Travels

This was our first full day in Malta. We had a breakfast in the room, I had some coffee in the Terrace Restaurant by the pool. We then packed some swimming stuff and headed out of St. Julian. Getting out was a bit of a challenge but we wound our way through the back streets and eventually got on the beach road that winds around the water and headed towards Sliema. The roads were very crowded and narrow, and after getting lost several more times, we found our way towards the central town of Mdina. The maps were relatively useless because the distances were so short that the towns blended into each other. On the way we got caught in a traffic jam and decided to stop at a roadside stall and get some fruits. We got a full case of peaches for about one Maltese pound. We then drove into Mdina and parked outside the old city and took a brief walk in a park. Saw an unknown tree that attracted a huge amount of bumble bees. Learnt to stay away from that tree! We then strolled into a gift shop and checked out some of the curios including an interesting antique pistol that Bebo got. Mdina is an old walled city with narrow lanes, curio shops and restaurant. Eventually drove through once of the entrances and took a stroll through the city visiting a few shops. Given it was my birthday we decided on a nice sit down lunch at a nice restaurant called Bachchus . Prior to that we had stopped at a little Café for some coffee and the typical peas palter of Malta. The restaurant was very good and I tried the local beer called “Cisk” (pronounced chisk). After lunch we walked back to the car and drove over to the Dingli cliffs. These are sheer cliffs that dropdown into the ocean. It was a hot-day. So spent just a little bit of time there and then decided to drive to the Blue Grotto, we were now in the heart of Malta and it was a strange rocky and desolate area. We were again miserably lost as we drove down narrow, steep gravel roads, using a few visible landmarks as compass directions. Not a soul around to ask questions. We eventually used the landmark of the cross of St. Joseph as a marker to finally wind our way down to the point where the boats for the Blue Grotto leaves. It is best to go to the bottom of the road and park where the restaurants are to avoid walking in the heat. Although parking is limited, a small car like we had could be tucked in the right places. We then walked down to the boat ramp and bought the 3 tickets for 7 Maltese pounds and also bought two straw hats since the boats are basically uncovered speed boats which seats 7 and it was a hot and sunny day. The boat trip takes one along the cliffs into The Blue Grotto are a series of caves on the cliff where the water takes on an unearthly blue color. The trip listed about 20 minutes and the sea was choppy on the way back; we finally got to one of the restaurants to cool off with a drink and then started the drive back to the hotel. Thankfully, thieve was a tower near our hotel which could be seen for miles and acted as a greet landmark to find the hotel.  Once back at the hotel Mikku and Bebo gave we my Maltese birthday gift and then Bebo and I went to the pool for a little bit. For the rest of the evening we hung out in the room, ordered room service and eventually called it a day. The balcony was good, but was a little bothered by mosquitoes.