Sunday, first day back in Malta, a morning trip to Mdina, the Silent city on the hill in the middle of the island was anything but silent! The usual absence of cars was not a thing! And horses and carriages and humans….we were in and out in an hour as the objective was to visit the Maltese glass shops! Job done we headed home and parked up Vivienne…

It was feast day in our town…

The square was closed and the buses diverted…so we walked to the Three cities to meet the family for Sunday lunch…

At Wild West restaurant….a very Maltese sounding venue! The breeze was nice and the day very pleasant!

I finally got my hamburger that I had been craving for several days.. After a cocktail stop for dessert, not really needed but everyone wanted…we came home and crashed early to the background noise of the fiesta music and fireworks!

Mondays excursion was a trip to Valletta to visit St Catherine’s monastery and the secret garden and, on the next block, the Black Friars Museum and St Domenic’s basilica (church) – a two for one ticket at the exorbitant (not) price of €13!

St Catherine’s Monastry, no longer an active nunnery, but founded in 1575 to house female orphans and girls in trouble….The internal courtyard garden….surrounded by the living quarters was silent and peaceful, the stone buildings enclosing this garden housed the utility rooms, burial chambers, chapel and sleeping pods!

Washroom, bedrooms and laundry

Kitchen, ovens, rosewater making apparatus, chapel…

A place of calm and simplicity!

The rooms all accessed via an arched, covered walkway circumnavigating the garden!

And walls adorned with the usual religious monuments of the catholic religion.

Nowhere is complete without a cat here in Malta, this guy trying to escape as I suspect some of the interned young girls of the past did…

And no garden is complete without a succulent bloom…the only plants that flourish in the Mediterranean summer!

Then it was off and around a couple of blocks to the Black Friars Monastery and St Dominic’s church..,

This was a great time to visit as all the bunting (red velvet) had been put up on the walls in readiness for the church feast celebrations. This is still an active church and monastery so the monks quarters were not accessible…

Silver candlesticks and famous oil paintings were out in every corner for the celebrations…

St Dominic statue out of his corner and in the middle of the church – prime position

The order of the day was red velvet, Chrystal chandeliers, gold, more gold and silver! These Maltese churches have a wealth behind their doors that we find hard to comprehend!

This church was established in 1571 and has stood the test of time, escaping the bombing damage of Valletta in World War Two.

History lesson over…we were once again out on the streets of Valletta…

Walking up.. to find some lunch and a cool drink..

The Irish pub was the location of choice… for the next couple of hours…in a side street with the breeze keeping us cool, only interruption was a hornet the size of a bumble bee that decided to join us for lunch…the Maltese ladies at the next table said we don’t want to be stung by this guy as we would end up in hospital!

Today is Jill’s last day in Malta before she heads off her next adventure…so we are going to hit the Birgu street Market!

The last two days in Cagliari (Sardinia) we felt like old hands – knew where we hadn’t been and where we wanted to revisit. Our hotel smack bang in the middle of old town meant we could head off in any direction to explore.

The mornings were great walking weather and on Thursday we headed to the port and wandered around the harbour before breakfast..

Slightly overcast as the sun rose through the clouds

And burned off to a blue sky day…

The home of Luna Rossa Prada is here, the one our kiwis beat out to win the America Cup last year in Barcelona…

And where our own Peter Burling will be for the next challenge as he jumps boat to the Italian Team!

Meanwhile a cruise ship rolled in to disembark all its boat people for a day in Cagliari…

A familiar face, the old seagull, catching the morning breeze on the Seawall boulders! A welcome change from the rafts of scavenging pigeons in the town centre….

Back to the hotel for a coffee and pack the beach bag for a second day at Poetto beach…now heading for the bus with confidence! However…

The closed cafe streets all open up in the mornings for the delivery trucks and cars and it is a “humans take second place” affair! As you dive in and out of doorways to let vehicles pass!

We decided to get off the bus early and see if we liked one of the many beach clubs at the southern end of the beach! A slight mistake, as the walk from this end to where we ended up was in the blaring sunshine and considerably further than anticipated! We also needed a loo stop (of course) and the public toilet was a bowl set in the ground and smelt like the long drops on a summers day! One does what one has to do…and finding all the southern end beach clubs very crowded we continued the 3-4 km walk to the tried and true, less populated, option from the day before….the drop bag and first dip in the sea was possibly the best thing that had happened all morning!

