surf for a while.  Even though the tide was receding, we came dangerously close to being soaked as some of the waves came closer and closer.  But it was fun sitting there and we enjoyed it immensely.

Sea view

Up the shoreline towards Sliema

The opposite direction

We then made our way back to the flat and cleaned up.  We then set off to Spinola to one of our favorite restaurants, Raffael.  We enjoyed our walk around Balluta Bay over to Spinola.  By now it was dark and the lights reflecting on the water are so pretty.  It was a chilly evening, but we opted to sit outside overlooking Spinola Bay.  We had a drink and chatted about our experiences on this trip.

Cheers!

Enjoying our beverages

We ordered dinner.  The reason Christine loves Raffael is they have Timpana on the menu.  This is a baked macaroni dish that Rose, Christine’s mother, made for her.  It is a Maltese staple. Timpana is the ultimate pasta pie. Macaroni is cooked and added to a rich Bolognese-style sauce, often enhanced by chicken livers. With the addition of cheese and eggs, the pasta and sauce is spooned into a pastry case and cooked until golden.  I ordered crispy spaghetti carbonara.  The waitress asked me if I had ever had it.  Saying no, she said she’d describe it.  Spaghetti is cooked and a carbonara sauce is added.  This gets an egg wash and then is fried.  She said it ends up looking like an omelet.  Sounded good to me.  Both our meals were very tasty and we ate every morsel.  When the waitress cleared our plates, I pointed to mine and said, “I didn’t like that.”  We all laughed because my plate was clean.

Raffael

Raffael’s patio overlooking Spinola Bay

Whenever I see the Dolce Vita sign lit up, I think that’s exactly what I have and I am very grateful.  Seven months ago this date, Christine was in a fight for her life, so I can’t believe how lucky we are to be here.

It was a very enjoyable evening in a beautiful setting.  We strolled leisurely back to our flat, stopping at the gelato place.  We ate our gelato standing out on the jetty in the bay across from our flat.  It was a lovely view around the bay.  With tomorrow’s weather promising to keep us indoors, we squeezed in all the enjoyment we could into today.

Church at Balluta Bay

View from the jetty

We had a little adventure today.  The weather forecast was for showers and a passing thunderstorm or two, but by mid-morning, it was a fair day with clouds and sun.  The real kicker was the wind.  It was very, very windy with gusts up to 25-30 mph.  But we decided to set off for one of our favorite spots from 2016, Sa Maison Garden in Floriana.  We stumbled upon this place when we took our monumental trek in 2016 from Sliema to Valletta and back, about 8 kilometers.

Today we didn’t walk but rather took the bus to near the gardens.  Our stop across the street was crowded with passengers waiting for the bus to Valletta.  A couple of buses came by that were already overflowing and did not stop, much to the ire of those waiting.  I suggested to Christine we walk to the stop prior to Antik and try to get on a bus at a less crowded stop.  We arrived just in the nick of time as a Valletta bus was just at the stop.  Although the bus was full, because there were only 4 passengers waiting to board, as opposed to 20 at the next stop, we were allowed to board.  Then the bus sailed past the passengers waiting at the next stop.  We felt a little smug.

We exited the bus at the Pieta stop and first walked through a pine grove on a hillside thinking we could get to the garden, but that didn’t work.  We ended up at the back of the Argotti Gardens with no way to get through their wall and fence.  So back down to the street we went.  We then found the street that would take us up the hill to the Sa Maison.

One of the things I remembered on this street was a housing block that had a sculpture of a cow’s head above the doorway, and sure enough I had remembered correctly.

Then taking our lives in hand, we crossed the busy street into the garden.  The entrance is exactly at a curve in the road and one cannot see in both directions at the curve.  Christine was below the curve and I was above, and after one aborted attempt, we successfully crossed the road without getting mowed down.

Roads cut through rampart

Watch tower at the end of the rampart

The initial area of the garden was exactly as we had remembered it.  At this level of the garden we were standing between two walls of rampart and bastion.  The trees and vegetation offered wonderful shade and quiet.

Nice trees at the base of the bastions

These bastions are very big

Vegetation along the rampart walls

Stuff grows right out of the rock crevices

We were then very disappointed because although the garden was 5 levels the last time we visited, today there is a large ramp that you must walk down to the lowest level.  There is no exit from the ramp to the middle levels.  I’m not surprised, though, because I remember the stone steps between levels being in disrepair.  So, apparently, the decision was made to build the ramp from top to bottom, bypassing any dangerous steps.

The garden and its residence was constructed in the middle of the 18th century as a shooting lodge. Between 1842 and 1856 it was a residence of Lady Julia Lockwood. In that period the garden was named il-Gnien Tal-Milorda, meaning her Ladyship’s garden. The Lady’s house was later demolished and the garden’s maintenance passed to military forces until 1903 when it was overtaken again, this time by the Civil Government.

The British Army used Sa Maison Garden as an observation post for Marsamxett port. As a mark of military presence in the gardens you can see regimental crests engraved in the stone walls of the setting. You will also find a miniature castle model carved in Maltese stone which was dedicated to the 2nd Battalion of the Essex Regiment.

