Malta meandering

It’s almost two weeks of living and working in Malta – and while my life is now turned down a notch (with summer sunshine and relaxation time) I have been enjoying a very different lifestyle to cold, wet, hectic New Zealand.

Nursing the plants back to life, with flowers starting to bloom

And the trellis vine is showing signs of green!

It’s several days since my last story, and I have again had a few maintenance issues, car and printer (need to reset something), but nothing I can’t fix! Getting used to fixing things and moving on!

Sunday found me rummaging through the car boot market at 7am, followed by exploring Birgu, one of the old cities where we have stayed

As you can see from the bunting – a feast was forthcoming!

Being early on a Sunday morning the square cafes were full of “Men” gathering for their morning coffee (or beer) while their wives did the housework and prepared the Sunday lunch! I was very kindly invited to have my Sunday lunch with my cousins and spent a very pleasant afternoon with them….all!

The work (mornings) week as rolled on and the afternoons spent reading, watching FIFA women’s World Cup games (yes I have very cleverly managed to find the games on one of the 500 channels!), taking a long walk(to keep the joints moving and today an excursion to Valletta (the capital city)

Taking the bus from Paola, with a driver who, I’m sure, thought he was a Grand Prix driver, had me in the city in 10 minutes! I seriously thought we might end up on our side as we raced around the corners!

A memorial to Daphne Caruna, the journalist who was murdered because she exposed corruption here in Malta!

The horses still braving the midday sun, waiting for one of the boat people to take a ride! I did think this activity was discontinued a few years ago, but there were several of these guys peddling their wares, so I’m guessing not!

A cool beer in the Upper Barakka gardens, while the (hot) workers set up all the kiosks for the wine festival, kicking into action tomorrow for the weekend, might be worth a visit! I had already decided I wasn’t going to risk encountering my earlier bus driver, and would take the ferry across the harbour.

Down the walls of Valletta in their lift and across to the sea…

To Bormla (another of the old cities)

Upon arriving – there was a bus coming down the hill heading to my home town of Paola – no time for a double hit of cocktails at the nearby cafe! Which was probably a good thing as I really needed to visit the supermarket on my way home (down to the last roll of loo paper!)

Was planning a beach visit, that is now tomorrow’s plan – the beauty of travelling solo, my plans just roll with the tide…