A book read, several swims, a snack at the lido and back to the hotel (bus) for a cool shower before the evening dinner selection! Actually we did have to take a stop after the bus ride for a refreshing cocktail to round off the afternoon!

Now our last night of eating options….I had spied a cafe the previous two nights, which was always full, where its patrons were eating bowls of mussels! I had to have these before I left!

Entree size and about 30 mussels in a tomato flavoured soup! Just as good as they looked! I did share a couple with my travel buddy, but cleared the bowl and drank the soup (mostly) selfishly to myself!

Yesterday was our last day, and we weren’t flying back to Malta until the evening, so we packed and stored our bags at reception…and visited the local church that had been our window view for the last four days!

Starting our day with steps (again) we had the place to ourselves and walked around it to its piazza….where like every tag-able wall in Cagliari, this one also sported the locals artwork! Tagging is still definitely a thing here!

We had a little peek inside

Before we headed off (on foot again) in the only direction we had not explored towards what we had worked out was the modern shopping mall…and it was…there were a couple of tricky navigational challenges until we worked out how to cross the highway!

The mall was a modern affair with lots of shops with sales (or salads as they are called here) air-conditioned and nothing we felt we needed to buy!

Nearing lunchtime and a little foot (and leg) sore we thought to take a bus back…ok not so expert on the buses…we walked…dodging the plethora of dog poo that adorned these residential streets of this newer part of town! Another 40 minute walk spent looking at our feet …. for obvious reasons…we did not want to get to the airport smelling of dog poo!

With another two hours before we had to collect our bags and head to the airport, we once again investigated the eating options…not at this point realising we had saved the best for last! A beer or wine + a ciabatta roll with ham,cheese and tomato + a cappuccino for a mere €12 and as I paid the bill, the waitress gave us a shot of a local liquor to top it off!!!

Full and relaxed…we collected our bags and took the train to the airport with our two hour check in time to perfection…

Or so we thought…two hours turned into 5 as there was an airport strike in Italy, which again we only found out after clearing a manic customs! Then to top it off…another 40minutes after boarding the plane due to a technical “issue”. We finally arrived back at our Malta abode after 9pm!

After a degustation at La Nonna Rosa (seafood option) last night, breakfast this morning was an unneeded event….just a bit of takeaway fruit.

We then went to the downtown area to wait for the information centre to open…packed with beach going items and flamingo hunting eyes!

The tourist train, waiting for its day to begin also…together with the park pigeons…

Drinking from the water fountain….

And sitting atop the centre park monument…sometimes you’re the statue and sometimes you’re the pigeon – this morning the pigeons were ruling the roost!

The information centre opened at 9am and we left after collecting a street map, none the wiser how to catch a bus to Poetto Beach and the flamingo reserve…other than it was an orange bus and left from over there (a wave if the hand for directions) …bearing in mind over there was the bus station with numerous bays to choose from and no mention of the bus colour!

We finally boarded a blue bus with Poetto on the front…which headed off in the general direction….on the way we spied a couple of flamingos flapping away in the salt pans, before arriving at the last stop having had three policemen board the bus just before arrival (with only us and one other man still on board!) Oh oh! what’s going on here?….and it was a ticket check…rather an overkill for three (paid up) passengers…

As we disembarked we found a beach lido, as a bathroom stop was needed, and had a coffee…there was a beach club in front with brollies and loungers or the free beach area to the side.

We decided to splash out €12 each and take a chair for the day.. dived in the Chrystal clear water with a wave rolling in!

Very pleasant for an hour or so, reading peacefully until the wind came up and the clouds rolled in…actually got a bit chilly, so we went back to the lido for another coffee (and restroom stop) around midday.

Then it was off in search of these infamous flamingos…we had to cross the main highway to the wetland area, which we couldn’t enter but got some great views of the pink salt pans (still no flamingoes)

We walked about a kilometre along the edge of the highway playing dogems with the highway traffic…as no pavement or barrier on roadside…

The salt pans were rather picturesque, however we gave up on the pink flamingo hunt…and headed back to our beach chairs…

The sun peeped through the clouds a bit and we had another swim in a sunny moment…then we felt raindrops…so packed up around 3ish and beelined once more for the lido cafe …this time for a beer, gin and a late lunch of salad. The rain shower was a 5 minute wonder, but we decided we were somewhat ready to make tracks for our hotel shower..