Military insignia embedded in bastion

This on was placed in 1826

Gibraltar Castle sculpture

Dedication on the sculpture

Maltese cross in plantings

New sculpture in the garden

This was once a fountain

Watch tower

The view from the lowest level is still pretty spectacular over Marsamxett Harbor and the Ta’ Xbiex Marina.

Although we were very disappointed about having to skip 3 levels in the garden, we were delighted to discover a new finding. There was a large area of the bastion wall covered with scaffolding and a green net.  I think it had been under construction, too, in 2016.  Christine walked to the very end of the garden near the scaffolding and called to me.  Through the end wall of the bastion was an arched entrance and tunnel.  The tunnel had recently been painted white and lights set all along it.  We walked through the tunnel and found several arched doorways into store rooms.  It was pretty clear to me that these probably held munitions or other supplies over time and especially during WWII.

Tunnel through the bastion

Alcove labeled store

bigger chamber in the bastion

We continued on through the tunnel and out the other side of the bastion into a courtyard.  There were stone ramps and other arched doorways.

Arched tunnel

Courtyards and ramps were all around

We walked up a couple of levels into a larger courtyard.  It appeared as though the area was starting to be used as an art exhibit area.  There was a stacked stone sculpture in an alcove and a doorway that had a colorful surround.

Within some of the store rooms at this level we began to understand that this is a huge project to renovate the building and turn it into an arts center.

When I got back to the flat, I did a little research on this project and learned that it is being undertaken by the Malta International Contemporary Arts Space (MICAS) and the project will focus on giving contemporary art and artists a space for exhibits and residence.  Through MICAS, Malta aims to become a new proactive player in the world of contemporary art.

What I found interesting is the history of the building.  The building is known as Ospizio and Ritirata.  It is part of a sprawling complex of buildings and fortifications that dates back to the time of the Knights of St John, and characterizes one of their most complex builds on the island. The site has a long chronology and checkered history, with what is today known as the Ospizio initially starting life as a polverista – or gunpowder store.  Built in 1665, the building had three windmills for grinding and manufacturing gunpowder.  The building was repurposed into the first state institution aimed at accommodating the elderly in 1729. However, it proved to be not quite fit for that purpose, being rather dark and gloomy with two lower level basements that were too small to satisfy the demand. In 1732, Grand Master de Vilhena (his palace was in Mdina) added new buildings to the site, as well as a fountain. The new improved hospice or Casa di Carità housed around 380 residents a year.  Over the next century, the facility was used as a multipurpose residence housing various typed of people including prostitutes, the elderly, foundlings, orphans, mentally ill and female prisoners.   The facility was eventually closed and the buildings were transferred to the British Army.  During WWI, the site became a manufacturing workshop for making hospital furniture and medical equipment such as beds, crutches and wheelchairs for the many wounded that were being brought to Malta.  The building continued to be used for various purposes until the late 1900s.  The MICAS project has just recently taken over the building and by 2021, their plans will be completed for renovation and use of the building.  It will be great fun to return and see what the building has become.

After our tour of the MICAS project, we decided to walk into Valletta and revisit both Upper Barrkaka Garden and Cafe Cordina.  We picked up a couple  of pastizzis (the yummy cheese pies) and had these for lunch sitting on a bench overlooking Grand Harbor.  It was so incredibly windy.  Trying to take photos, one had to keep a tight grip on the phone to avoid having it carried away.

Upper Barrakka Garden

Saluting battery – a canon is fired every day at noon

Across the harbor is Vittoriosa and Senglea

We walked down Republic Street to Cafe Cordina.  Christine wanted to take a picture of the room with the mirrors.  Unfortunately, the room was reserved and we couldn’t be seated there, but Christine went in and got a picture or two.

Mirrors on both sides of the room, offerring an infinity image

Decorative ceiling

We were seated in another room, which was really loud.  All the surfaces and floors were either marble or granite and with the conversations and the plates and cutlery hitting the hard tables, it was difficult to hear anything but that.  However, we managed to enjoy our cappuccinos and a little treat.

We walked back to the bus terminus.  We passed by the beautiful Palazzo Ferriera, where we ran into the other day to keep dry.  It is such a beautiful building, newly renovated, and quite distinguished. It sits across from the famous Valletta Opera House that was bombed and destroyed during the war.  You can see one of the pillars from the Opera House in the photo.

We said our goodbyes to Valletta as we walked to the bus terminus.  We won’t see the city again until our next visit to Malta, and there will be a next visit, I predict.

When I got up at about 6:15 this morning and walked into the living room, I said to Christine, “why is it so light out?”  At the time, I didn’t think too much more about it, but a little later we were trying to figure out flight times and manage our return flight booking.  We wanted to find out whether or not our return flight from Malta to London includes our luggage fee.  Unfortunately, until check-in time the day prior to departure, we aren’t able to access the information.  But as we were calculating air and layover times, it dawned on us that possibly the time changed to standard time.  After Googling, sure enough, all of Europe changed their clocks back an hour, just like we’ll do in the U.S. next weekend.  So that’s why it was so light this morning.  Unfortunately, that means that it will be dark by 5:30 or so tonight.

