Sights,Bites,Maltese Delights. Malta Oct 21. Day 10. Bus Trips, Gin Sips and imposter pizza

[WileyCoyote]

It looked set to be a nice day today

Can’t believe someone was in the pool this early...

so we made the snap decision to go on an open top tour as that still gave us a few days left to go back and visit anywhere if we fancied

After much deliberation we opted for the northern tour

Half way through the tour I had the genius idea of taking a photo of the numbered stop on the map so I could remember where we were. Should have done it from the start

Andy went down to have breakfast while I went to the concierge to get us booked onto one of the buses which would helpfully come right to reception.

The bus was due at 1115 so we had time to finish breakfast...

Which was mainly cake for me

and we finished about ten minutes before the bus arrived - we hadn’t realised though that it would be the south tour bus and we had to get off at Sliema and wait half an hour by the bay for the other bus to come along

There was a bit of a wait so we didn’t actually get going till nearer 1230 . Not a big deal but felt like quit a bit of hanging around - we would have just got a taxi to Sliema for 1230 if we had known ..

As we got underway I realised I had forgotten the selfie stick which have been handy to get some height above the side of the bus and also the battery in the camera was out of charge so it was down to the phone for pics today ...

Taking pics while moving is tricky at the best of times so over the course of the next few hours I accumulated lots of photos like these

I know, outstanding

The first bit of the tour is around the bay and marina

And the first of many churches with two clocks set at different times .. apparently done when constructed to confuse the devil.

The Florian gate

We passed by the main gateway to Valletta and then down some narrow streets with lots of churches

The old aquaduct

On the way to San Anton Gardens, the aviation museum, and craft market. You could see Mdina in the distance

Mosta Church - the third largest unsupported church dome in Europe.

Arriving in Mdina. such amazing views across the Island so you can see why it was the original fortified city. It dates back to 1500BC

I would definitely take a day trip to have a look around here. It looked full of history behind its high walls.

It was a bit tricky taking pics around this bit. I ended up with outstanding road shots instead of buildings

At some point we passed by the US Embassy and the national stadium - Malta were actually playing football at home this evening .

We also learned how windy(breezy) Malta is (no kidding) and how the vineyards have to be on sheltered land

On towards Mgarr and another fabulous domed church - and more odd clocks

A bit of a drive then towards Golden Bay where the bus stopped for a 15 minute break. Enough time for our necks to burn really badly in the sun !

And then a bit more farmland on the way to St. Paul’s Bay. Andy remembered coming here on a school trip . Must have a been a posh school as I only remember a trip to Ironbridge

Have to admit to getting a bit weary by this point and wanting to get off for a drink . We had brought water but the sun was blazing down and we’d been on the bus a few hours now.

Coming out of St Paul’s

We heard about those watch towers and how they signalled when they saw approaching pirates

The oldest watch tower allegedly being the one near to where locals lit a fire for St Paul when he was shipwrecked.

Round into Bugibba, much busier and we could see the casino of our hotel in the distance

And St George’s Bay and Paceville

The bus dropped us back at the hotel at 3.15 and we headed to the lounge for late lunch.

Cosmopolitan

And club sandwich

We were feeling a bit windswept and knackered so spent the rest of the afternoon chilling in our room before heading back to the pool for sundowners and canapé roulette.

The terrace bar gets good reviews on trip advisor but was only open for breakfast during our stay, probably only open at night in peak season.

Canapes were ok but not amazing

It was a nice spot though

We headed back to One Portomaso for dinner

I had a very nice Drumshanbo Gin

Andy went for red wine

And fish and chips

As I wasn’t hungry, I went for foccacia, expecting a few slices of bread.

See, to me, that’s an imposter pizza posing as foccacia
Andy laughed at me, my face was apparently a picture.

We spent the evening watching Malta get thrashed in the footy and chatting to a couple on the next table , who like us, had planned to be in Florida and ended up here in a similar fashion to us.

It was a lovely evening. Only a few more left now

[Silvercat]

Hello - hope you are well, any chance of some more of this? Sorry, I sound like Oliver Twist ... But in my defence, I'm really enjoying your trip report!

[jocat]

Beautiful blue sky today and that’s a good tip to take the photo of the numbered spots.

Food looks good too.

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by Silvercat

Hello - hope you are well, any chance of some more of this? Sorry, I sound like Oliver Twist ... But in my defence, I'm really enjoying your trip report!

See more...

Ha ha. I totally forgot I hadn’t finished 🤦 But I’m on it now and next day coming soon - later today …

Originally Posted by jocat

Beautiful blue sky today and that’s a good tip to take the photo of the numbered spots.

Food looks good too.

See more...

Hi there. I am replying backwards with this day first .. I dropped off the Dibb for a bit and didn’t see your replies . This was a lovely day. And a hot one !