Up and about from 10am. Well, I lay in Bed for a while, this chest infection/cold has really got me! Trust me to get sick when I get home from Thailand and when I'm away somewhere else. This weather sucks! It made me so lazy too! Did a final luggage check and Rang to see if Lauren was up, we're all excited, and our friends, Ashley, Hunter and baby Sophie have apparently arrived safely in Australia (she's Austrailian he's from N.I) still can't believe they're gone, the best thing for them really, made for a sad weekend though! Got quite close to them all over the years and baby Sophie is adorable!
Really have this travel bug, need to sort out what I want to do with myself as well, "
I will see and do as much as I can and learn as many new interesting things as I can about myself, the world and culture along the way. I am only one small person in a vast world, if I want to make my mark upon it I may start now.
I've found a new confidence in myself since traveling, in myself as a person and as a female. I like being able to use my brain and my body to back me up to get what I want, women over power over the centuries have used both as a way of gaining power and influence in the world of men.I see this in many of the Episodes of the show "The Borgias" I've been watching, the Mistress Giulia Farnese instructs Lucrezia that to become anything in the world and have some control over your life and mens treatment of you, you must master yourself Phyisically, attracting the attention and admiration of men and acadmecially, you need to be witty, intellegnet and on the ball not just a pretty thing to look at and have their way with. Men prefer a woman to respect that that want but cannot have. Women use their bodies and mind to have a form of power over them, and use their brain as armor. This is seen by all the powerful women of the era's. My beloved Eleanor of Aquitine, Anne Boyelyn, Elizabeth I, Isabella of France
...
But anyway...
We collected Lauren at 1.30pm luggage weighed and sorted, she was showing us the picture on her phone of her "new brother" Edgar. A black African child who she is sponsoring. It's only Funny because it's such a random Brenda (Laurens mother) type thing to do! She was joking and said when she returned her room would be taken over with an African Facade.
Mum came and hugged us all goodbye (she apparently cried on and off for 3 days...we were going for a week!) the airport wasn't very busy, probably as its off peak season. The Belfast International Airport has a few new security things, a new passport scanner, no longer do the women check it, and the X-ray machine like they have in Amsterdam, however I think it's only used if you're shifty or the alarms go off. They did a random swab test on my jar of
, it was a bit gross looking with all the traveling I'd done with it, wish they didn't have to see that!
We then used and abused the makeup and perfume testers in Duty free, smelling like Baby prostitutes when we came out! Got a Starbucks and then boarded the plan for a 3 1/2 hour flight.
We flew over the French Alps, absolutely stunning, so beautiful! The contrast of the brown mountain terrain against the crisp untouched white snow peaks. The clouds overcoming certain areas of the alps make the viewer unsure whether they are looking down onto frozen lakes, clouds or endless snow. It was a fantastic sight to behold, and only ever possible to see when flying. Something I would like to explore or try myself, along with the beautiful alps, I can ice skate but I have never tried skiing or snowboarding!
We arrived 8.15 GMT or 9.15 Maltese time, Passport control and luggage collection was a breeze, there were also lots of handy brochures on what to do in Malta, we leapt on them like a pack of Hyenas, there's so much more to do than what I expected!
I was a bit unsure about where we met our transport (mainly due to my disaster in Thailand where I got abandoned) but there were a lot of people with placards and we were quickly directed to our driver, the Thomas Cook rep instructed us to go to the Maltese man with the card R..
Romeo. The van was quite full of people and we were all mainly for the same destination, there was a couple, the girl in a gorgeous flowing skirt who kept cracking up at her boyfriend particularly because he kept loudly dropping the suitcase!
We passed some lovely churches, and randomly lots of car shops. The houses here are lovely, I get a sense of the Arabic (we aren't too far from Turkey) and a clear Italian style as well. Lots of beautiful window balconies.
Our complex seems fine, we gathered more leaflets here too. We're in room 3408, block 3, floor 4, room 8. Our room is the first on the right from the lift and the floor under the rooftop pool. We actually got an upgrade as there weren't many people staying, so Rebecca and I get a bedroom and an extra balcony to ourselves. The view is nice from our room, to the right we can see the sea, and straight ahead the hill to the town with crop fields of brown and green on different levels to the top before reaching the "
We ventured below, found out you can go to Sicily Italy for 96euros!!! And go up Mt Etna. Need to go, I am obsessed with Italy!
Unfortunately everything is shut this late at night so not able to get food at the bar, so had a wee sneaky bottle of wine, a half bottle of rose Maltese wine isn't even 5euro in the bar!!! It was fruity with a sour kick. Lauren got a Cosmo and sex on the beach, the nicest I've ever had.