The weather was overcast and looked threatening for rain.  Thunderstorms are in the forecast, so we stayed put.  We sat out on our little balcony looking down from above at all the activity on the street.  Our flat is in a noisy, busy area.  Tower Road is a main thoroughfare around Sliema, and College Street apparently is a cut-through so lots of cars turn at our corner.  I’ve been a little puzzled to figure out the rules of the road as cars turning right onto College St. just seem to turn and the oncoming car stops to allow the turn.  They do drive on the left here, having been a British colony for so long.  Also, motorcycles abound here and I don’t think any of them follow typical rules of the road.  I think they are a menace and very, very noisy.

There is a crosswalk right below our balcony (we are 5 stories above the street) and it is heavily used because there is not another crossing zebra on our stretch of Tower Road.  With traffic being so heavy, you take your life in your hands crossing the streets here if you don’t use the “official” crossing points.  It takes forever for the light to turn so people can cross, but then the time for crossing is very short.  You can tell who is new and who has been here for a while just by watching their street crossing.  Those that have been here go very quickly.  At any rate, we rather enjoy watching what’s happening on the street below and we provide a running commentary to each other on what we are observing.  I know, doesn’t sound very exciting, but we enjoy it.

We had our sandwiches on the balcony and a little later I said, “let’s go for a walk.”  With umbrellas in hand in case it did rain, we set off around the promenade around Balluta Bay to Spinola.  It’s a lovely walk along the waterfront.  Once in Spinola, we decided to go to Portomaso, you know, where the tall tower is, and walk around the marina there.

Considered to be Malta’s most exclusive residential, leisure and business address, Portomaso is a seafront project the comprises 420 luxury 1-3 bedroom apartments and penthouses, the 5-star Hilton Malta, a private yacht marina, the 23-story business tower, a major conference venue, exclusive bars and restaurants, a casino, and a shopping complex.  In 2016 we walked around the marina.  The facility is pretty spectacular and very swanky.  Since 2016, they’ve expanded the marina and built several blocks of what they call garden apartments.  These are only 2 stories tall and surround the new part of the marina.  It didn’t look like these were quite finished yet, but I think they will be soon.

Walking down to the Portomaso Marina

Lots of luxury apartments around the marina

Lots of luxury boats, too

Nice little boat

Ready to defend the marina

View out to the bay from the marina entrance

I like looking at the boats and yachts and I particularly like seeing the names of them.

Not a bad place to work

Ahh, sounds about right

Because it was really threatening rain, we didn’t get all the way out to the seawall.  Instead, we turned back and decided to check out the Hilton Hotel.  It was under renovation in 2016.  It’s a pretty swanky hotel, too.  The lobby is enormous, all marble and glass.  The pool is a floor down and is both outside and inside.  Many of the rooms overlook the marina.  I don’t know what the view would be on the other side, but I imagine it would be the Westin Hotel, which is practically next door.

Looking down at the marina from outside the Hilton

You can easily walk to the casino from here

Portomaso Tower, the tallest building in Malta, but not for long

New building that looks like a ship

We then decided to walk over to the Cavalieri Art Hotel.  We see this hotel right across St. Julian’s Bay.  On the way there we passed the famous cat village.  This is an area where volunteers maintain a safe place for cats.  Through donations, volunteers feed and care for stray cats, of which there are many in Malta.   This place is very controversial because it sits on the corner that a developer desperately wants to build on and public outrage has thus far prevented that from happening.  Time will tell.

Cat village

Cat village

After checking out the cat village, we went down the street to the Cavalieri Art Hotel.  Why named Art Hotel?  Well, here’s what their website says about that.  “Art has always been more than simple decoration. Artworks are not just part of the space but such stations in life that determine the visitors’ life as well. Beyond the sense of beauty and comfort pieces of Art represent a value which – in ideal case – is shown another face to the viewer again and again. This encounter could last for a lifetime.”  That’s pretty impressive.  We wandered around a bit and looked at some of their galleries.

After that, we headed back to the flat where we had dinner and actually crashed very early.

Today was another lazy day much like yesterday.  We stayed in the flat during the morning, me reading and Christine taking care of finances and emails.  Around noon we made our sandwiches and set off for the rocks.  It has remained in the mid-70s and partly cloudy, so it has been perfect weather for picnicking, sunbathing and swimming.

We found a reasonable spot on the rocks and ate our sandwiches.  After a short rest, we then made our way into the water, which also has remained at a nice temperature for swimming.  I don’t like swimming in cold water, and this sea temperature for me is just in that bearable range.  I can get in the water pretty easily.  Christine swam down along the shoreline a long way and enjoyed every minute of her swim.  I’m a float person and don’t swim per se.  I’m in and out within a few minutes.  Nevertheless, it’s lovely being in the sea.

We lounged on the rocks for quite a while and finally took ourselves back to the flat.  We have an engagement tonight; Carol Farrugia invited us to her flat for dinner.  It’s Lampuki season and she wanted to cook us a lampuki dinner.  We needed to rest up for that because first, the invite was for 7:30, and second, visiting Joe and Carol requires a lot of stamina.  The 7:30 start time sounded like midnight to us since we’ve been in bed before 9:00 several nights the last week.