The rain had warmed up the afternoon, and an almost cold (hotel) shower was the wake up call we needed, before hitting the streets again for our evening outing!

There are hundreds of pink flamingos in the Indian souvenir shops around our area…may just have to be content with buying a €3 one to remind us of what we may have missed!

We found a snacks cafe and had a drink, only to be joined by two old guys…yes we are old, but they probably had 15-20 years on us…they scuttled their chairs to our table and we had no conversation as they spoke no English and we spoke no Italian…so they just kind of leered at us, it was a bit creepy. We very quickly sculled our drinks, paid our bill and left to find another venue!

Still full from our late lunch we both agreed a dessert and Irish coffee was the order of the evening!

Tiramisu for Jill and red berry cheesecake for Sue… perfect end to a pink beach day!

Just realised my travel buddy has crashed…so that’s me for the day!!

Today was a wandering day after a breakfast of champions….apricot jam toast, yogurt, watermelon and muesli! Then it was off to explore the old town of Cagliari….UP… old towns are always up…and a very cool 22degrees at 8.30am, very pleasant for walking…

Fresh as a daisy…after Malta humidity we felt like mountain goats on a spring morning…

The first of our many flights of stairs at the Bastion of St Remy, a monumental staircase, terrace with panoramic views built in the late 1800s.

Already at 9am, we realised we had thigh muscles….but manageable as hill top cobbled streets levelled out to just sow incline roads and pathways…

However the terrace view was amazing….looking back down over the town…

Looking down on the wall…

We carried on up…further into the old town…through the residential areas and archways…to the cathedral of Santa Maria …

Build in the 1300s….and restored over the centuries.

The houses perched on top of the wall, with views to die for….and somewhat breathtaking as areas of the sandstone appears to be crumbling! Out the other side of the hill top village and a coffee stop on the way…then down towards the other side of the old town

Past the statue of Nicola da Gesturi  born in 1882, a Roman Catholic friar who throughout his life encouraged and led charitable works in Sardinia. Containing around the remains of the Roman amphitheatre…

The Roman Amphitheatre in Cagliari is the most important public building of the Roman Period. It is inserted in a natural valley on the southern slopes of the Hill of Buon Cammino.

Between the 1st and 2nd century AD, the builders carved into the bedrock most of the bleachers, the arena, the corridors and animal cages…

Ok so now it was warming up, nearing midday and at the bottom of the hill we came across the botanical gardens (and a toilet) for the mere cost of €4 to visit, it was worth the shade and the comfort stop!

Jill chilling by the water fountain and the Lily pads….

The two or three Lilly’s out in the morning sun adding a bit of colour to the greenery…

Somehow they knew we were foreigners and have placed a special photo opportunity for the non residents….alien species from New Zeakand…

Another cooling effect with the waterfall running from the top end of the gardens…which sported greenery from all over the world!

Many if these large trees are throughout the park with amazing root structures above ground …. There is a Latin version but for us English speakers ….Moreton Bay Fig!

After this meander we had run out of water and were ready for some fluid refreshments…so we headed back (now going downhill) towards where we had started (we hoped) …. However at lunchtime the world looked very different, with all the shops now open and cafe tables once again on the street. We did a few circles and google checks and finally found ourselves at a small cafe for an early afternoon cocktail! Then through the streets….

Pirate sweet shops…. Shoe shops, clothes shops…all of which we entered, if only to enjoy the cool of the air conditioning! No purchases…as luggage capacity is limited! But by 3pm, Ten thousand steps under our belt, nine flights(by calculation) of steps up and down… an iced daiquiri for Jill and a cold Bud (US beer) for Sue! Here, we met a nice family of Italian ladies (three generations)…. Mum (our age) daughter and granddaughter and enjoyed a cool couple of hours! Now back at hotel for legs up before we hit the town ….at the sociable hour of 9pm for dinner!

After a day of Maltese tribulations, we were excited to embark on our side trip to Cagliari Sardinia, which seemed perfect being only a one hour 20 minute flight north from Malta…not so easy with several travel disruptions(again).