The bar man is Bulgarian and seems lovely, he chatted away to Lauren, then again the button of her top had popped out ;)
He was complaining about finding it hard to understand so of the customers, particularly Irish, I'm sure he meant Northern Irish, our accent is atrocious!
to the couple who were with us, turns out she's from Strathedon in Newtownards and he is from Bangor, small world! He's celebrating his 30th, he didn't look it!
Rebecca and Lauren had Wifi so in between photos and tags she emailed Queens about the Mandarin class.
Food for thought...
What is normality? Is it a thing? Is there a definition? Why do we strive to present some ideal of perfection and happiness to others rather than be true to ourselves and be happy for it? Because there is in fact, no definition of normal?
Got up at 8.30, had a reasonable sleep though Lauren and Rebecca didn't have the best. Lauren has a really loud fan that make a clicking noise, so annoying that she had to turn it off and sweat it out during the night. Could thing we're here in the later months.
It is hot though! Went up round the 30*s so much for 26...not going to complain though! We visited the mini market below the complex buying some stuff for the apartment, mainly juice and water. Rebecca got some mates biscuits to try and the Pastizzerie. The traditional Maltese Pasty often Pea, cheese (ricotta) or on occasion spinach. It is delicious! We used some sort of portable oven/grill type device in the kitchen to melt the cheese on the bread we had purchased. The wine is so cheap! Around 3euro for a full bottle! I would be a wino for sure if Lauren and I lived here. We then hit the rooftop pool, the view is spectacular. One one side you look up the hill to the beautiful sanctuary and the sweeping farm slopes of vegetable plots and on the other the stunning sea view of the bay, the Mellieha beach
one of the best in Malta! The blue water was stunning. And one can gaze at it either from the
on all sides or from the pool itself as it gently eased onto the patio area you one can look and see the sea feeling that they are in fact in it and not a pool on a rooftop. The shimmering blue waters dotted with small fishing boats and yachts.
Getting the umbrella up was a bit of a fiasco, we needed shelter for Lauren and Rebecca as although I am a bronzed Goddess, she is more like an albino, she never tans, just burns, sometimes I even wonder how we are related...and Lauren, well she's ginger, enough said.
The view!
There was a slight breeze when the sun hid behind the cloud but it was still nice. Tried to put up the parasol for the albinos (well, Rebecca and fake bake ginger laz) it was the only one left and it was massive! More of an industrial parasol. None of us could reach it to try and put it up and it was very heavy, even lauren on a stool since she is the tallest! Everyone watched and no one helped...awesome. It wasn't until we were about to give up that a middle aged English couple came over, we had been doing it all wrong, there was in fact a cord to pull it up as its too heavy and high, they only new as they'd seen others do it.
I know it's awful to say but I'm kind of hate English and Irish tourists on holidays (yes I know I am one myself!) its just the way the majority of them behave and look, what is common and home doesn't fit in particularly in hotter more religious countries. Our middle aged travellers tend to have the same sort of look. We always seem rough, hardy and grubby in comparison. Without bald weathered fat tattooed men and their either fat or near skeletal female counterparts with weathered smokers skin, so bronzed and abused with the years of using old when sunbathing their skin is wrinkled and puckered before its time like an aged tan hide or an elephants skin (I can safely compare this as I have in fact rode an elephant) they get drunk, laze constantly in the sun in skimpy bikini's (there needs to be an age limit on what people can wear sometimes) and them men go around topless, no one wants to see the beer gut! The best is the hairy chest with sun lotion on it (least they bothered) or the charming apparently fashion must, of socks with sandals (which i unfortunately must admit that my father often sports much to my dismay!) they have a bad image and are sort of embarrassing, especially since we all like to get very drunk and most of the European world does not. Keep her classy Britian! The young wear clothes that seem to have a "the skimpier the better" theme going on, they tend only to ever be seen at the beach or falling out of the clubs, hence why we have shows called "Brits on holiday" not everyone is like this though, but we do all have the same annoying accents, i personally find the sound of my own voice scundering and an embarrassment, to the point that i won't watch any videos of myself.