The Farrugias flat is a few blocks away in an old Maltese-style building.  They’ve lived in their flat since they were married, 1975.  Joe and Carol have differing opinions about many things, especially furnishings and what’s of value.  Joe is old-fashioned and loves possessions handed down from generation to generation.  That’s really important to him.  It’s not to Carol and they spar over Joe’s stories about inheritances and items that others received that Joe was lamenting.  Sitting at their dinner table is rather like watching a tennis match, our heads swiveling between Carol and Joe as they talk over each other.  Joe is very proud of a beautiful old clock he inherited (which we had heard about in 2016) and as he talked about it, Carol said the same thing she said before, “oh no, not that clock again.”  Joe loves clocks and has many, but Carol requires that all the strikers be disabled.  I think the type of banter between them is what they have been doing over the years of their marriage.   It is both entertaining and exhausting.  Both feel very strongly.

Carol is a good cook, but she doesn’t cook much anymore, so her invitation to cook for us was very special.  In our visits to Malta, we’ve seen lampuki on menus, always with a note “in season,” but we’ve never been in Malta during the lampuki season until now.  Carol wanted to cook us lampuki, an important Maltese staple when in season.  I knew it was fish, but I didn’t know anything about it.

Lampuki is the Maltese name for the dolphinfish (not to be confused with dolphins), dorado (Spanish name) or mahi-mahi (Hawaiian name), a kind of fish that migrates past the Maltese islands during the autumn. The fishing season for lampuki is from 15 August through to the end of December.  How lampuki are caught is an ancient tradition.

Fishermen cut and gather the larger, lower fronds from palm trees which they then weave into large flat rafts. The rafts are pulled out to sea, usually with the small traditional fishing boats known as Luzzu, but can also be pulled out to sea by using larger modern fishing boats. Around midday, lampuki school underneath the rafts, seeking the shade as the fish are essentially surface dwellers.  The fishermen first stay 15-30 feet away from the raft and repeatedly go around the raft pulling a silicone squid jig behind them until they catch something; they then leave the lampuka hanging off the side of the boat until other fish come and school next to it; then a mesh net is thrown over the schooling fish. This method is known as kannizzati and has not changed significantly since Roman times. The lampuki are used both for local consumption as well as export.

As anyone who has had mahi-mahi knows, lampuka is a wonderful white fish.  It has lean flesh with a mild, sweet flavor profile, moderately firm texture and large, moist flakes.  I loved it!  Carol served it with caponata, rice stuffed tomatoes, and a lovely veggie antipasto plate.  She is a good cook.  And to top it all off, she made a trifle for dessert.  I think Carol was most pleased with the trifle.  She was like a kid serving and eating it.

Lampuki and caponata

Antipasto

Me with Joe and Carol

Trifle, yum!

It was an enjoyable evening, but we were practically nodding off at the table at 11:15, so we took our leave with kisses and warm wishes to each other.  Carol and Joe have been very kind to us during our visits, especially Carol, who stays in touch and is anxious to tell us about activities around the area that we might be interested in attending.  We so appreciate Carol and Joe.  I’m really happy that Carol reached out to Christine on Facebook 3 years ago and reestablished contact.  And we are happy that Eve has established a relationship with Carol’s daughters, Francesca and Rowena.  Family connections are important.

One of the things I like most about our flat in Sliema is watching the comings and goings in the bay.  You never know what’s going to happen out there.  Currently, very few boats are moored in St. Julian’s Bay, so when one comes in, it’s very noticeable.  There is some pleasure craft activity out in the sea as boats sail or motor by so there is always something to see.

This morning a rather large vessel was anchored in the bay.  With binoculars (never travel without them!) I could read the name on the boat.  It was U Boat Navigator.  Of course, I couldn’t just leave it at that, I had to Google the name and find out about it.  This vessel is a specially designed vessel that has a submersible.  It is used for research and historic relic searching on the sea bed.  It was quite interesting to read on their website about all the things this vessel has been involved in.  There are lots of photos on their website of some of their projects.  Anyway, U Boat Navigator stayed in the bay all day and then took off in the late afternoon.  I was hoping to see the submersible put into the water, but no such luck.

U Boat Navigator

Submersible on the back

We spent the morning doing bookkeeping and catching up on things computer-wise.  We then packed a picnic lunch and headed out to our rocks to find a suitable place to get into the water.  All morning I had been keeping tabs on how people were getting into the water without ladders.  There are a couple of places where there is a railing, which apparently are permanent fixtures, and I watched how easy or difficult it was for folks to make their way into the water.

The one thing about sunbathing on rocks is they are hard (duh!).  We found a little ledge on which to park our butts, but didn’t really find a good place to spread out and lie down.  Many people do get rather creative in their towel placement, but for now, we were happy to sit and enjoy the water and sun.

The water was too inviting, and soon we made our way into the bay.  There was a trough between some rocks, and a railing, where we could carefully make our way down the trough.  The challenge doing this was the sea swell that came up into the trough and then kind of pulled you in as the swell swept back into the bay.  With that, one didn’t stand around too long deciding whether the water was too cold or not.  I took the plunge rather quickly.  Christine made her way in very slowly, unsure of her footing.  She got laughing at the push and pull of the sea swells in the trough, as did a lady sitting on the rocks nearby.  But finally she took the plunge as well.  It was glorious being in the sea again.