Having checked out the bus timetable we found a great connection to the airport, however arriving at bus stop, there was a notice to say it was not operating this week due to Paola feast road closures! So, what do you ? Call a Bolt taxi and arrive at the airport with three hours to kill… this turned into three and a half hours as good old Ryan air flight was disorganised, as usual, and left late…

Finally arrived at our destination around 4.30pm and my Bolt app informed me that bolt doesn’t operate in this part of Italy! Tried Uber and the fare price was $70 for a 9 minute drive!

Needless to say, public transport seemed rather appealing at this stage! We followed the signs to the train station…a little bit of a walk…and purchased our tickets for $5 for both of us, very proud of ourselves!

Arriving at the town was very simple, no steps or tunnels to navigate…

And a little bit of transport history to greet us!

Google walking maps took us on an interesting tour into the old town and to our hotel…

Gasping for refreshments…the receptionist was very nice but somewhat slow and confused when we realised we were expected to share the double bed! We finally got through to her that we did t sleep together and she made up the sofa bed…

Phew…then out the door, we came across a small corner shop…grabbed some milk and water and dropped back to our room fridge, at which point we realised the fridge was not cold (another malfunction) luckily we could only buy UHT milk which has survived the night in the aircon!

Finally out the door again…around a corner and into a street lined with cafe tables and very smiling young men who welcomed us and gave us several sample of wine (Jill) and beer (Sue) u til we found one we liked!!! That was us for the evening…

We relaxed…chatted to the locals, ate dinner and retreated back to our room after a stroll around the block or two….where by then the old town was buzzing with activity! Hundreds of street cafes…souvenir shops, and local businesses open…around 9.30pm… today we will maybe have a siesta in the afternoon and try to stay up later with the nightlife around us!

Life in Malta is full of surprises, some fabulous and some not so fabulous… first the fabulous…

Last Thursday found me in Valletta with my cousin Evelyn to visit the grandmasters Palace…which has recently reopened to the public after a renovation hiatus….sporting a 450 year history dating back to the knights of Malta..security was at a premium and most artefacts behind the tourist lines…

Rambling over a full square in Valletta .,,

With its internal courtyards, staircases, restored armour and doorways for very tall people, which the Maltese are not!

Artwork in every corner from ceilings and chandeliers to clocks and doors…

To the armoury of the knights, sabres, cannonballs and helmets…..10€ well spent

I arrived home (Paola) in the late afternoon to a flurry of activity (at my penthouse level) of concrete pouring ready for the next stage of Maltese building…

This didn’t bode well as the workmen arrived at 6am the next day ready for the craning up of the blocks…

And so it was ready…the last two days have been filled with sawing and laying bricks – straight across from my front terrace garden .. interspersed with the banging of constant fireworks, and sheets of concrete dust filling my morning coffee time! The joys of living in the burbs! and just to add joy to my day the watering system has failed 2x….not ideal while trying to revive a water deprived garden…so needless to say lots of battery changes and hose watering activities!

My friend Jill arrived yesterday on her delayed travels…rather exhausted having had travel hiccups (or rather chokes)!on her way….so an early night last night and an early start….this is where the fun (?) began…

A nice early morning walk through the green belt, followed by a shopping excursion to collect some “cockroach hotels” , yes these guys are rearing their ugly heads (inside) looking for water, some more batteries for the retarded watering system and a couple of zips for some overalls! (having found a design fault)…just as all was going well….a Maltese lady fell in front of us and landed on her face…I rushed to her as blood was pouring everywhere from her face….grabbed the trusty packet of tissues and sat on the pavement with her trying to stem the blood flow ….Jill raced inside the nearest cafe to gather more tissues and water…meanwhile another man (with a walking stick) went off in search of medical help!! We had managed (with help of cafe owner) to get her in a sitting position…and three police arrived and called an ambulance…..she had a bump the size of an egg on her forehead and a very mangled nose and knee! I finally got her name….. Margaret….and handed her care over to the police! And carried on with the shopping expedition! Both Jill and I sporting her blood!

Poor Margaret will have a very sore head I am sure!

Then we needed a coffee…finished shopping and went to see Sammy and Anna with a bag full of Pastizzi (cheese and pea pastries) for lunch…

After our visit it was off to St Thomas bay for a swim….and this hit a road bump too! Nearing our destination…there was a couple of road cones, which appeared to be warning us of a broken car on roadside..as I went to go through the gap (easily large enough for a car) a grumpy old policeman stepped out and started abusing me …. Telling me I had to take the detour (which was far from obvious) and said “do you even have a drivers licence?” To which of course I said yes (politely) he proceed to abuse me and tell me “I don’t think so! You saw the (2) cones!” Then “get out of here you are blocking the road”….which I wasn’t as no one was allowed to go through and Vivienne is very small… I finally worked out to take the side street….and followed my nose!

