Malta - Mdina and Popeye Village

On Thursday we caught the bus into Valletta and back out to Mdina to see the sights that we didn't have time for on our last Rabat/Mdina trip - and to make the most of our combi entrance ticket. We saw Domus Romana where the house/meeting rooms of an influential family have been excavated to show some very impressive mosaics. There were several other items on display, including glassware and a Statue of Emperor Claudius. Malta has been influenced by so many other nations - from early migration through Italy, to Northern African influence, to the Romans and even battles between Napoleon and Nelson. There was also German and Italian occupation during WWII. After visiting Domus Romana, we walked through Mdina town (the old capital of Malta) - the Museum of Natural History, a Mdina glass shop, St Paul's Cathedral and museum and the city walls. We had lunch in a nice cafe set in a courtyard and then caught the bus to the Mdina glass factory to see artisans at work. Even though Sophie and Will had seen glass blowing on TV, they were impressed with it in close up. The tricky part of the day was a long wait for a bus, with us ending up walking, with others, to another bus stop. The buses are now on 'winter timetable' and those on smaller roads are becoming more random.

Friday was very much a 'kids day' with us having promised a visit to the Popeye Village. The village (Sweethaven) was created for filming the original Popeye movie, starring Robyn Williams. The buses, via the airport were slow and we ended up getting off one stop early - so we picked up some early supermarket lunch and then walked about 3km to the village. We were all impressed with village, not overly priced with plenty of free inclusions - a little boat ride to the cave, four staff in costume putting on shows, face/arm painting and a great swimming beach. We even saw Mellieha Beach on the way home, so even though it is one of the better beaches, I don't think we will do another trip back just for a swim.

I had promised Sophie some time in Valletta - the importance of buying some lip gloss from Claire's was overwhelming - so yesterday (Saturday) we all caught the bus into town mid morning. I managed to get a few loads of washing and some emails done before setting off. The trip gave us a chance to get Will's caricature drawn. He has wanted one done ever since seeing the artists working on some a week or so ago. I was also keen for us all to see 'The Malta Experience' which is a 3/4 hour slide show (with commentary in 19 languages) about the history of Malta.

Will has been getting very tired, especially after his Popeye day - so we have had a quiet day today (Sunday). We are all starting to slow down after so many weeks travelling in a row, I guess we have just needed a normal weekend. It has been raining this afternoon so we might have a cooler evening tonight and all sleep well. We walked down to the Marsaxlokk tourist information centre to enquire about options for visiting Gozo and picked up some groceries. Will finally bought half a watermelon and then carried it home in the backpack. He has been asking for one for a while but none of us have wanted to carry one home. I'm sure that he has found the highest weight possible for the lowest food value!

Information on Roman occupation

Mosaic floor in the Domus Romana

Statue of Emperor Claudius

Gates of Mdina city

The dungeons near the Natural History Museum

The one and only American Eagle found in Malta - and it is stuffed

St Paul's cathedral has survived Malta's turbulent past

Views from the city walls

Glass blowing at the artisan's centre

Finer glass decoration work

Marsaxlokk Harbour waiting for the bus - on our Popeye day

The long walk to Popeye Village

The walk to Popeye Village

Popeye characters

Should we leave Will at the village?

Filligree silver work

Boat ride at Popeye's Village

Views of Popeye's Village (Sweethaven)

Will, his tattoo and balloon 'Darcy lookalike'

Mini golf

Will running on the inflatable at Popeye's Village

Paying a cello busker back in Valletta

Waiting for the bus to Marsaxlokk

Will has a caricature drawn in Valletta

Walking through Valletta to 'The Malta Experience'

Views of the battery - with canons fired twice a day

Will at a rainy Marsaxlokk Harbour 

Malta - Valletta on Independence Day

Our travels have slowed, with two weeks in one place - so, my blogs are becoming more frequent. Today was Independence Day in Malta and we managed to time our trip into Valletta with the laying of flowers by the President and Prime Minister at the Independence Statue ust outside the old town. The military put on a good display with a marching band and 21 gun salute! We then wandered into the main walled area to get our bearings for future exploration. I walked around the waterfront for an hour or so, while John took Sophie and Will back to Marsaxlokk for a relaxing afternoon. They have now also almost caught up on their blogs and journals. I walked around to the bell tower and lower gardens. There are horse and cart tours for tourists - and this seems to provide a use for trotters that don't make it on the track. There are a surprising number of trotters in training, including one that seems to live in a suburban garage around the corner from our apartment.

Waiting for the guns to be set up

Poised 'ready to fire' for a long time

Marching band

Company of soldiers

Ear plugs in and ready to fire

President - Marie Louise Coleiro Preca

Prime Minister - Joseph Muscat

The guns are fired

Again, again and again

Archway outside the National Library

Street in southern Valletta

The enclosed balconies

Lane way to the harbour

Victoria Gate to the walled city of Valletta

Horse and cart and waterfront view

Siege Bell War Memorial

Lower Barrakka Gardens

Valletta Harbour

The Palace of the Grand Master

Malta - St Peter's Pool

We had a quiet start to the day (Tuesday), with Sophie and Will catching up on their travel blogs and me getting through some washing. After lunch, we walked down to the tourist information office to find out about Independence Day activities tomorrow and then walked on near Delimara Power Station to St Peters Pool (approx. 3km). We borrowed the masks and snorkels from our accommodation and found some fish and soft corals and sponges. Then Sophie and Will spent most of the afternoon jumping off the rocks into the pool. The highlights were seeing Titty, the jumping dog [https://www.facebook.com/Tittithedog/] and watching some people attempt slack rope walking across a section of the pool! John is seriously considering doing a PADI scuba course with Sophie and Will over the summer holidays.

After walking 1/2 km to the town square

Around the waterfront to Delimara

Looking back to Marsaxlokk

Marsaxlokk Harbour

Delimara Power Station

John, Sophie and Will snorkeling at St Peters Pool

Views into the rock pool

Sophie takes a jump

Sophie lands safely

Tandem jumps

Will gets into the twists

Sophie tests out the twists too

Will gets into the front dives

Watching Titty and her owner jump

Sophie meets the famous Titty

Will meets the famous Titty

The slack rope walking

Will can't resist a final jump

Farewell to St Peters Pool

At least Will doesn't check the sting on his cheek like he did with the nettles in Japan

Trying to play tunes on a gum leaf on the way home