We both successfully navigated the trough to exit.  You had to time your footing with the swells, but we both accomplished this.  Soon we were enjoying our Maltese bread sandwiches and eating grapes while warming up in the sun.  After awhile, my butt was hurting, so I managed to find a place to stretch out.  We both had found books in the flat to take with us.  It’s impossible to read an e-book on an iPad in the sun, so we rummaged around in the little library in the flat and pulled out a couple of novels.  We’ve been so on the go the past 6 six weeks that I haven’t done any pleasure reading.

We took another dip and then returned to the flat and cleaned up.  We headed to the market to purchase some things for dinner.  One nice things is that the market has a specialty of rotisserie chicken.  We bought a chicken and salad stuff and had a nice dinner sitting out on the balcony.  I read until bedtime and Christine caught up on emails.

So, while this is not terribly interesting to read, we had a wonderful day.

Our time in Xemxija comes to an end today.  We have thoroughly enjoyed being here and the flat, although when we saw it in September  we were a little disappointed, turned out to be quite perfect.  The terrace and the view of the hills made it for us.  And the proximity to all the things we wanted to do really made it exactly right.  We walked our legs off and had a wonderful time doing do.

We had an 11:00 a.m. pick by Bluebird taxi and were quite happy to see Tony, the driver who brought us to Xemxija from the airport.  Tony was his jovial talkative self and he pointed out all kinds of things on the drive to Sliema.  We arrived in Sliema about a half hour before we could check in, so we sat on a bench across the street from our Sliema flat and enjoyed gazing out at St. Julian’s Bay.

At noon, we met the flat manager Ed at the door and we went up to the flat.  It really was like coming home.  It was so familiar and we were happy to settle in for our final week.

Our view across the bay

Our rocks

Christine went up the street to our College Street market to get a couple of things for lunch.  One of the wonderful amenities in the flat is a welcome basket of Maltese bread, some fabulous Maltese cheeses, salami and other items.  So with mayo and tomatoes from the store, we had sandwiches on the really yummy Maltese bread sitting out on the tiny balcony.

We then walked on our rocks all the way down the sea side to the shopping area of Sliema.  We needed a couple of things that we couldn’t get at the market.  We were shocked to see that all the ladders and ramps going into the bay and sea had been removed.  I think since it is no longer the season, the town removes the ladders and ramps in order to preserve them.  But we were not happy because we have planned a lot of swimming this week.  The sea temperature is still very warm about 75 degrees.  Without the ladders and ramps it makes getting into the bay and sea nearly impossible because of the jagged rocks.

With our shopping done, we wandered our way back through Sliema streets to our flat.  We took a rest and then puttered around catching up on email and other things.

For dinner we went across the street to Peppi’s.  We sat out on the balcony and enjoyed a pizza and Sangria.  We were very happy.

I’m afraid that this coming week will not be at all interesting for you, dear readers, because we don’t have any adventures planned.  That doesn’t mean we won’t fall in to some adventure, but we don’t have anything planned.  We do plan on resting and relaxing because we’ve been quite on the go for the past 6 weeks.  We hope the weather stays in our favor because we have a lot of swimming and sunbathing to do.  Our final week is a vacation for us.

This morning we did laundry and pegged it out on a line that was in an attached courtyard.  The rain yesterday gave way to a beautiful morning, bright and sunny.  After pegging out the laundry, we got ready for today’s adventure.  In addition to revisiting Selmun Point, another reason Christine picked Xemxija for a week’s stay was to hike the Xemxija Heritage Trail.  We had both read about this in 2016 and it sounded so interesting.  The Heritage Trail contains 20 sites of archeological importance.  In hiking the trail one travels through the corridors of history covering approximately 6,000 years.

Down the hill we had seen a sign for the Roman Road and so we walked to that sign and then up a hill to the start of the Heritage Trail.

To the Roman Road

Start of the Heritage Trail

The first really striking thing we came to was the Roman Road, also known as the Pilgrims’ Way.  This is a well-preserved section of a Punic-Roman (I had to look up Punic; its another word for Carthaginians) road and is over 2,000 years old.  The road has cut limestone kerbing to hold up the road surface and a channel was dug beside the road to deal with water run-off.  The Romans even figured out that they could direct the water from one side to the other by cutting a channel across the road.  The road is also known as the Pilgrims’ Way and was used by people making a pilgrimage to Mellieha where Our Lady’s Sanctuary Church is.  Along the way, when the pilgrims would stop to rest they would carve crosses in the stone.

Christine on the Roman Road

Roman Road

Kerbing an d the drainage channel

Pilgram crosses

Just as we were starting on our Heritage Trail hike we came upon a man picking up litter.  We stopped to chat and I thought I had seen his photo online in an article about the Heritage Trail.  I asked him if he was responsible for the map and brochure related to the trail, and indeed he was the guy in the article.  His name is Frans Scerri and for 23 years he pretty much has been personally responsible for getting St. Paul’s Bay Council to support and fund the upkeep of the trail.  We had a lovely chat with Mr. Scerri and he even gave us one of the brochures.  He comes twice a week to pick up trash that thoughtless people throw on the ground.

In addition to the Roman Road, the dry stone/rubble walls near the road were built by the Romans.  I love rubble walls, and these were beauties.