I can just assume he was having a bad day! Anyway the swim was very refreshing…

Followed by a beer at Lemon and lime afterwards before tackling the drive home…pleased to see the grumpy cop had gone home to abuse his family and a local was doing a great job of redirecting traffic!

The days in my Malta home are filled with family, swimming and wandering (early in the morning) on the shaded side of the street! Temperatures are sitting around 30 degrees most days (and humid-feels like 33)with not a drop of rain on the horizon!

Saturday I left early and went to Pretty Bay, I was there by 7.30am and snavelled a carpark nice and close…the beach was relatively unpopulated at this time, apart from a local exercise group doing beach and water aerobics! So I went for a walk around the town….

The rent-a-chairs waiting for tourists – not me I sit on the sand at the far end with the local families!! mostly grandmas and kids…

A view back along the bay from the port side…

And a wander through the town square with the church dominating the centre …I then grabbed my beach bag from the car and plonked myself in a prime position on the sand to jump in and out of the water….until around 10.30am when the crowds rolled in and almost sat on top of me….Time to move on, I called in at Lidl (supermarket) on the way home to get my supplies for the chocolate pudding I was commissioned to make for our Sunday lunch at Sam and Anna’s… home to shower, a load of washing and watch the women’s tennis final(Wimbledon) on TV.

Sunday morning up with the birds (yes there is the odd one if you can hear them over the traffic and fireworks) and off to the Sunday Birgu flea market….there I was 6.30am to get the best bargains…and not a vendor in site…the football field where they hold it was, this day, a truck carpark…well when you get a lemon you make lemonade, or in this instance coffee….

A take out on the Birgu waterfront…in the shade…and bench seat all to myself…before heading to my cousins to help prepare our lunch … Spagetti bolognese (Anna) followed by a very sweet chocolate pudding ….I say due to the brown sugar being very dark and treacle like in the sauce. Last Tennis hit with the men’s final on Sunday evening!

Monday morning the shoes went on and I walked through the next town, Fgura,and down to Bormla …. Destination Cafe Rouge…still the best coffee in the south…

Wandering off the main drag through some of the more residential streets…again early morning always a shady side…

One does see a lot more on foot…down an alley behind locked gates …. A secret garden… I decided there was still a shady side of the street and walked back home…

The prickly pears (wild on the side of the road) growing their fruit … not yet ready but in August/September devoured by the locals.

And here in Malta, no wandering is complete without a homeless cat shelter!

Home by midday and extremely hot…into bathers and off to the Marsakala swimming hole off the rocks, before a salad and beer at the beachfront bar…

Today was a bit of a rinse and repeat…walking to the Birgu street market…which was on thank goodness!…purchasing my fresh fruit, dried nuts and biccies…Coffee (and water) at Rouge cafe, but this time busing home with my extra bag of food supplies!

Then off to the waterhole for my afternoon cool off….little internet hiccup today…which entailed a modem reset so all phones and tv etc are working again!

Maybe it’s an age thing, maybe it’s a me thing…as I successfully fill in my days wandering and relaxing….and enjoying my people time and just me time!

Malta is Malta, warm, loud, busy and always never ceases to fill my heart with something that is just part of me! The sunshine (every day) possibly has something to do with it and I can’t help but feel a little sad for my family and friends getting through their winter chills and rain!

A week has flown by and i have filled it with swims….

Balluta Bay – which entailed two bus rides each way, some standing…an hour floating in the cool water with my friend Charles, a coffee before and a cool beer at a cafe afterwards!

A visit to Valletta (by bus again)…

To meet my cousin and her baby, a cool beer for me and an iced cappuccino for her…

A car ride to Pretty Bay in the south…sandy beach….where I dipped in and out of the water and read my book.

Car maintenance, Vivienne was a little reluctant to get going in the mornings so took her to a mechanic (English speaking) who cleared the Maltese dust from her starter motor hoses and check the spark plugs…meanwhile I walked to the three cities, my favourite part of the island.