Lauren and I dunked ourselves in the pool. It was cool and quite salty, they had used seawater, easy since there's so much of it as it is an island and because there are not rivers or lakes in Malta. The tap water is a form of sea water. We paddled about, chatting and doing laps before lounging out and reading on our deck chairs. Afterwards we headed down to reception for our holiday introduction with our travel rep. We were a bit early so we got chatting to her, her name is Jade, a nice friendly English girl from
+Thomas Cook UK she lives in one place for 6months before moving on, got her email address in cause I want to ask her stuff on travel rep work! Would love that, no degree in travel and tourism needed! She's going to book us seats in the Malta night bus tour, our Friday trip to Sicily (once I saw I could do it, it was a must!) and Mount Etna Lauren
wants to go swimming with the dolphins so
we are doing that too, it should be amazing, we get shows too, and
it's one of 2 places in Europe that do it, for 45minutes as well! All quite expensive though, dolphins are 124, Sicily 95 and tonights tour 20 =/ this is turning out to be more expensive than 2 months in Thailand! We got speaking to a middle aged woman and her mother who now uses a walker, they have been here before and last time they did the swim with dolphins and said it was an
amazing experience, well worth it. Excited!
It was lunch time so we decided to explore the local village which was up the hill. Mellieha...pronounced Mel-lay-a, not, as someone from east belfast would say "melley ha or mel- lay-ha"
What a steep hill! Our feet were so sore by the time we were half way up, with ironically and teasingly a restaurant called "Half Way" just to rub the pain in more. Nearing the top you first come to the "sanctuary of our lady of Mellieha" with the lovely sea view behind it. So picturesque!
it's a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll!
nearly there!
The village had the odd boutique, some gift shops selling the famous Maltese glass pieces, postcards, Maltese crosses etc. We continued on to the summit of the village finding a restaurant resting in the shade as it had become quite hot since passing midday, the sign outside the chemist said 34*! What happened to the 20s?
Rebecca and I shared a Bruschetta board, delicious! Fresh Maltese baked bread, and tomato and pesto brushetta paste with some cheese. YUM! According to Rebecca Capers are part of a flower, good to know since I always thought they were fish (capers are an ingredient in Bruschetta) we spotted a Mary idol high up on the wall of the house beside us, they're everywhere, apparently there's one behind our reception and in the mini market, it's so strange seeing religion openly approved everywhere.
class 2d artwork!
There were some cool old Maltese stamps in the gift shop, should have got them and then I'd have some from the 3 trips I’ve been on this year. Got a Maltese & Gozo themed photoablum from the euro stores before walking back to the square, beside the church there is an old air raid shelter. The Maltese man running it was very friendly, pointing out the awards that both his uncle and grandfather received for their service during WWII, along with copies of the letters from King George of England, President Roosevelt and PM Churchill to the Country of Malta and their brave resolute and success against the Nazi's and the bombardment of the island in the 1940s. They received the King George cross, Malta is the only country in the world to have received it as during the war, for 2 years, it was bombarded with bombs, 15,000 in total, the most bombed country and island in the world! Poor people, their stubborn determination paid off and they were not captured or destroyed by the Nazis who needed Malta as a frontier base for their takeovers. How brave and scary! The air raid tunnel system had taken 17-18months to make and had been carved out by hand by only half a dozen men, you could see all the pickaxes marks clearly! Such hard work but so necessary!
it had some small dug out rooms that a family could buy and at the front nearest the top were "maternity wards" with a creepy display and crying baby, sounded so freaky from afar, sort of felt like i was in a Silent hill movie eek! to be honest, all of the display figurines were quite terrifying, all oddly made and shaped, creepy pasty figures with waxy matted hair, like an 80s exhibition but it just added to the sense of despair, fear and isolation the place was draped it, then again, emotions and horrid instances are said to leave there mark on a place. we read different items along the walls about the time, the place and the Maltese people who used this as a refuge during the bombings, the smell, the look, the feeling of the place was obscure and made you feel ill at ease and unhappy. we read how illness and disease were rife, particularly Tuberculosis due to so many people living in the small area underground in obvious damp and decay and malnutrition due to severe rationing, causing many to die. The walls were stained here and there with smoke form candles that would have been hung to light the place. electricity obviously couldn’t be depending on with all the bomb drops. how would you get out of the darkness? thankfully now it was lit with electric light but the thought of losing yourself in the pitch black with the loud siren plans and exploding bombs brings nightmarish thoughts to you. we read a first hand recollection of one of the nights of the bombings, screaming babies and weeping children clutching in fear to their mothers with no way to gain comfort of solace. it was heart rendering. the place was huge, along with the atmosphere we were all sort of on edge, it did not help that the Maltese mans last words to us were "see you soon, if, you return" there were 2 main routes to go, left or right from the entrance with little rooms and turns coming off them. Each room beheld another creepy figurine depicting life in the shelters. it went 400m deep into the cliff, but you couldn’t even tell, eerie! but it made it safe from the bombs, we all became edgy the deeper it went and the darker it became, especially when we came to the "hallway" with its high roof and creepy men darted in different levels. I made Lauren jump, twice. she was ready to run off till I reminded her she could get lost or something would get her, most likely Bagul (insidious) he's always after her haha! I made a creepy noise and Rebecca and her shot into the air, great :P but the atmosphere really was like something out of a horror film or ghost story. Would NEVER do this at night! but it was very fascinating. the obvious history and sense of foreboding and possible death and destruction of what you know and love, what an awful time, one that I never particularly look at in comparison to older history, it was so traumatising to read let alone imagine or go through.