Next came a Menhir, a very large vertical stone, like a monolith.  This stone is likely from the Neolithic period.  Malta is rich with Neolithic temple ruins.  This menhir stands near several cave tombs and was probably related to cult worship of the dead.

The first cave that we saw and entered is called Cave of the Galley.  Originally, it must have been a prehistoric tomb from either the Neolithic or early Roman period.  The entrance is constructed in a manner reminiscent of some of the temples we visited in 2016.  On a stone in the door jamb is an etching of a war galley.  No one knows the significance of this or when it might have been etched.  But common thought it that a sailor came ashore and found the cave and lived in it for a while.  He must have been short, though, because in this cave, we couldn’t stand up straight.

Cave entrance

Etching of the war galley

Inside the cave

Next came the thing I wanted to see the most, the apiaries.  Our friend JoAnn is a beekeeper, so I was really interested to see and learn something about the Roman apiary.  Apiaries are buildings/caves where bees were kept for honey production.  Malta has always been known for its first-class honey and during Roman times, honey that was produced in Malta was shipped all throughout the Roman empire.

The first apiary we saw was beautifully and artistically constructed with large stones and arches.  The apiary is sectioned into alcoves each containing two stone shelves with a terracotta beehive behind each hole.  The hives were lying on their side with the neck right behind the outside hole.  The hives were blocked with pieces of wood which the bees sealed from inside with wax.  To harvest the honey, the farmer would remove the wood and cut the layer off the honeycomb, leaving sufficient honey for the bees to survive.

A short distance away from the Roman apiary was another apiary.  This one was a repurposed cave for beekeeping.  Inside the cave you can see terracotta pipes which served as hives in which the bees made their honeycomb.

Old apiary

Inside showing the tubes

Inside the apiary

Near the apiaries is a 1,000-year-old carob tree.  It was an amazing tree whose circumference is around 24 feet.  It has many main trunks embedded in the rocks and its branches are twisted.  It’s quite a sculpture.  The carob is indigenous to Malta and grows in rocky places having shallow soil.  It is an evergreen.  Its fruit was the main source of fodder for livestock.  Also, a sugar is extracted from the seed pods when boiled to make a syrup which is then formed into blocks and allowed to harden.  This becomes a carmel-like candy.  The syrup is also a home remedy for coughs.  And bees love its flowers, so it makes sense that there are apiaries nearby.

1,000-year-old carob tree

Quite a structure of trunks and limbs

Christine in the carob tree

Flowers of the carob

Linda under the carob branches

Poem Frans Scerri wrote to the carob tree

We passed by some burial caves and then to the remains of a Neolithic temple.  For whatever reason, this temple was not preserved, as many others have been in Malta.  It dates back to 2,800 B.C.

At a corbelled hut, we stop in the shade for a picnic.  A corbelled hut, known as a girna, is a structure built of stones that provided a farmer with a place to store tools, or produce, or young animals.  Not thought to be built for habitation, they did provide some type of shelter when needed, like during bad weather.  The closely fitted stones provided a strong structure including a self-supporting roof.  Most were round and as we travel around Malta we can see giren out in the fields.

We passed by some Punic tombs which were likely used by the Phoenicians and Carthaginians as burial tombs.   The ones we saw had rectangular openings carved in the rock but were down these holes.  They’re called shaft and chamber tombs.

Then we came to a farmer’s hut that has been reconstructed using the original stones.  Again, the amazing thing about these structures is that no mortar is used and all the stones fit perfectly together.  If there is a crack, smaller stones are used to fill in the spaces.

Farmhouse with Selmun Palace in background

Walls of the farmhouse

Tightly fitting stones

Nearby was a cave that had very large chambers.  Apparently, the cave was used for habitation right up until about the 1930s.  These caves were well hidden because of their placement into the rocks, with rubble walls completely encompassing the caves.  They were very large inside with high ceilings and had a half wall separating the cave into rooms.

Cave

Inside this cave

Next was a big hole in the ground that was a Roman granary where grain was stored.  It was like a reverse silo, instead of up, the storage area went down.  It probably had a wooden cover in Roman times.  Just outside of Valletta in Floriana is a very large Roman granary that has about 25 capped openings down into underground silos.  Later, this silo was converted into a water holding cistern.

There were more Neolithic tombs nearby and then we came upon a more modern structure.  It was a WWII defense post.  This pillbox structure was used as a look-out post.  The north of Malta was pretty open to invasion and the British not only built defense posts, they built a wall across Malta to stop potential invading troops.

Neolithic tomb

WWII pillbox

The final place we explored was the Roman Baths.  This site proves to be the best-preserved Roman baths on Malta.  The baths with their pools, cold and hot rooms were cut into the rocks in a steep cliff overlooking Mistra Valley.  We had to climb down some steep narrow steps to get down to the baths, but it was worth the effort.  Upon entering the baths there was first a large hall that would have been two pools for cold dips, called a tepidarium.  Through an arched corridor was the caldarium, which is where the hot pools would have been.  There were signs of blackened walls where fires would have heated up the water.  The view sitting on a bench outside the baths was just spectacular and we sat for a while just enjoying being there.

