No story yesterday as I attended my dear cousins funeral in Malta – I was lucky enough to see her and say goodbye before she passed.

This morning we woke to cooler temperatures, wind and cloud, lucky we had a shopping day planned.

Off to the tourist area of Sliema and, in the madness of vehicles and people, managed to secure a car park. Quite an achievement in Malta these days!

The prevailing winds were whipping the water over the Sea wall and on to the road. The ‘Punto’ was safely out of reach!

Coffee first in the tree’d square across the road

Pidgeons and all. Trudi and Sue took of for ‘girls’ shopping and met Russ back at the starting point (only a few minutes after the agreed time!)

Waiting patiently and practicing the ‘smile’

On to the next stop, Tigne point shopping centre, a four storey mall! Food first at the French Cafe.

Then out to the lookout bridge to blow out the cobwebs and make sure that boating and swimming was out of the question today

The rocks bellow and Valletta in the background – no cruises for the tourists today! All the tour boats were rocking on their moorings

Couples photo moment Sue and Russ!

We then agreed to girls shop and boys shop in the mall again, meeting up a couple of hours later…. girls with shoes, handbag and tops! Russ with a tourist book of Malta. Perfect example of Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus!

After several laps of the car park we finally exited heading for home! A quick detour to Pavi (a rather large supermarket) which not only sold food

We found Trudi is famous in Malta

A wok named after her!

Skimmed over the food section and found the fresh fish looked suspiciously like our red snapper

And had to ask the Maltese name and it is… ‘Red Snapper’ caught in the Mediterranean deep sea!

Then off to the bottle shop area…..

Very very large bottle of vodka which at 428 Euro stayed right where we found it!

However this was tempting for all my guitar playing friends

Guitar wine rack – how cool is this!

Rolling on for 5pm after a big day of footing it around the shops – shoes kicked off and a quiet ..

Another couple of cooler days ahead before the sunshine comes back for the weekend and we can hit the beaches again.

Woke up to a morning after heavy overnight rain, still and steamy and blue skies (again)

No need to water the plants on the deck

The town of Fgura already alive at 8am – with cars and shoppers out before the rush. Actually the rush was already on. I wandered down to the supermarket and bank feeling like a local with my shopping bags!

Returning to find a huge crane blocking our street then appearing above our deck (on the fourth floor) lifting a very large steel pole into the lift shaft next door..

We headed off to collect Kev and meet our Mosta cousins and our kiwi cousins (here for three days) for lunch at the aquarium in Qawra.

Looking back at the newly refurbished Doleman hotel!

And then inside the aquarium restaurant the ceiling alive with fish sculptures…

A long leisurely lunch overlooking St Paul’s Bay

And Sue soaking up the sunshine (note closed eyes)

A little trick of photography and we have the two photographers in reflection

Selfies in the window!

Returning via the coast to our Southside, Russ napping and the two deckhands keeping an eye on the awning as a strong (but welcome) breeze blows in….

no dinner needed just saying!

This morning George and I shared coffee time, for the last time, on the steps of Senglea – the morning sunrise over the inlet and Vittoriosa!

We took George to the Airport this morning and went back to our Senglea home for the last time – packed up ready to shift to our Maltese home in Fgura

Oops – where’s ‘Wally’

We had a planned luncheon appointment with our new friend Carmen at midday (our neighbour across the street on the opposite balcony) – an amazing lady (who we took shopping). She had lunch ready and, being an accomplished pianist and musician for 30 years in Rome had promised to play for us.

I think, because we are big people us Kiwis, she had overestimated our appetite!

Ham rolls (actually all gone) – patitizzi – stuffed olives – Maltese cheese and cake. All served in your special dining room surrounded by antiques, from her ancestors! Trudi wanted to experience the Maltese house, this was the real life. Carmen’s family home avoided the bombs in the war and is still original and built in the period of the knights 1500’s

She then brought tears to our eyes with her beautiful piano playing – she had played in Operas in Rome!! We were very privileged.

Our own private concert and She even composed a new song for us which together we called “The Kiwi”

We then loaded the car and Russ and brought first load to our new apartment. We left Russ to unpack and Trudi and I shifted the 2nd load. Kev was here upon our return and, very hot and bothered, we relaxed with a cool drink on our new beautiful deck!

And our green fingered Rols has provided beautiful flowers

Penthouse with a view and a beautiful apartment, everything is away in its place!

The three kiwis are relaxing in the evening warmth enjoying the ambience of our new abode….

Rooms with a view, a big deck, washing on (finally have a washing machine) and the beer and wine chilled!!!

Close up and personal with the Giraffe crane

This afternoon a Luzzu (Loot Zoo) cruise around the grand harbour, George’s Swan song before he heads back to the English winter!

3.00pm we piled our 300 kgs into the traditional Maltese boat!

No wind and calm sea – perfect conditions as the sides of the boat were only about 30-50cms above the water

Cruising out from Senglea

Fort St Angelo with the superyachts in the foreground

Footing it with the big boys – 4 on a Luzzu 100 on a tourist boat – we felt like the mouse beside the elephant!

