Blogs from Malta, Malta, Europe - page 5

We decided to revisit Mdina (imdina)..a nice cloudy day would make for easy walking. The bus started from the 'Ferries' so we were able to get a seat.! It was full by the time it got to 'Balluta'..! Stopped at Ta Qali first & watched the ladies hand painting the glazes onto the table tops that would then be fired in a kiln. Then I watched a lady finishing hand thrown pots of which she had made many many the same! Lots of people around today. We caught the 186 up to Mdina and we wandered the limestone streets in the Eastern sector. Thinking we probably won't be back to Malta we took in some of Rabat again as well. Malta is a very different country to any of that we have visited. Always would have ... read more

Although we had planned to do a walking tour of Bucharest on our last day there, we’d already seen all the sights listed on the tour so decided to skip it. Instead, Ma and I went for a walk around our neighbourhood including Parcul Cişmigiu. Lovely park with a small lake in the middle..,maybe more of a pond, but big enough for row boats. Super chill with lots of folks sitting around enjoying the scenery. My favourite part of Bucharest was the Village Museum and further afield it was Bran Castle. As lovely as Romania has been, I am looking forward to moving on to Malta. For a change of pace from all these hotels, we rented an apartment in Valetta right in the heart of all the old timey stuff we want to see. Plus, ... read more

A cool day & early set off. We decided to go all the way out to Rabat. An hour journey first to Ta Qali (te Arli) an old air force base with airplane hangers overtaken by Artisans with offerings of hand blown glass, filigree jewellery, lace, ceramics, olive wood, ironware (knights daggers etc), very basic setup but the produce is very remarkable. We watched the glass being hand blown. Very quick & skillful & there was plenty for sale. To see it being made certainly made you appreciate the price. A few hours were spent admiring the skills as we went from hanger to hanger. Brian somehow happened to notice an Aston Martin 1958 classic collectable (worth 900,000nzd) amongst a group of classic rally cars sponsored by Mdina Glass. The Mdina & Valletta Glass manufacturers are ... read more

Walk along the promenade to Sliema. A 3+km walk and ended up at 'The Point' plaza which came out the other side at the Sliema ferries. The promenade is a fabulous and easy walk along the seaside..the sea still recovering from the thunderstorms so quite rough on the rocky shorelline. Lots of people and families out enjoying the sunshine and the breeze.... read more

Good sleep, always when it rains.. We made a go of it & went into Valletta...bus from Leyland just around the corner. It was light rain but manageable. We had a great stroll down Archbishop Street. Lovely shops & usually there would be many diners on the pavement. The city is beautiful with it's huge limestone blocks on the super grand sized buildings. Influences are many including Sicilian, Arab, French, Greek, Phoenicians, Turkish, Nth African., Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Normans, Spanish, Knights of St John. We walked back up the hill via Merchant Street to the Battery Salute point. We could see quite clearly across the natural deep harbour to the 3 cities & all the shipping movement. It's really nice to share travel experiences with Mary & John who share the same passion...& really nice to ... read more