Roman baths carved into the rocky hillside

Arched entrance

Inside the baths

Caldarium room

Enjoying the view

The view

There was just one more thing to see and that was cart ruts.  Basically, they look like cart tracks consisting of parallel grooves cut into bare rock.  The weird thing is that the width and depth of the ruts varies around Malta.  Cart ruts can be found all over Malta and in one area, known as Clapham Junction, there are many intersecting cart ruts.  Archeologists differ in their ideas about these cart ruts and theories abound.  Nonetheless, they are interesting to see and one can speculate as to why they are there and how they might have been used.

Cart ruts

Cart ruts, and my shadow

That was the end of the Heritage Trail.  It was a really special hike made even more so with meeting and talking with Frans Scerri.  And it was a perfect weather day for the hike and a great way to end our time in Xemxija.

We stopped in the Xemxija Café and bought a takeaway dinner.  While waiting for the food, we had a beverage and sat outside the café.  Once home, we puttered around doing things on our computers.  We then enjoyed our dinner out on the terrace.  It was a full moon and the moon and clouds gave us a wonderful show.  All in all, this was a perfect day.

Aperol spritz and Cisk

Outside the cafe

Watching the moon from our terrace

Great moon show

On to “our” flat in Sliema tomorrow and the final leg of our trip.

Today we were going to walk down to the end of the bay and check out the Olympic Park and the nature preserve.  We also see from our terrace an aqueduct near the park that I wanted to check out.  I don’t think it is Roman, but nonetheless, it is a cool-looking aqueduct.

We did odds and ends around the flat until mid-morning.  Showers were in the forecast for later so we knew we needed to get moving.  Unfortunately, we waited a little too long before heading down the hill.  Although there was blue sky and sun looking southwest, the sky in the northeast was ominous.

The approaching rain

We’re doomed!

We made it to the Olympic Rings in the park.  I don’t really know why the Olympic Rings and a faux cauldron are there.  Malta does have an Olympic Committee and sends a couple of athletes to both the summer and winter games.  I think the little park commemorates the Olympic Spirit.

Olympic rings in Xemxija

The commenorative plaque; masgar means orchard

Just as we got to the park, the rain started.  At first we took shelter in a public bathroom.  We then decided to stand in a bus shelter.  Eventually, we decided that since the sky was dark and it looked like it would rain for some time, we ran across the road to the opposite side bus shelter where we could get on a bus going towards Valletta.  At the bus stop were two young women from Holland who had been standing at the stop for more than 30 minutes.  They felt like a bus was never coming.  One of the women was running out into the street stopping each car or truck asking if they were going to Valletta and could they catch a ride.  Of course, no one was going to Valletta; it is about a 45-minute drive and we were on a street in St. Paul’s Bay that heads into the town.  Eventually, a bus came, the 49 to Valletta.  We thought that riding the bus on a rainy day was an activity that seemed feasible.  And the 49 bus went in a direction that we had never been, so it was interesting to see new countryside and ride through new, to us, towns and villages.

We arrived in Valletta and just as we departed the bus, it started to rain.  We quickly walked over to the portico of the newly renovated Phoenician Hotel, as did lots of other people.  We thought of having lunch in their restaurant, but after looking at the menu, we didn’t want to spend that much money.  The Phoenician is a 5-star hotel, and it is pretty swanky.  We wandered around the lobby  lounge area and looked at the artwork displayed.  We learned about Edward Caruana Dingli, a Maltese painter, who made his fame by painting primarily portraits of the rich and famous, however, he also painted really great scenes of the Maltese countryside and people.

The rain let up a bit and so we headed into Valletta past the Triton Fountain.  As we were walking down Republic Street it started to rain hard and so we ducked into a building’s hallway.  Come to learn we were in Palazzo Ferreria, used as an office building now, but was built in the 1870 and was the second largest palace in Valletta.  On the first floor was an art exhibit and so we looked at the wonderful paintings of Maltese scenes.  The palace had a 4-story inner courtyard that was beautiful.  The place must have really been something in its day.

Palazzo Ferreria courtyard

Palazzo Ferreria courtyard

Again the rain let up and we decided to get to Cafe Cordina down Republic Street near the bibliotheca, Christine’s library when she was a child.  Cafe Cordina has been in operation since 1837 and is famous for its delectable pastries.  It also runs a large catering business specializing in weddings.  Fortunately, we found a seat in a side room.  Everyone visiting Valletta today was scrambling to find a place to get out of the rain.

We enjoyed our lunch and especially liked the room we were in.  It had mirrors on each side of the room so you got an infinity view in the mirrors.  By the end of our lunch, the rain had stopped so we walked back to the bus terminus and found a bus back to Xemxija.  You may not think riding around Malta on a public bus is much fun, especially in the rain, but it was the perfect thing for us to do.   But, we were glad to get back to the flat.  I will admit that the ride home seemed extraordinarily long, but again, I do so enjoy seeing everything through the window.  I love the architecture, seeing daily life on the streets, enjoying the rubble walls around the countryside, and just generally being in Malta and doing something as mundane as riding a public bus.