the maturnity ward...would not want to have a kid here!
should have stayed out of the grotto!
what an ugly child
:L
would NEVER do this at night
wioth a torch :O
he's jut had enough
Upon our exit (much to Laurens relief) the Man told us some more facts about the area and recommended the grotto of our lady just across the way and how the sanctuary would be open at 5pm, how helpful!
So we took some lovely photographs of the sanctuary’s courtyard and out the back of the spectacular sea view of the bay of Mellieha before going down what felt like 100 steps to get to the "grotto of our lady"
I tend to associate a grotto with snow Santa and elves, this was nothing like it. it was underground, dark and dank and a from of shrine with pews for prayers with the centre piece a Madonna and Christ statue.
the jesus in the sanctuary courtyard
This grotto was a place for couples and mothers, a place to pray to the mother when trying for a child, or for hope and support of the death of one or an illness. the back wall was lined with cards and photos, mementos and little baby clothes in English and French from all over the world, not just from Malta, asking for help or giving thanks. today is just a rollercoaster of emotion!
the letters
steps up steps down, steps everywhere. my poor legs!
Back at the hotel (the walk down was SO much better than the walk up!) we grabbed our stuff to hit the beach which is a 5 minute walk (if even) from our hotel on the right.
we walked
along the
quayside promenade gazing at the crystal blue waters beside us, never seen such clear blue waters!
upon arriving at the beach there was a sign warning us of the different jellyfish we could encounter in the sea, about 8 different kinds, and what to do if stung, salt water and alcohol is good,
the have plenty of the first and
i have
hand wash in my bag when
i travel. And yet "Friends" always taught me to pee on the sting.
.The sign warned of Portuguese Man of War, and box jellyfish, eek!
then again, as I have
only seemed to
realise now, we are in the
Mediterranean, we are near Africa!
there was a really gross one called the "Egg" jellyfish, it actually looked like a fried egg
haha http://gaygeek.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Fried-egg-jelly.jpg
It was 5euro for a sun bed each so we just got 2 as we'd need to take it in turns to mid "fort" I felt a bit daunted by al the men, there were a good few blatantly staring at my while i topped up my sun cream, and they were with their girlfriends, charming! Rebecca minded our stuff while Lauren and I went for a swim, walking along the white sand before edging into the cool blue water. it was quite busy, full of kids, couples, teens and older families not just Maltese and British tourists, but several other Europeans. The sight of the blue cloudless sky of the horizon with the far off water darted with boats with perfect, you definitely knew you weren't in Northern Ireland anymore, especially since when we left yesterday the sky was all grey and appeared sunless. a mass of thick grey drudging cloud. such a bleak dull comparison to this!
This was instantly made better as we spotted the Adonis in trunks from the nights before playing Frisbee with friends. A chiselled face, dark locks and a tanned body, it was only an added bonus when we heard him speaking Italian, it explained a lot though. we named him Michael, one of the most beautiful angels haha. We swam about while Lauren tried to come up with awful ideas to get his attention, such as jumping up to injure herself with the Frisbee, pretending to drown or simply just swimming over and pinching his bum! The spell was broken however when he attached himself to his Kelly Brook look alike girlfriend. no matter how hard we tried to convince ourselves, siblings don’t hug like that! Having splashed and drooled long enough we headed back to sunbathe. we had a creepy few minutes were one of the nearby men lay turned round staring at us intensely while his girlfriend stroked his side...eww.
We headed back to our rooms to change for tonight before grabbing a quick dinner at a nearby restaurant, it was reasonably priced, around 5euro for a dish. Rebecca and I got spaghetti dishes, no real sauce but cooking oil and herbs and garlic, my favourite! We made it back just on time for our bus tour.
