Ancient Relic Tour Day 12

It was nice to have a break from tour guiding for the fossils today and have someone else do it for me. We had booked a tour before we left and it was great to be chauffeured around and have commentary from a guide for the day.

We covered a lot of ground…..Mosta Dome, Mdina, Rabat, Ta’Qali Craft Village and the San Anton Gardens.

Mosta Dome Church was amazing…there are 2 clocks on each tower…they say to confuse the devil as to what time masses are held. This is called the miracle church as a bomb crashed through the dome during the Second World War while 300 of the congregation were in the church and the bomb did not explode. They have a replica of the bomb in the church and you could actually see where the hole in the dome had been.

We got up close and personal with the prickly pear, were in awe at Mdina from a distance and had fun putting Dear Uncle in the stocks at the dungeon.

The fossils were enjoying free samples of nougat, the filigree displays were remarkable and St. Paul Grotto was an incredible piece of Malta history.

We find we are quite exhausted when we get back to the hotel at night…I’m sure a combination of much walking and the incredible heat and sun.

Ancient Relic Tour Day 11

Today we opted for the Hop On Hop Off  Bus tour to the North…awesome…..I just love a tour where your bus driver will sell you a beers for the trip!

It was a really great tour and you have headphones that give you a ton of historical and interesting information as you go along.

We stopped off at Golden Bay and Bugibba but the rest of the time we just stayed on the bus to see all the sights as the tour takes a full three hours without even getting off.

The Mediterranean is so beautiful with bays and beaches all around the island. There is so much history here, every place you visit has another story or historical relevance.

Dear Sweet uncle, bless his heart…he gets himself in such predicaments. We stopped and had a few drinks at Golden Bay and after any liquid the fossils need to ensure they make a visit to the facilities. Dear Uncle ventures off, then Dear Mom and I figure I might as well go as well. I enter the ladies room and both cubicles are in use. All of a sudden the door opens and out comes Dear Uncle, and without missing a beat he says hi to me and goes to the sink to wash his hands. I indicate that he is in the ladies room…before he can make contact with the sink, he’s all flustered and goes flying out of the room. OMG….these guys are priceless.

Bugibba is quite lovely with a very nice promenade and square surrounded by restaurants and cafes. Dear Mom was out for the count before we even made it back to the hotel…

Ancient Relic Tour Day 10

Even though we have a tour booked in a couple of days that includes Marsaxlokk, Dear Mom wanted to have extra time there so we headed out today, and as it was Sunday, it was market day.

Not only were there vegetables, fruit, spices and fish there were also many stalls selling clothing, shoes and housewares. After seeing the sharks laid out in the market, I’ll probably think twice before getting in the ocean.

The village is very picturesque…colourful boats on the water and the local  parish church anchors the whole village.

We had dinner again tonight at Saracino’s which is right beside the Attard Church and it was a great night for a stroll. The pool area at our hotel is beautiful in the evenings as was the church.

A good day overall until we visited the concierge to get tickets for the bus for Monday. Jokingly I said “we need 2 adults and 1 child”….what I really meant was “we need 1 adult and 2 children”. That got the concierge laughing when Dear Mom pipes up and says that I’m lucky I’m too big to spank. The concierge puts 2 + 2 together and says….”that’s your mother”…….”yes and this is my uncle, they are brother and sister” …..he looks puzzled and I can see the wheels turning so I put him out of his misery…”you thought we were husband and wife?” pointing at Dear Uncle….he smiles sheepishly and laughs….by now Dear Uncle is beaming…..God help me…..married to a fossil*_*)#*_)*&#_)_)*_)*__&^%*(

I think NOT.

Ancient Relic Tour Day 9

What a whirlwind day today….Dingli Cliffs and Mdina.

We took a challenging little bus ride today out to Dingli Cliffs…a long drawn out travel, but well worth the trip.The views were spectacular…they say on a clear day you can see Libya, however not today…very hot and hazy.

Did you know that radar was first invented in Malta? It was, during the second world war. Who knew? Did you know that you shouldn’t be near a radar station if you have a pacemaker……I know what you’re thinking….but no, we were safe as Dear Mom does not have one.

What she does have though, is a very small bladder.  We had been walking for some time and the heat is almost unbearable most days. Dear Mom was getting rather tired so I had them sit for a bit while I travelled on ahead to see if the walk would be worth the effort. Dingli  Cliffs is a deserted god forsaken place, had it not been for the views, no one would venture there. It’s almost like you’re in the desert … there is hardly any vegetation, and no inhabitants.

As I’m walking back to meet them , I see Dear Uncle but no Dear Mom…my first thought is “where the hell is she now”, when out from behind a stone wall she pops up…..”I just couldn’t hold it any longer” she chirps…OMG, really? I don’t want to even know.

From Dingli Cliffs we headed back by bus to the city of Mdina. Beautiful. A walled city with a maze of small streets and alleys…you could easily get lost had the city not been so small.

St. Paul’s Cathedral was breathtaking, such architecture, and ornateness.

Let’s see what mischief they can get into tomorrow.

Ancient Relic Tour Day 8

Wow,  where has the first week gone…

This is the shuttle that has been dropping us off at all the sites in Malta. It’s been wonderful to have the service, it makes it so much easier to find our way around.

Today we visited Sliema…the town across the harbour from Valletta. It has a wonderful promenade along the water and hosts the largest mall in Malta. Right beside the mall, people swim and sunbathe off the harbour rocks.

Nothing like the malls at home, but a welcome site.  The harbour views are wonderful and as we walked we came across a creepy “duck village”.  The views across the harbour to Valletta are breathtaking and the pictures don’t do the views justice. In the evening we had prebooked a tour to a Maltese Folklore Dinner Show which was held at Limestone Heritage Park and Gardens, an old quarry that has been redesigned for weddings and events. It was an amazing venue…and we enjoyed an evening of music, dance and traditional food.

I think the Fossils are enjoying themselves, and we have been incident free which is a relief for me this trip. Dear Mom falls into bed at night exhausted and asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.

Ancient Relic Tour Day 7

Well the day started off quite well….we are having our breakfast in the formal dining room of the hotel, when all of a sudden dogs start barking…..everyone is looking around and these stupid things keep yipping and yapping until Dear Uncle realizes that the barking is coming from his Iphone. Seems he can set the alarm to a number of ring tones and he chose barking dogs. Not bad enough that now he recognizes it’s his phone, but he just can’t seem to locate it….Is it in his shirt…no, is it in his pants…no…now EVERYONE in the dining room is looking at our table…..finally he finds it in the knapsack he brought……Heaven forbid….

Once that fiasco was finished we headed out to St.George’s Bay….just lovely…then walked around a few bends in the road and came upon St. Julian's. The water was amazingly calm and crystal clear.

 

Back at the hotel, for dinner we walked to a nearby restaurant called Saracinos….lovely and delicious.

So what was on the menu…..we had vino…of course, bruschetta, Greek salad, tuna steak and chicken curry with rice. Yum!