05/08/2022: Victoria, Gozo

I know it’s past by the time you read this, but Happy Mother’s Day! At breakfast this morning in the hotel, we each received a carnation for a Mother’s Day greeting. Christine was a little teary about that.

After breakfast, we spent a lot of time strolling through the garden, Villa Rundle, next to our hotel. It’s a beautiful garden filled with all kinds of flowers, shrubs and trees. On Mother’s Day it was also filled with families and children enjoying the morning. Christine found a couple from the UK, Chris and Chris, who were trying to take a selfie. Mrs. Chris had fallen two days ago and broke some fingers so she was in a cast and had a black eye. They were extraordinarily cheery and chatty and we talked for a long time about the travels we’ve both done.

We then checked out the bus terminus which was next to the garden. We’ll be using Malta Public Transport, an inexpensive way to get around Gozo and Malta. In 2016, we applied for Tallinja bus cards. We’re hoping they will still be effective as we’ve both got several Euros still banked in our cards.

We then walked to St. George’s Square, a place where I expected to find market stalls and lots of umbrella covered tables. I guess it was a little early, or maybe because it was Sunday the activity didn’t start until later in the day. We had been at this location in 2016 when we had signed up for a tour.

I am enamored by the Maltese architecture. It is quite distinctive, especially the Maltese balconies. The older buildings made of sandstone are quite beautiful. I’m sure you’ll see lots of photos over the next 10 days of buildings and adornments.

We then walked up the hill to the Cittadella, the old fortress and castle that is the center of the city of Victoria.

The Cittadella rests atop a steep hill with cliff faces on many sides. The natural defenses of the area as well as the spectacular views of the whole island have made it a very popular settlement location since Neolithic times. During the Phoenician and Roman periods, the area became a thriving city known as Gaulcouis Civitas. Most of what can be seen today of the Cittadella originates from medieval times when the city was transformed into a castle. By this time over a third of the people of Gozo lived around the Cittadella. For safety reasons they were required to spend the night within its walls. The Order of St. John used the fortress as a form of defense against Ottoman attacks on Gozo, of which there were quite a few. Over the years the Knights rebuilt and strengthened the walls of the Cittadella to turn it into the imposing structure we see today. I lifted the photo below from an Air Malta magazine article. From the aerial view I could really imagine what the Cittadella was like when it was a fortified city inhabited by Gozoitans in medieval times.

It really is an amazing fortress. And the views from the top of the fortress walls are stunning.

High up on the ramparts it was really windy. We had to hold on tight to our hats and our cameras, but the views were worth bearing up to the wind.

This is the second time we’ve walked around the Cittadella, but it is really cool to see the ruins, the beautiful cathedral, and the incredible panoramic views of Gozo. We have only day-tripped to Gozo, so this is the first time that we are staying on this island. The Maltese archipelago is now primarily made up of Malta, Gozo, and Comino. Only a handful of people live on the smallest island of Comino but it is popular for its Blue Lagoon, a beautiful lagoon that really does seem to have blue water due to the limestone sand on the bottom. We spent a day there in 2016 and it was a horrendous overpopulation of tourists and no place to sit down unless you paid a huge fee for a sun chair that was arm to arm with the next person. Gozo is a much more pastoral island whose main industry is agriculture. There are only about 35,000 inhabitants but you do see the beginnings of over-development in some of the more popular spots. But Gozo is a much quieter, more laid back island than Malta and it is nice for us to get to experience this.

After our visit to the Cittadella, we treated ourselves to pastizzi which is a Maltese staple. A pastizz is a savory pastry, using something like Greek filo pastry, and is stuffed with either ricotta cheese or curried peas. Our favorites are the cheese pastizzi. Pastizzi are generally consumed as a mid-morning, or mid-afternoon snack. They are very yummy and very inexpensive, only 40 cents a piece. There are pastizzi stands all over Malta and everyone loves pastizzi.

After a rest, we then ventured out for dinner at a nearby restaurant, Kozmo’s. Christine had a great curried chicken dish and I had ravioli Gozitani. The ravioli was stuffed with Gozo cheese, Ġbejna, which is made with sheep or goat’s milk. Both dishes were delicious.

We had to wait for a while before walking back to the hotel because it was pouring rain. Fortunately, it was a short downpour and stopped raining within a few minutes. We walked through the lovely garden behind the hotel and got back to the room in good shape.

One thought on “05/08/2022: Victoria, Gozo”

  1. You have finally convinced me that Malta is a great place to visit.
    Also, are you going out of your way to tell us about the restaurants you have eaten at? I thought the plan was to have cheese and crackers in your room every day.
    Anyways, so glad you are having such fun
    Also glad that you are lugging heavy computers all over the place so you can send these missives everyday.

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