The guy instantly knew Rebecca and I were sisters, a very jolly Maltese man, he said I was the older one, I don’t know if that’s good or bad since its only just over a year between us? Rebecca argued its because I Don’t dress immaturely like her. We picked up some more people en route, we went through Buggiba a tourist area, quite lively. The sun had began to set causing a lovely array of purple, pink, blue and orange sunrays to be cast upon the oncoming night sky, so picturesque over the stilling blue water in the distance.
Our guide was very funny, and it was clear in the way he talked about the place that he was very passionate and had a strong sense of nationality for his country. He described the different areas and bays as we travelled along the Peninsula on the open decked bus onwards to Valletta. It's much more stunning than the Newtownards Peninsula back home that's for sure! We passed St. Julian’s, Pembroke and Silema. Pembroke after Lord Pembroke, English named places means that it was in fact an English town, and is considered an English town if it has a town clock. A Maltese town has its clock and calendar on the church or cathedral. The bus moved fast however, so it was hard to get any photos. We passed the famous upside down backwards Love sign, a spot famous for dates and proposals as the word love is reflected in the water.
Valletta is a fortified town, now capital city, named after Grand Mater Jean De Valette of the Maltese Knights, who during the great siege in 1565 held the country against the invasion from the Ottoman Turks. Valletta is a UNESCO site due to the Baroque architecture inside the walls. It is fabulous!
We stopped near the bus terminal beside a sort of merman fountain, symbolizing the island's reliance on fishing. The gate of the city had only recently removed, an English design from the 60s it didn't fit in with the style of the town. The gates will not be replaced as the Maltese feel no longer threatens and in need of gates as a protection (hope they're right!)
We walked through the gates and into the city. It's getting done up, a creation of a new presidential palace using local sandstone, the grand opera house that was bombed and never fixed from the war has been pieced together slightly and left, an open air theatre has been placed in it so its a live open monument of the past and venue for the future. The main architect of all this is an Italian designer who has also done some of the London architectural landmarks. a beautiful landmark from the past to be used in the future as a reminder of the destruction and devastation that we are leaving behind for our futures, but not to forget it.
The buildings of the town center were lovely the 3 storey Baroque architecture with charming balconies and cascades, however the theme was slightly ruined with the signs and shops, particularly Burger King and Subway. Societies large enterprises and the consumerism of the world is destroying history, unfortunately.
We stopped at the top of "strait street" during the English Navy years this was the place to go for the bars, dancing and women, during its peak it had 80 of them in the one narrow lane! The place to be really. Home of the "Egyptian Queen" the most beautiful woman around, and "Tiny" the huge policeman famous for breaking up drunken brawls. However, when the navy finally left, every single bar and club shut down with it. It's only until now that some have crept back. How strange and empty! Any navy officer who returns to Malta always has fond memories of the place.
We then went to Malta 5d in which we got free drinks,
i got two, Fanta and sprite, can never be too refreshed!
though no Fanta grape unfortunately (the lack of Fanta grape is actually creating a huge void in my heart) There was a painted knight's board with a hole in the middle for your face so Ofc I got a photo
in it!
The 5d experience is a 3d film on the history of Malta with moving seats, smells, sounds and things that blow like the wind or move like a snake. Lauren
oggled the Maltese man, it's like she's been in prison for years and is only seeing
men again (cannot say
i blame her, there are a lot of nice men out here!) he relished in scaring us once we had settled by turning the lights off and hitting the switch for the pistons behind us all to blow air onto our necks, making everyone jump and squeal! The show was very interesting, it followed the history of Malta through the journey of a Falcon, the bird that was given annually to Emperor Charles V along with a golden falcon so the Templar knights would have a base in 1522. It showed us the "great siege" against the Ottoman Turks with Capt. Jean De Valette, the bombs in the 40s, St. Paul and his shipwreck, apparently he chased all the poisonous saints out of Malta...like St. Patrick in Ireland I guess, or maybe just a metaphor? Streamers swirled at our feet causing Lauren to nearly have a heart attack, she was a bit of an emotional wreck at the end, it was very good! She was utterly confused why she smelt bread at one point, we explained it was part of it as bread was on the screen, +Malta 5D is definitely worth a visit! A very interesting, fun and informative experience.