The bachs in the Clifts of Valletta catching the cooler southerly breeze

The small exclusive (expensive) cruise ship in port in Valletta

The dry docks and the oil rigs in for maintenance in the Bormla inlet.

And the 200 million USD super yacht in for a tickle (only 3 years old and privately owned)

Back into port after 40 mins and Vittoriosa and marina in the afternoon sunshine (this mornings thunder clouds now dispersed)

George’s last evening at Senglea waterfront kiosk for fish and chips! A great dad photo with a postcard background!

And it’s goodnight from me

We woke to wet roads, wet deck and wet George returning from the gym. Rain is very welcome in Malta at this time of the year!

We left George in peace with the objective to visit our local church, on Russell’s 61st birthday and coincidently Maltese Independence Day, a public holiday.

Rain ceased and we spied our landmark from the Main Street of Senglea (when we get lost we look for the giraffe crane)

Then onto the Senglea Church – only open in the mornings

Outside and, having donned respectable clothes (no short shorts or sleeveless tops), the inside..

The Maltese Cross coloured glass at entrance

Front of church pulpit and pivotal focus of this magnificent building – ornate carvings, statues, chandeliers, glass, wood and Gold!

There were about 30 of these

Side room and tiled floors

This child angel looks almost real

Side alcove (one of many) all so well maintained and clean!

Then off in search of a coffee – only 10am and too early for the waterfront cafes after the rain!

Over the bridge and back to our go to – Cafe Rouge

Two coffees later we decided to see how George was going and he met us to take the ferry to Valletta for lunch!

Two huge cruise ships in..

as we docked at the Valletta wharf!

Up in the lift and some family photo opportunities at Barraka gardens overlooking the Grand Harbour.

Russ and George

Russ, Sue and George

And…

Trudi, Russ and Sue With two of the three cities (Birgu and Bormla) in the background.

Off in search of food

Consequently Valletta was buzzing with lines of tourists! And all the cafes were pretty full! We ended up in a food hall eating Kebabs and drinking a coke and George logged in to work life

Russ decided (as it was his birthday) a walking tour of Valletta was needed! George left us and went home to carry on with work. Public holiday in Malta does not mean public holiday in England!

The remaining three trapsed around the streets of Valletta finding, by this time, most of the attractions closed and thousands of those boat (cruise ship) people wandering aimlessly.

A quiet, steep side street earlier in the day, which we walked from the bottom up at the end of our hike!

Lots of construction sites and tired legs! Vittoriosa definitely a better choice for a walking tour!

On the ferry and back to the home side, desperately in need of refreshment, as after the rains comes the humidity!

Our local convenience store offered this much needed respite. Russ ran into his new buddie and the icing on the cake (actually no cake just a nice cold beer) was ‘Johnny Be Goode’ giving Russ a couple of treasures he had stashed in the back of his car…

Antique China car (extremely heavy) and boat!

Whoever received such special birthday presents!

Rest time, legs up before a dinner out for some birthday celebrations…

Trudi and I have a new friend called Carmen. She has no car and we took her shopping – she told us we are beautiful girls inside and out and god will bless us! (We possibly need this blessing)

Trudi pushed the trolley and I read out the prices as we quickly realised she had very poor eyesight.

We dropped her home and walked to Bormla for a quick shop ourselves. We met George and Russ for lunch/coffee at the kiosk at Senglea

Back to house, George to work and The Three Kiwis prepared to set off on their walking tour of Vittoriosa – first stop Senglea waterfront – Sue with the Luzzu (pronounced Lut zoo) Maltese fishing boat

Then across the bridge to the Vittoriosa square – first stop hydration at the band club

Russ was really thirsty!

Off we went and the next few images are of the streets and life in this ancient city

Sue in the streets

This bar was too slow and we were very thirsty – Russ and Sue waiting patiently – the waiter did not come so we moved on 👋

The infirmary for the knights of Malta in the 1500s

Sue and Trudi at the end of Vittoriosa with Valletta in the background

Looking back to Kalkara inlet from the wall! Slightly overcast but still like a mirror

The Maltese clothesline – drying time one hour! It works for us.

Maltese gardens – the green on the streets!

Maltese houses and balconies – who’s behind the red door?

The artwork on the communal living house – shared living house.

Door handles sporting the Maltese cross on this beautiful green door

Sue making friends with a local and his feather baby an albino pidgeon. Thank goodness he had been to the bathroom before sitting on my hand.

In side the Norman house – the oldest house in Vittoriosa, paintings, urns and others very ancient relics (not talking about Russ and Sue we are relatively young in this picture)

A fantastic picture of Russ – we have been working on the smile and I think we finally have it!

Final stop

George has met us at the end of the day

and Trudi is training the Barman – she finally got a big glass and an ice bucket! The bottle is coming….

Then Russ went and helped himself to a beer from the fridge – oops forgot to tell the Owner (since rectified)

Now the three kiwis plus one (George) in for a relaxed evening…..after our road trip (on foot) around the ancient city of Vittoriosa.

