Saturday, April 2, 2016

Day 2 - Blowin' in the Wind

What a day! We awoke before the sun arose well rested and ready to go. We could hear the church bells out our window and the howl of the wind. I think it is going to be a blustery day Pooh Bear, crossed my mind. As the sun came up it unveiled dark grey skies. So much for a sunny day in the Mediterranean. However, today was a big day because the adventure begins with Tom behind the wheel.
 
White Knuckles
The car hire company picked us up in the front of the hotel and we had a crazy ride back to their office, which was right at the bottom of the steps from the hotel. Signing our life away and armed with a GPS we were ready to take on Malta on the other side of the road. First stop was Mdina.


Steve, a work mate, had told us about this beautiful medieval walled city called, Mdina. He had visited a few years ago on a cruise vacation of the Mediterranean. He was right! There is a ton of history in every alley you explore, as well as a beautiful church which is the home of the Archbishop of Malta. I could write on for hours, but they say a picture says a thousand words, so let us do pictures instead.


The fresco in the dome depicts the conversion of St Paul.



The Bishops of Malta are buried underneath the floor with beautiful crafted marble marking the person and his life. Recently the Bishop of Malta died and has been laid to rest on the right hand side of the Altar. No top has been completed for him, but those who follow may have a hard time finding floor space, when a church has been around since the 1100s there have been a lot bishops.


The side Altars are ornate and absolutely beautiful. A priest prays while waiting to hear confessions.
 
 
The Main Altar is just stunning! We were so glad we arrived early and had time to visit the church and the museum by ourselves.
 
Walking around the city there were all sorts of alleys and nooks to explore. The crowds were picking up and the clops of the horse drawn carriages echoed on almost every street. Truly a lovely town that has survived so much over the last 1000 years. Yep I did not add a zero. 
 
 
As the people began to pour in we fled the city of Mdina for the Cliffs of Dengali.nnThe cliffs stand 750 feet above the sea. 
 
 
The winds were howling at 40+ knots, which made it hard to stand. So getting close to the edge was out of the question. The landscape looked like it was made for goats and sheep. As we were standing there a herd passed us by. 
 
 
Escaping the wind we ducked into a restaurant overlooking the sea. Malta is known for their fresh herbs and wild flowers that are harvested from the rocks of these cliffs. Janet had a ravioli dish stuffed with these wild flowers and herbs. AMAZING!

After lunch we headed down the cliff line to take in the view. We were approached by a lady that was in need of a lift. They had missed the bus and the next one would not come for a long time. They were very brave and hopped in the car and we were off to the Blue Grotto. The GPS took us the short way, which had us going down small gravel roads through farm land. Must admit it was pretty scary.

 
 
Arriving at the Blue Grotto, we stood in awe. The water color, even on this cloudy day, was breath taking. 
 
After a few pictures we said good-bye to our new friends from Poland and headed back to our hotel.

The car escaped any injuries with Tom the wheel today. We hope this trend will continue for the rest of the week. It is scary out there and a few curbs surprised us… but always on Janet’s side.
 
We return home for a short rest and headed off for dinner. Three hours of pure enjoyment! The staff was amazing and the food was excellent. We stuck with Maltese cuisine and wine. Risotto with sea urchins and tortellini stuffed with squid and octopus started our meal. 
We both had fresh fish from the sea and a Chardonnay that paired well. The sommelier gave us a tour of his cellar that was actually built into the cave of the restaurant. 
The restaurant, the Arches, has been in business for 45 years, so you can imagine the quality of bottles in the cellar.
 
And now it is time to say good night to all on the other side of the pond.

 
 

9 comments:

  1. It makes me chuckle so much that day one of having a car and you are already giving strangers rides! Great stories and great pictures, I want to try that ravioli!

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  2. Did you research the restaurants or did you just pick what looked good when you got there?

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    1. A little of both. I had checked out a few of the restaurants online in Malta and the village we are staying showed up numerous times. Mellieha is way out of the hustle of Valletta, but for some reason has a solid group of dining options. The one we ate at last night has a very good wine cellar ofr Maltese and European wines and that was the major draw for me. All in all... I'm not sure you will find a bad meal on island. At least we have not.

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    2. Also added a couple photos from the Arches. Place is beautiful!

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  3. And you're off! I love it that you already made new friends..and oh my! These photographs are so lovely. Those arches took my breath away...

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    1. The arches are called the blue grotto. Today we are headed to Gozo to see the Azure Window. Hopefully a great shot for tonight's blog.

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  4. The wine cellar is amazing...Suddenly I need a glass of wine😆

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    1. The food and service matched! Great place for dinner! Oh yeah you would be happy there are parking spots all over for electric cars. Gas cars not so much.

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  5. Wow, Tom! Fantastic photos and wonderful narrative! You need to market your blog to the Malta bureau of tourism! I'm sure glad you got me straightened out from "Blogfest" to "BlogSpot"!

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