From here we went to the Upper Barrakka, charming area, according to Rebecca it was originally just a simple car park, but the arches and plant life amongst the statues made it charming, and a lovely spot at night especially being able to look down upon the port and seeing all the lights of the different towns in the distance amongst the darkness. We were so high up! We did not even realize the extent until we were travelling away and looked back, there is a lift up to it and it looks about 40M high!! Our guide explained that Valletta port is the largest and deepest in the Mediterranean mooring around 600 ships! He went on to tell us that this port is the Identity of Malta as it was here that the
knights first arrived in 1522, the Ottomans tried to invade during the Great siege, where Napoleon tried to invade, the area of Malta which seen the most bombs and where the ships finally arrived with to relieve the people in 1942, where The English agreed to leave, the last ship sailing in 1979 and where Malta became part of the EU in 2003. I love how they have a national Identity they are proud off, we don't seem to in Northern Ireland, what would it be? Half the people don't want to be associated with the south and all we seem to be famous for
is the troubles, not something to be proud of. And our famous shipyards and industry are completely diminished. Not cool.
We stopped briefly outside the Mosta Church which took 27 years to build as no scaffolding was used, it is the 3rd biggest dome in Europe after the Vatican and St. Pauls, it is here that the famous "miracle" took place during WWII, 300 people had gathered during a bomb raid, a bomb fell threw the dome, yet when it landed it did not go off, none of the 300 were injured! Our guide tried to teach us some Maltese phrases
SAHA: goodbye BONJU: hello GRATZI HAFNA: thankyou very much. The language is a mixture of different languages due to the influence of invaders and traders,
ie. French, Spanish, Italian.
Mosta cathedral
Mdina is the old capital of Malta, the old city, it was given to the old rich families of Sicily, Spain and southern Italy for some of the Noble families. It is full of palaces fro the Renaissance period and is very beautiful. Only 350 people live here, therefore it is known as the "Silent City" St. Paul after his shipwreck landed in Rabat and then entered Mdina, it was in Rabat that he was bit by a snake and began converting people, on the arch gate of the city are the carvings of St Paul, the leader of Rabat during the time he arrived and St. Augustine, patron Saint of Mdina, she clutches her breast as this was the way she was martyred, she is now associated as a breast cancer saint. Our guide joke and said that St.Paul removed the venom from the snake and put it in a woman's tongue, he's such a chance! The Grand Masters Palace is now the Natural History museum, it looks beautiful. The view at the end was lovely. 260* across the water, a brilliant strategically placed area, on clear nights like this you could even see Sicily which is 90km away!
Had a wee chat with our guide, he's so lovely, he's looking forward to a trip to London in November, his first time, How random, he's very excited though! He was a great laugh, he pointed out the American Embassy earlier...A McDonalds! haha
Mdina
THURSDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER
Also known as Arthur Guiness day in Ireland!
MIN? who?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur's_Day
Up at showered to head out at 9.30. We tried to arrange tickets to the "Spectacularesque!" show but turns out it's only available on the Friday when we are in Sicily. We left a note for our rep Jade to see if she could change our dolphin trip to the Monday as we'd be exhausted from Sicily on the Saturday to do it.
We used the public buses, they are all very regular and seem to go to most places/Valletta buses go everywhere. We went the coastal route of last night taking nearly an hour to arrive in Valletta at the fountain/station area where we were first dropped off at last night. We
nosied around the flea market in Merchant street, it was poor to be honest. Just
tatt you can get anywhere, though we did pass a beautiful Baroque house that
had a plaque on it stating that Napoleon Bonaparte lived here when he seized Valletta for several days.
the building
the plaque!
Unfortunately we missed the midday canon salute by literal seconds, Not cool! We did not miss the large sound it made, nor the gunpowder smell, it was pretty packed out as well! The View during the day of the Upper Barrakka gardens is even better than at night! Can see the vastness of the port more clear along with the deep blue sea. Beautiful.
the port
Upper Barrakka gardens
We found the church of St Paul's Shipwreck nearby, the street until it was really strange, really steep, but the footpaths down were in actual fact sloped steps! It's not open until 3pm so we decided to get some tasty Pastizzeries and eat them in the enchanting upper Barrakka gardens. They were delicious! For 1euro you cannot fault them. Rebecca and I split a large spinach one and a ricotta cheese. Then got small Pea ones and we all tried and almond pastry. All so delicious and such a perfect place to eat them, sitting on the steps in the shade outside a historic building in the charming gardens watching the Maltese students and townsfolk do the same, meeting friends, chatting, sketching. It was so relaxing, so pleasant. Do not think I would ever bore of it, especially not the food! Think the spinach was my
favourite though. YUM! We fed the nearby pigeons the crumbs (delicious as it was it is quite messy!) We joked at Lauren as she fed them the most, particularly one with red eyes, sit kept coming closer and closer the cheeky thing, we decided it befriended her as in photos has always
has "demon" red eyes too.