Today we took a long, but not strenuous, walk around the end of the bay along the sea wall on the other side to San Pawl il-Bahar, the Maltese version of St. Paul’s Bay.  In this case, I mean the town of St. Paul’s Bay, not the bay itself.  St. Paul’s Bay is the largest town in the northern part of Malta.  Since 1993 Malta has been divided into 68 localities governed by local councils.  There is no administrative level between the local councils and the national government.  Malta is such a tiny island that 68 local councils seems like a lot.  The Executive Branch of the government is comprised of the Cabinet and the Parliamentary Secretaries.  The legislative branch is unicameral consisting of a House of Representatives.  There are 2 major political parties, Labour and Nationalist.  There is also a Democratic Party, but it is very small in terms of representation.  Currently, the Labour Party is in control of the House and so the Prime Minister is the leader of the Labour Party, Joseph Muscat.  The House appoints a President for a 5-year term.  The current President is a woman.  The President appoints the Prime Minister seems a little ripe for deal-making).  From reading the Times of Malta on a regular basis, I can tell you that there is as much corruption and political shenanigans here in Malta as there is in the U.S.

The town of St. Paul’s Bay  has about 21,000 full time residents, but in the summer the population zooms up to over 60,000.  The bay area is considered “the” place to have a summer flat if you are Maltese, or where tourists come for their holiday.  One area contiguous to St. Paul’s Bay is Qawra and it is a high rise jungle full of holiday flats.  The amount of building going on in Malta is quite distressing and there are fights between local councils and the national Planning Authority.  Supposedly there is a national plan for development, but it seems pretty willy-nilly to me.  Malta is one of the most congested places on earth and the building here is encroaching on what little farmland is left.  What breaks my heart is the destruction of all the old, beautiful, yellow limestone buildings with the Maltese balconies to be replaced by concrete high rises.

Another major problem in Malta is traffic.  With a population of about 450,000, Malta has about 386,000 cars and motorcycles.  I read that 46 new vehicles per day are registered in Malta.  It’s an awful problem.  And even with that, the buses are packed.  The noise and pollution from vehicles is a huge problem, especially motorcycle noise.

At any rate, we walked down the Xemxija hill, around the end of the bay, and along the seawall opposite our flat.  It was a nice day, not too hot, and we really liked being close to the water.  What we really liked was looking back across the bay to see, first, where our flat is, and then to have a long view of the area we walked on Sunday.

We hiked around this entire hill

And around this whole area

At a small little marina at the Vecca jetty, a mystery was solved for me.  Sitting on our terrace in the evening I kept hearing what I thought was quacking ducks.  I really didn’t think that was right, but I could swear I was hearing ducks.  And, I was, because there were ducks at the Vecca jetty.  At night, I think their quacking carried across the water to my ears.

Vecca marina

Colorful luzzus, Maltese boats

At the Vecca jetty we had to go back up to city streets and walk along Triq San Pawl until we could return to the promenade that rings around the bay in San Pawl.  We really never tire of looking at the sea so strolling, then bench sitting, on the promenade was a perfect thing to do.

We continued our walk along the promenade until we decided it was time for lunch.  After checking out a small waterfront cafe that didn’t have a vacant table in the shade, we continued on until we found Gillieru, a waterfront restaurant.  What is interesting about this place is that in 2016 we stopped in there for a cappuccino in 2016.  The place had had a major renovation so it didn’t look the same until we entered and saw the big, long bar across the entry room.  We both remembered that.  We were seated out on a covered terrace with a wonderful view across the bay.  We had a great lunch.  We’ve been eating our bigger meal at lunchtime so that we can just have a light snack in the evening.  We both had fantastic pasta dishes, mine with mixed seafood and Christine’s with lobster and shrimp.  It was really good.

After lunch we continued our way along the seafront to where we rented our kayaks in 2016.  This being off-season, there was no sign of the guy renting kayaks.  One little nicety was we found a Body Shop right across the street where Christine was able to replenish her coconut body cream, which she was very happy about.

San Pawl promenade

San Pawl promenade

We wandered our way through the streets looking for a bus stop and found one where any number of buses were going in our direction.  After a few minutes wait, and a few minutes ride, we were back at our Roti stop where we got off the bus.  We stopped in the Xemxija Cafe to buy some cannolis.  I saw some in the bakery case the other day.  Christine has been kind of craving a cannoli since Italy and we haven’t seen any.  We carried our cannolis home in a lovely box.

When we got back to the flat Christine had an urge to go swimming.  We had scoped out a place earlier this morning where we could get into the bay, so we changed into our bathing suits and walked back down the hill.  We went down some steps below the street level and walked along a pathway to the “beach” area.  It kind of reminded me of walking along our rocks in Sliema.  I wasn’t too thrilled at the idea of swimming, but I must confess that, while a bit cold, the water was nice.  Christine swam for quite a while and was very happy.  I sat on a little jetty while she finished her swim.  It really was a nice thing to have done.

Back at the flat we cleaned up and had a light dinner.  We then enjoyed our cannolis sitting out on the terrace.

The box says it all

What was inside the box

In the distance, we watched lightening make the clouds glow.  Fortunately, that storm didn’t come our way.  During the night before, we did have quite a thunderstorm with lots of lightening and a very heavy downpour.

Once again though, the weather was in our favor for a nice outing today and we thoroughly enjoyed our ramble into San Pawl il-Bahar.