Playing dodgems with cars as I raced through the tunnels of the gates – this one St Helen’s gate to Bormla – now restored, as the top of the wall had been crumbling away for years and was only serving as a dog toilet last time I walked on it!

Green spaces now finished at the entrance to Birgu, the next old city I wandered through looking for a bank machine so I could get cash to pay mechanic!

This is one of the most beautiful of the three cities, most buildings lovingly restored to their original state….unlike the more touristy and residential areas where the old structures are being torn down in favour of high rise apartment blocks!

The money machine there out of service…so down to the harbour..

And a familiar sight of all the $$$$ siting in the sea…being July, the holiday season here…all the big boys (super yachts) are all out on the Mediterranean, entertaining the rich and famous!

Still in search of that elusive money machine (that worked) last stop back to Bormla to the bank…

More green spaces being well tended…I am really impressed with the areas that have been made back into grass around the cities, making for a much less dusty environment and attractive open spaces! The morning was now getting hot…after a couple of days reprieve with a sea breeze blowing in so I bused it back to where I had dropped the car…expecting another hour or so to fill in!

Steven, the Maltese/English speaking mechanic phoned me not long after I arrived and I marched up to collect Vivienne…€20 later (who gets anything done in their car in NZ for $40) we headed to the supermarket and home….

For another afternoon of book reading and Tennis…yes I have managed to navigate the 500 internet channels here and find Wimbledon…which is now down to the last 4 players standing!

Three days have passed and settling into Malta life! Already almost immune to the constant banging of fireworks from 7am until 11pm, overwatering of almost dead citrus trees(we’ll see if I can save them this time), wandering the neighbourhood and catching up with cousins…

Over the penthouse wall sunsets..as every tomorrow promises a clear blue sky day!

Friday, I went for a walk to the greenbelt in the early morning..

Through parks and along the fields..

There are actually a few trees here if you know where to look! And I even heard(not saw) a bird or two!

Tunnels under the bypasses so one is not playing dodgems with the morning traffic..

And playgrounds in the built up areas for the children to play…there is definitely an air of beautifying the villages…

In the afternoon I went and visited my cousins and met the youngest member of the Bonnici clan, here in Malta.

Saturday was a day out with mum and Bub – too hot for the baby for a beach day, so we went to Shoreline mall, where we could walk around in the air conditioning. He’s learning early…boys don’t like shopping so we headed south to St Thomas Bay for a cool beer – and supported the local hawkers with a shell bracelet each!

While sitting on the terrace, without air conditioning, the big fan above us and the coolness of the sea made for a very pleasant afternoon…

This morning (Sunday) I had planned a car boot market. visit, but the minute I stepped outside, the humidity opened up my sweat glands…so change of plan…got in Vivienne and drove to Kalkara/Birgu for a dip in the swimming hole…great decision and smart way to start a family cooking day…,

As has become a tradition…I head to my cousins on sundays,….Sammy tells us what he wants to eat and Anna and I cook for an early dinner. Anna was on the roast beef and veges, I was on trifle, which presented a few challenges…you cannot buy the cartons of custard and you cannot buy custard powder! However after a very bad attempt using an Italian product that smelt like custard powder but was in fact more of a baking soda…I ended up with a frothy bitter milky concoction! Anna and I went to the local store, where Anna knew we could get a pre-made UHT custard, but in tiny little cartons…so needed two! Again the cream was white not cream, and the end result was a bit sloppy! But still tasted good!

I headed home after helping clear up and arrived to a very cluttered garage door!…thank goodness for little Vivienne as the other side of the narrow street was full with large people movers and my 5 point turning area was only as wide as my car!

With no option(definitely no street parking around) I took a deep breath and my time…

Home safe and sound for an early night!

I left you yesterday, whilst sitting at Agen train station, waiting for my next train at 4.15pm, which would get me to Toulouse at 5.45pm…plenty of time to get to the airport (by the bus) for an 8pm check in (to Malta) and 10.20pm flight.

The afternoon continued in the way it had started…this train was delayed (actually left at 5pm). I settled in for the hour and a half journey, ate a couple of my snacks and hooked into some sudokus!