statue of Jean de Valette
Next we went to St Johns Co Cathedral, the beautiful golden painted fresco Church, shown in the film from Malta 5d last night, the cathedral of the order of the Maltese Templar knights. We were given radios to hold to our ears to listen to the information about the different sections of the cathedral. Built in the 16th century it has a plain limestone and sandstone architecture, a fort like design in commemoration of the Great Siege and the warrior ethics of protection and solidarity of the Knights. Yet the interior is a complete contrast. Never before have I seen such Man made beauty. Fantastic artworks and detailed golden facades and features that I could never have imagined to be together and harmonize to such near perfection.
front exterior
frescos of the life of St John the Baptist
Mattia Preti was commissioned to do frescos on the ceiling to synchronize with the Baroque interior that had become so popular and
colour in its Stucco Gold, blues and marbles. Rich Gilding, Fabulous Maltese crosses and a floor of marble tombstones Beautiful religious statues and angels. Death and beauty with the knights being symbolized as the protectors of beauty and life, of the Christian "true" religion and of the Maltese citizens. The artwork and design of the interiors was awing. I would be unable to go to a service and concentrate here, I would be too absorbed in observing all the magnificence around me, so much gold, silver, blues and reds, harmonizing and contrasting, a dazzling array of beauty and magnificence for the eye to behold.
the Small windows in the
frescos and domes let in beams of light which bounced off, lit up and reflected off the gold and silver, particularly on the frescos with halos, such a sense of angelic beauty and heavenly goodness became of this
sight.
marble floors
one of the langues
close up of a tomb plaque. clear indication of death on the floor whilst high above is the light, the saints and the Maltese knights, defenders of the good and life
Small windows of light where
betwixt the Frescos, done in oil by Preti rather than the usual
watercolour directly, artwork so lifelike that Rebecca didn't even realize they were actual windows! What Skill! The solid gold falcon statue on the altar was huge, more than just lifelike in size!, in the foreground were solid silver figurine candle holders and a chandelier like incense holder again in solid silver of two gracing Angels. All of which were on top of an ancient hand woven carpet in rich red and blues.
The pulpit is raised up and attached to a pillar on the left, it's sort of into the congregation, instead of preaching at them, like I feel sometimes happens in a protestant church, the priest becomes more of a family leader and close advisor yet still above in hierarchy through the physical raised platform above the congregation, some one you can come to like a relative for time of need yet also listen to as wiser and stronger than a normal family member, unlike a minister who preaches from eh pulpit, far away and near untouchable, I feel the pulpit alone in placement causing a sense of closeness/ unfamiliarity to the congregation. Someone you can look up to and respect like a close family member/ someone who is at the same hierarchy level but preaches from afar, afar off family member who don't feel as close to? Perhaps I'm just over thinking it? This was again repeated in The Church of St. Paul’s shipwreck
Everywhere I looked there was beauty, the information on it all through my "radio" was very informative and highly interesting albeit confusing when trying to co-ordinate the different areas to the numbers on the device as the areas and co-ordinating numbers weren't listed anywhere. We entered the museum area to the Caravaggio paintings. He had painted a huge, larger than life scene of the moment before the beheading of St. John the Baptist, the patron Saint of the Maltese Templar knights. His style became very popular due to his realism and use of
colour not to mention the moment which the scene portrays. He deliberately chooses to depict the scene with no divine intervention, no Angels, no halos, this moment was an act of cruelty by humans. We were gazing at a huge famous 16th century art work, one of the only pieces Caravaggio signed, signing it in the blood of St. John. Amazing!
Upstairs were huge tapestries, double storey lengths, floor to ceiling, intricately hand woven, with excellent shading weaves, making
these just as beautiful as the pieces of art and frescos downstairs! Such realism in textile form, not just beautiful artworks but useful insulation and "wallpaper" too! Some were the size of my large bedroom wall
breadth wise! (Near 11ft!) Telling a story of religion, everyday life or the heroic acts of the knights of Christendom.
On down there were some of the
surcoats and decorative clothing of the grand masters and priests, artwork and tapestries in themselves. Very thick, I would not care to wear them on a day like this! It was very hot outside around 30* again, and this is late September, we were
sweltered. Got some souvenirs from the gift shop and headed outside for ice-creams and a cool refreshing drink. The guy I got my drink
of, his co-worker kept giving me “the eye” while he served Lauren. In Northern Ireland this would be utterly repulsive and could result in a fight, however, he’s Maltese and they are all lovely helpful people. It
did also help that he had the nicest brown eyes I have ever seen!
