A quieter day

I finished yesterday saying that today would necessitate an early start. But as I got ready for bed I realised that I was very unsure about today’s outing, an all-day jeep tour of Gozo.

I didn’t fancy spending much of the day in a jeep, I didn’t really fancy (unusually for me) an early start, and I didn’t really fancy the inevitable rush between arriving back in Sliema and going for dinner. So although I had wanted to see Gozo, I decided that would have to wait for any possible return visit to Malta. I messaged our organiser and let my friends know before going to bed.

So today I got up at what is for me a relatively late time, 8.00. I took my time over breakfast, and had a short chat with some friends at this hotel who'd opted out of the trip. They were meeting other friends, here on a cruise, so I had the day to myself. I decided to go back and see more of Valetta.

I caught the bus and as we had done yesterday got off at the end of the line, near the Triton fountain. I was able to take my time over getting some more photos here and in the area around the city gates.

St John’s Co-Cathedral

I made my way towards St John’s Co-Cathedral, taking a few more shots as I went. I had noted the length of the queue to get in yesterday, so wasn’t sure if I would bother. But when I reached the area where everyone was queuing, I realised that there were three lines: one for group tours, one for regular visitors and one for those with a pre-booked online ticket. The latter was by far the shortest so I thought it was worth seeing if I could buy a ticket on my phone for immediate entry. I could indeed, as it was only the date that needed to be specified. Armed with that ticket I got in within five minutes whereas the main queue would have taken more than thirty, I am sure!

Main queue weaving across the entrance area

Once inside I found it very impressive rather than beautiful. The ceiling paintings appealed to me most as I'm not a big admirer of polychromatic marble. I started off following the audio guide but after a while abandoned that in favour of just wandering and taking photos (permitted without flash).

One of the most interesting areas was the collection of Caravaggio paintings and detailed descriptions, with an effective AV presentation describing his style, compositional techniques etc.

When I left the cathedral, I headed for a nearby café where I got a table with a view and an iced coffee. Then I explored further, going down (and up!) some of the steeper streets we hadn’t covered yesterday.

I found a church dedicated to Saint Wistin (Saint Augustine) and popped inside. A mass was in progress so I just took a couple of quick photos and left.

I also went to see the church dedicated to Saint Paul Shipwrecked, but just as Google had warned me it would be, that one was closed.

As I walked, I was taken by the many very old-fashioned looking shops and their signs.

I stopped again for a pistachio ice cream then decided to head back to the hotel. I rather cheekily used the loos in the very swish Phoenicia Hotel, then studied the map to work out where to catch my bus. I arrived at the stop just as one was starting to pull away but he saw me and stopped to let me on.

Lazy afternoon

Getting off near the hotel I stopped to buy water and take a couple more photos nearby.

Back in my room I cooled off for a bit and downloaded my photos, then went to sit by the pool. My friends joined me there and some of us had a swim in the cold but refreshing water.

Evening in Sliema

In the evening our VT dinner was arranged in Ta Kris, a traditional Maltese restaurant near the Sliema waterfront. We took a bus down and I went to shoot a few photos of the view across the bay to Valetta, glowing in the setting sun.

I then went to join everyone in the restaurant. The food was very good. We shared platters of meat, cheese and various spreads, then I had stuffed peppers before the shared dessert platter with date fritters and excellent halva. I also enjoyed a glass of local white wine.

Maltese starters platter

It was lovely seeing everyone but it was very noisy and hot in the restaurant and hard to have a proper conversation. Consequently we didn’t stay long after the meal but caught a Bolt back to the hotel.