This was a bit of a milk run train and stopped at a number of little towns, people (normal ones) got on and off…then we pulled into a station called Montbatuon (I think) and a lot of people got off…I kind of ignored the activity, and kept doing what I was doing…I noticed the train hadn’t started moving, and took stock of my surroundings and realised I was the only person left on the Train…a little anxious I gathered all my bits and stepped out just as a conductor was walking past, who duly informed me the next train to Toulouse was on Platform 1. I was on a deserted platform 3! This then meant a flight of steps down (under the rails) and a flight of steps up (lugging my 20kg suitcase) to join the throngs on platform 1 all going to Toulouse…I had 15 minutes to spare and as the train pulled in, I scrabbled for a seat with my luggage! Off we went 7.30pm looming which was the time we pulled into Toulouse station…

I raced out, suitcase in tow, towards the airport bus shuttle, yay one was there, but just as I was crossing the pedestrian crossing…it pulled out and took off…ok if I waited another 20 minutes I would be cutting it fine for the 8pm bag drop time(Ryanair is kind of tight with this)…so I booked a bolt taxi…only to find the pick up point was from where I had come at the other end of the station, and my taxi was 7 minutes away! Are you getting anxious yet? Well suitcase, backpack and I ran to meet my ride. He was, thankfully, rather an aggressive driver and got me to the airport – Hall B as per my ticket – at check-in time!

A slightly familiar ground, I headed straight to the Ryanair “B check-in, I was first and very relieved. The relief, once again turned to anxiety, when 20 minutes later I was still first and alone! I could see travellers further down the terminal checking out a board, so off I (and all belongings) trotted again!

Good move…this time the check-in was actually in “D”! A kilometer through the terminals and joined the expected Ryanair queue…,finally ridding myself of the 20kg suitcase! The airport alerts say allow an hour and a half to clear the customs area, so I headed straight to get through to the other side…this actually only took half an hour, and while I personally wasn’t signalled out, my backpack was! Duly unpacked and repacked, I then found out my plane was delayed an hour – now not leaving until 11.20pm…it was now 9.30, and the gate number was not displayed for another hour! So I hung out with all the other people on a wooden slat bench (no comfy chairs in sight)

Around 10.30pm the gate number came up…gate 5, toput you in the picture, there are 60 gates at this airport and yes I was at the 60 end…another 20 minute brisk walk through endless corridors…

Getting rather weary, I was certainly looking forward to getting on that plane and shutting my eyes for the 2.5 hour flight!

No surprise! The 11.20pm departure time kept getting pushed out and everything in the airport was closed (at 11pm) my fellow passengers (and kids) all looking rather forlorn!

Finally we lifted off at 12.30am…which meant landing in Malta around 3am. No question on arrival, I ordered a bolt taxi!

With these you see the number plate on your phone order – think mine was a black car, first three numbers GLY… it came really quickly, I loaded my bags in the boot and jumped in the front…then a chap got in the back and I thought maybe it was a rideshare thing!!! But realised I had hijacked someone else’s taxi! So I apologied profusely(even though I didn’t really care) gathered my bags once again…and waited for my ride! Arriving at the apartment around 3.30am!

Unpacking not an option, cold shower not an option (had to turn on the hot water) cold beer an option to unwind! I stepped out onto the terrace and my heart sank…I knew there would be a bit of dust hosing to be done, but the watering system has failed sometime in the last three weeks and I was staring at three dead citrus trees (and a number of other very sad plants)

At 4am I thought I’d better get to bed before the sun rose (6am) for at least a couple of hours sleep! Which I managed until around 7!

Then started with the terrace clean up…sweeping , cutting, hosing and watering – I have a big job ahead to bring these babies back to life! Of course by now the sun was hitting the front terrace and I stripped off to bra and undies, while hosing everything and myself!

The trees now look somewhat thinner!

A cool shower, a shopping list, and I headed to the garage to reconnect the battery to Vivienne (car) and start her up…she behaved well! So I decided to take her to the supermarket as my list was a little larger than envisaged…and the thought of carting bags of groceries down the road (after yesterday) was rather daunting! Just as I was about to pull out, the ground floor neighbours passed so I got out to say Hi, then Adelina(the old lady from across the road) flung open her door with a big smile on her face…she had been waiting and heard the garage door go up!

I spent the next quarter of an hour with a quick catch up and finally made it to the cool supermarket!

Home now and watching tennis maybe nap time!

Just to put a positive spin on yesterday’s misadventures…the cloud cover stayed all day, so the temperatures did not climb to heatwave status…and Ryanair did not lose my bag!!!