Enjoying the life in Senglea, today will be a story and not pictures

George went off to the gym, Trudi went for a explore on her own, Russ slept in and I got up to do my work on computer and some washing. We are falling into our happy space!

We left George to work in peace for the morning and set out to Sam and Anna’s in Attard for morning tea! One wrong turn and we went zooming through a tunnel on our way to Sliema. So not the plan!

First exit off and once again headed north arriving at our destination only 3 minutes late – all roads lead to somewhere and with patience we arrive!

Great morning with Sam and Anna, teaching Sam some computer skills chatting, coffee and cake!

We headed back around 2pm in time for lunch and Russ to have a lie down!

Then off to the optometrists for George and Russ – mission accomplished, well almost! George has prescription and could not find any glasses he liked and in three days time Russ will be sporting his new bi-focals!

Trudi and Sue sitting on our wee deck having a quiet little drink and the boys are ‘chilling’ inside!

Another local adventure planned for tomorrow – watch this space so much to do before we shift next Monday to our new abode!

The street market in Birgu – a must do on a Tuesday morning in Malta!

George rose first in darkness and took off for a gym session at 6am. Trudi and Sue out the door at 7am to beat the crowds at the infamous Birgu Street market, where all the streets are closed and the local stalls are set up from 6am until midday.

Hot already!

Today’s pictures share with you the life of the market – you will just need to imagine the noise and yelling!

Handbags – everything Italian and nothing over 15 Euro ($25 NZ)

The first of about 30 handbag stalls!!!

Bread, buns and everything carbohydrate!

Smooching the shoes and George caught us on his way home from the gym – didn’t stay long, just enough time to drink my water and head back to work. He said Dad made a good choice not to join us as it was a place of clothes and shoes. Perfect! But he obviously didn’t notice the food…

Olives, and other fabulous food

Fruit and vege straight from the farms!

Half way up the street we spied a cafe/bar – the best coffee (cappuccino) in Malta so far! And in a mug.

I found some clear rubbish bags for our recycling (collected every day) a roll for 1 Euro

Hit the top of the market about 10am

With a morning meet up arranged it was a quick trot back down back the street and across the bridge to Senglea meet our cousin Evelyn and Russ. A beer for morning tea after a hot morning in the market.

Home again around 1pm, George well ready for a break, so we donned bathing suits, grabbed towels and water bottles and headed over the hill to Rinella beach

George only allowed himself an hour, so cooled and awake again, we dropped him back to his computer and we headed to Lidel to stock up again! Russ is cooking tea and finally Trudi and I are “Relaxing”

Busy day on feet, in car, in water and up steps, everywhere we walk has steps! Kiwi legs are getting good workouts!

George arrived last night for his week with the travelling trio (even though he has to work he can enjoy the warmth before the English winter)

Catch up time!

This morning Trudi and Sue walked to the car boot market in Birgu while the boys had breakfast

Still, clear, sunny morning in the Kottonera inlet

Looking back at our Senglea home!

We then met Russ and George at ‘Rouge Cafe’ for a coffee – cooling off under their umbrellas.

As George only had today and next Saturday to be away from his computer, we decided a trip to Mdina then a beach swim were the activities of choice for today….following is a series of pictures from Mdina – the highest city fortress on the island of Malta!

Transport through the city – poor horses we did not subject them to the job of carting us around!

George Sue and Russ in the streets of Mdina

Russ Sue and Trudi on the steps of cathedral (after donning capes and having a moment inside while mass was in progress)

Inside the cathedral

View from the wall from north to south

In hunt for a cool drink the cafes choose to remind us what is important

However due to a large number of tourists we chose to sojourn to Rabat – the adjoining city to quench our thirst – then off to the beach…

Gnejna Bay where lots of Maltese families were enjoying the Sunday afternoon – add four kiwis and the mix was perfect. The sea was warm and the little fish nibbled away at our feet the minute we put them down! I quite liked this but George and Trudi chose to float!

The Maltese Bach’s are built into the rock faces – very cute.

Refreshed and cool we headed back to Senglea to hopefully snatch a car park for the evening. Again we lucked in only 50 Meters down the road – so the car is tucked in for the night and we are chilling in the air conditioned flat!

Lemon and Lime Irish pub again for breakfast and the All Blacks v’s South Africa – Kevin joined us, the coffee was great, the breakfast great, the game a hard one to watch!

Down the road to St Thomas Bay for a dip and picture of Sue waiting for Kevin with her fan club!

The sea was a very welcome relief after standing in the car park for 30 minutes wondering where Kev had got to. We did not realise there was another car park at the other end of the beach.

A perfect little swimming hole and now even patrolled by lifeguards, a very easy job compared to New Zealand, we have even seen them sleeping!

Back to the car and looking along the south end of the beach

Kev tootled off to do some more work on his apartment and we headed to the supermarket and fruit and vege truck to stock up on fruit and water mainly. The tap water here is very salty as they have not had rain for months and even boiled has a very bitter taste in our coffee! George arrives tonight from England to spend a week with us, so quiet afternoon…