We went down to the St Paul’s Shipwreck church at 3pm as it just opened, there were not many people in, and
its only being refurbished now.
Its old, sooty, dusty and dark, but has much more of a sense of character and history than St. John’s, perhaps as there were not so many people and because it had an eerie religious feel to it. It had an old musty damp smell to it, set in an older part of the city, you could smell the centuries of prayer and devotion with one inhalation. The Madonna’s in the alcoves where particularly creepy, but instead of lighting a candle or incense as an offering you simply pushed
in a button and the candle lit up electrically, definitely much better for the ancient art pieces and the environment!
The hall was dark and cold, heavy red velvet curtains hung in the alcoves being slowly cleaned and replaced, it added to this sense of archaic and majesty. The
frescos had nearly been completed in their refurbishment high above in the dome were beams of light coming through from a small circular window. When seated this became one of the most fantastic and spiritual sights I have ever laid eyes upon, the dome above the altar had a scene of Jesus upon his throne in the kingdom of heaven, when one gazes upon it you feel like you are seeing an actual vision of the lord upon his rightful throne, the beams of light shine upon the golden halo of Jesus and he becomes aglow, a vision of hope and salvation high above us in the heavens, the artwork and colour of the image are so life like even from afar, its difficult to describe the absolute splendour and magnificence the image captures upon your mind, heart and soul as you gaze upon it.
The beams of light really makes one feel like you are in the magnificent presence of god who is shining upon you his love and kindness. The place was silent, albeit a few whispers from the few seated or admiring the church, such a revered awed atmosphere, so completely different from the last cathedral, I could stare at the ceiling and the dome in particular for eternity
kingdom of heaven
the photo can do nothing for the real sight!
could spend eternity gazing at this ceiling!
Rebecca had picked up the notess on the church and we all read them, the church is home to several relics including hte wristbone of St. Paul and part of the pillar which he was bheaded on from Rome. Rebecca dandered round photographing, when at a particular Mary statue a man was standing photographing her, he informed her that thi sparticular Madonna was made at the start of the 1900s by his Grandfather and his was photographing it for a local newspaper article to be done on it. A lovely figure, it did not seem the hundred years it was. We went down tot ht eold crypts which where creepier and danker in smell, there was a sort of window looking up to where the ground levvel street was outside! to teh left the passage was asmaller and darker, no lights, like a dungeon, really creepy! Lauren was definelty on edge.On the way out we signed the "visitor book" and had a flick through, someone had signed as "Justyn Beiber" a couple months before stating that he was now a "Belieber" not cool
nun relic
The Mary
Part of the pillar St Paul was beheaded on in Rome
Relic:
wristbone of St Paul
We nosed around the shops, successfully read the bus map route and timetable and got on a bus to Silema, double checking with an ever so helpful bus driver for some more shopping.
There were much better stores here and we all got a little something, jewellery, dresses, miniature Maltese liqueurs for 2euros (almond and honey flavours should be tasty!) We got some lovely photos at a fountain square area and at the waterfront just as the sun was setting, the background seems almost Italian against the sunset and promenade. Exhausted we found yet again a reasonably priced restaurant for dinner, a pizzeria along the promenade with all the other restaurants. Rebecca and I shared a margarita, the cheese was divine, more ricotta, I simply can not get even of this delicious cheese! We then stopped for ice-cream and ate it at the fountain square. I'm not usually a big ice cream eater but this was excellent. I choose Tiramisu and Rebecca got Pistachio, both were creamy and delicious, mine even had little bits of sponge in it, it tasted like a creamy coffee baileys! The square was emptier now and the grounds fountain squirts were lit up with lights, Lauren and I posed doing and M for Malta with our arms. Got the bus back and discovered the "pool party" seemed to be still ongoing. But this sounded like no ordinary pool party, it was atrocious Karaoke with power ballads from the 70s, 80s and 90s, cringe! A party for the middle aged and old, thank goodness we didn’t go! welcomed sleep. Today has been filled with foods that are so tantalizing to my taste buds, Food at home seems so bland in comparison!
Yesterday and today has reminded me of the Buddhist religion and the positioning of their temples in particular. It seems the Catholics like to place their churches here high above, looking over great expanses of land and sea views, something the people can look up to, for hope and for God, looking over the lands and appreciating the natural beauty that god has created and continuing this splendour inside with the ornate and colourful decoration and artwork. A sort of hardship and pilgrimage to reach these places, once there you feel closer to God with the beautiful views inside and out and the way you are so high in the sky, closer to the heavens. amazing!!
Jade also changed our dolphin swim to Monday
IVA! yes!
