8 April 2025 Sliema: Off to Valetta For Sushi

 

We are heading to Italy in just a few days so we went back to Valetta one last time.  It is a beautiful city and has many old buildings.  We planned on lunching and wandering but when we got to our 4.9 rated choice, it only had seven chairs, five of which were already filled with patrons.  Luck for us a very good sushi place was right next door.  They were having cherry blossom themed drinks and menu items in celebration of the cherry blossom season.  A few rolls, some tempura and a tasty cherry blossom brulee later and we are back to megandering the streets.  We decided to take the ferry back to Sliema but  it was not funning due to the waves.  We did not see any waves but they did not ask us.  So it was an Uber home to get some packing done.  Our month in Malta certainly went by very fast.

Valetta is the capitol of Malta so there are some ceremonial statues

When the sun is out, so are the people

Yellow necked eagle

4.9 out of 5 is a great rating but not if you cant get a seat

A golden root greets us at the sushi place

Decorated nicely

Big fish!

A volcano roll that actually looks like a volcano

A feast for the eyes and the mouths

Not sure of the function of this business

She wore leather!

I took some time in the morning to collect all the knobs and knockers

So many delightful additions to all the doors

Way back!

On our way to the ferry terminal

I like wine!

Suspended!  Drats

Off we go in an uber

Cheers to a great time in Malta among friends!

 It has been 2 years and 307 days since we began our Migration

6 April 2025 Sliema: Lunch and a Show

 

We walked past the Theatru Salesjan a few weeks ago and saw the advertisement for the "We Will Rock You" musical and we immediately got tickets.  The show was at 6 PM so we had time to meet Elliot for lunch at Haar.  This was a nice waterfront restaurant right next to the water polo pool.  Elliot shared in our wide ranging conversations and we enjoyed a tasty lunch.  Then we headed home only to meet up with Mara at 5:45 to get seated.  The show is a futuristic King Arthur, where GlobalSoft owns the rights to all music and will not allow anyone to perform music live.  Add the Dreamer character who leads his group of Goths, called Bohemians, to find a guitar hidden in a pile of rocks at the gates of Graceland.  It was performed by a group of youngsters from "Young@Part" and featured many Queen songs.  Much of the audience was made up of family members of the cast. we really enjoyed watching the show as well as watching the families watch the show.

The restaurant Naar as seen from across the water

Our view from the restaurant

A very fancy piece outside the restaurant

Lots of plastic flowers

My sweetie

Our waiter in his onesie

Some green tea will wake up a man

Lots of open seats ....now

Only one prawn but it was a big one

Duck spring rolls

Now the folks have arrived

The Dame Judi Dench Fan Club

ook she is so ovely

Distinguished gentlemen

A bit stiff, though

Getting ready for some great theater

https://youtube.com/shorts/IXfLEPhfEuY

I got to sit next to Miss. Hamilton's grandpa.  He was the youngest person in Malta ever to lead the creation of a ship.  He took over when the Brits left.

it is hard to see but 20 or so more of the smaller kids are lined up in front of the stage

The cast came out for applause

https://youtube.com/shorts/KqMt_AIUDm8

The crowd was all abuzz about the show

We heard singing and generalized carousing as we left the show.

 It has been 2 years and 305 days since we began our Migration

4 April 2025 Sliema: Off to Gozo HoHo We Go Part Deux

 

After Ggantija we tried to squeeze into the late bus.  After a few stops Leslie and Mara were able to join me upstairs.  We headed back into Victoria and then out again.  We had to add all of our layers as the northern side of the island was wind whipped.  So we were wind whipped too.  The island continued to show us delightful architecture.  There was the citadel up high in the town of Victoria and we circled it a few times, but the road leading to it is too small for the bus.  More churches, lighthouses, watchtowers, villages on the sea and glorious island vistas. We got to the port at 3:44 and watched the 3:45 ferry depart while we sat in traffic.  No problem, our ticket was for the 4:45 departure so we sat and had tea, coffee, ice cream and a lamington.  Then we were back at Valetta and Ubered over to a restaurant on the Strand.  It was an Asian fusion place and we had a nice dinner.

A nice village

Delightful peonies

So delicate

Finally some direction in my life

Where the Dutch here?  They left one of their windmills

Constant maintenance 

Large flat topped hills

Icons abound

A ship like decoration

A bird!

Nice setting

Little clearance at a narrow spot in the road

The Citadel 

Quite massive

A hobbit-hole door

Some jaunty characters

Dapper as always

A walled in chapel

Very small 

We see the sea

Looking back at the Citadel

A round watch tower

Aqueduct ruins

Another contestant on the "Our Parish Church is Best Show"

Peeking out over the hill

It is the Basilica Ta' Pinu

Its origins go back to 1575 at least

Many legends surround it

The time is impossible to read

Especially as it is so high up on the tower

The stations of the cross line this path to the top of the hill

It must be quite a hike

ATV convoy!

A lighthouse 

Terraced fields 

Quite delightful 

Look at the window, a very special shape

Next stop Sicily

Watch tower

A huge quarry

The famed Azure window

Excursion boats at the ready

Good hiking in these parts

Very rugged

Stone switchbacks

Back past the quarry

It is quite extensive

Notice the trucks to get a feel for the scale

These special caves grew the Maltese fungus a type of parasitic foul smelling plant revered for its medicinal properties

Shiny domes

A delicate window

Cactus and drought resistant plants

Lights up for the Easter festivities

Not Christmas lights

Nautical theme

Limestone for the asking

Heading back into Victoria

Red dome

Icon

Another church

Promotion?

Statues everywhere

Detailed facade

We did not see any trains

Tire storage place

Modern sculpture

Maltese cross all spiffy

Our last church drive by

A tower?

Almost over

Back to the port

The 3:45 ferry

Back in Malta and hungry

Nice little house

 It has been 2 years and 303 days since we began our Migration