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Published: February 13th 2016
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We all went our own ways on the final day. The Other Half and I headed to the Silent City, Mdina. The silence was deafening. Cars are banned in the main from the old walled town and this morning the horse drawn buggys were all redundant. There would not even be the sound of hooves on the cobbles to break the silence. I was keen that the Other Half should see the fortress town high on a hill. We headed through the Mdina Gate in to the town. The weather had been mixed in terms of visibility whilst we had been on the island, but you could see for miles this morning. I took us in the direction of the previous vantage point for a view towards Valletta. A sign on the walls warns of danger. It was a long way down. We savoured the view and the silence.
All might have been quiet in Mdina, but others were having a more eventful morning. The burning ambition to revisit old pre-marital holiday stomping grounds by the Python and the lure of Popeye Village for the Man in the Middle sent the Gang of Three to the north of
the island. Popeye Village was the film set of the 1980 Robin Williams release and is now an all round entertainment location. They even do weddings - I have just read that on their website in the interests of research. After successfully negotiating the first part of the plan, 3 steps into Popeye Village disaster struck as one had an unscheduled brush with a pavement. A lot of blood later, a bang on the head, some helpful input from Olive - not the one from On the Buses, but the Popeye Village version - they were on their way in a complimentary taxi to check out the Malta NHS. There were good reports all round, both for the speed of the interception from the Popeye Village staff and the hospital at Mater Dei and a successful release later in the day.
Meanwhile I was updating the Other Half about exciting afternoons past in the National Stadium, which was below our elevated position in the distance. St Paul's Cathedral - not that one - was closed last time for morning service. There was a school choir group singing away inside, but no sign on the door that Monday wasn't for
visitors. We peeked inside. There wasn't a great deal going on and few businesses were open. The Other Half took an interest in a Mdina glass shop, but the complexities of getting home overcame the desire to purchase.
We walked down into the moat in pursuit of photo opportunities. The Magpie cafe was doing no business at the exit. We found a more interesting venue in the sunshine in the main square in Rabat. The locals were primarily in the cafe over the road, but all the venues feature locals prices compared to downtown Valletta. The shops either side were Euro shops. The Other Half resisted another sudoko purchase, after the Nuremberg experience. After a brief walk round, we took the bus back to Valletta.
The updates were coming in from Mater Dei. We went for lunch in Il Griffen. The previous visit had been no fluke. Excellent again. Go! We walked the walls through the Hastings Gardens. Sliema looked well in the sunshine. The Man in The Middle made arrangements to meet us in Valletta. Python escorted the patient back to the hotel. Meanwhile, we had a non-Rabat priced coffee stop in the upmarket Cafe Cordina. The
selection of pastries and cakes are all very tempting. We opted to share. The Man in the Middle arrived and we had a beer. Big Brother and Motor Man had been amusing themselves in a motor museum up the coast, but announced their imminent arrival. It transpired to be lost in translation and some 45 minutes later, they surfaced. We relocated to "The Pub" on Archbishop Street. The place is also known as Ollies Last Stand. The hard drinking actor, Oliver Reed, bought his last round here in 1999 before being taken ill. He was in the bar with his wife, Josephine, some Maltese friends and crew members of a Royal Navy ship docked in Valletta harbour. Oliver Reed liked a drink, so it was quite fitting that he checked out not just in "a pub", but "The Pub". The last round purchased - 8 beers, 12 double rums and half a bottle of whiskey. He collapsed and died in the ambulance on the way to hospital. The Pub is now a semi-shrine to Reed - a stopping off place for film fans, sailors on shore leave and the just the plain curious looking for a drink. The decor is
dominated by insignia relieved from Her Majesty's ships that have docked. The upstairs features a vast array of graffiti and is a tribute to how ingenious people have been writing in every last corner. Motor Man and Big Brother had a timed route back to the Sliema ferry, which despite our bus tickets already being in hand, proved to be a speedy way back to base.
It was Big Brother's birthday. He wandered off from the ferry to seek out a birthday meal venue. The selection was Ta Kris, an old bakery premises up an alley just round the corner from the hotel. It was rustic and specialised in Maltese dishes. The place was pretty much full, so booking was a plan. It was my first taste of Maltese rabbit. Strong, but nice. A good place. The patient had recovered enough from the Popeye Village pavement to come out with us. Bruised and battered, but not beaten. It was our last night, but after a hearty meal there was no room for further drinking. We would rise in the morning to do battle with the Maltese public transport system en route to the airport. The X2 return journey was
no less an aggravation than the arrival trip. Why would you not run a fixed timetable? Why would you cut services from 2 an hour from the popular Sliema and St Julians area? The hotel said every hour on the hour. The ticket place by the ferry at Sliema confirmed. We ended up waiting 45 minutes. Where was Blakey when you need him? It needs sorting before summer chaos arrives!!
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