Trip Day 4 - Malta

Thursday September 15

After another night in The Victoria Hotel we had a very busy day. (Ha, and this is vacations? Just kidding.)

Again we had to set the alarm because we were asked to have our suitcases out after 7 am and that is when breakfast started. 

Afterwards we could go back to the room one more time and at 8:45 am we were supposed to be in the lobby ready to leave our hotel which by the way was in the town Sliema.

The drive in the bus was said to take about 30 minutes. First we drove again on the road along the coast which is very pretty. Here some photos from the bus window.

Local leader Annmarie explained the fields, the agriculture and talked about many issues of their life including education, taxes and insurance. Very interesting.

Landscape kept changing and it was interesting to see including golden statues of saints.

Here we made a short photo-op stop. We were told to take a little walk-way which was really nicely done to see the Blue Grotto. So lovely and peaceful. We saw a boat come around the corner and go into and out again. That must be fun.

Back into the bus and it was only a short drive to Hagar Qim,  a megalithic temple complex dating back 5000 to 5400 years. First we saw some models which our local leader explained.

Then we saw a 4D movie about it. 

From the theater we went through a little museum. Some things from the temple complex were original (like this one) and others duplicates. 

Then we did the short walk to it. (It reminded me a lot of our visit in June to Brú na Bóinne or Boyne valley tombs in Ireland which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.)

The square stand with the round stone on top was for sacrificing but the archeologist had been very sure that it was animals and not humans.

The models and the movie showed very clearly that the temples were designed for the winter and the summer solstice. Here you can see the round hole which would have let the sun beam in at the right time and projected onto the square upright stone opposite. 

In the next photo you can see the round hole on the outside of the temple were the sun beam would enter. I might have to draw an arrow onto it but the close up of the photo after it might help to figure it out.

I think the largest stone you can see here weighs 20 pounds. Considering what tools people had at that time it is hard to believe that they could erect a building like this. 

Waiting for the time to get into the bus we looked at these 4 locals.

Then the bus took us back to the area known as the “Three Cities,” for the three historic fortified towns of Cospicua, Senglea, and Vittoriosa which we saw yesterday from the Barracca Gardens. We went on a walking town of Vittoriosa. 

The narrow streets were so interesting. We were fascinated by the wrought iron half gates and the recessed entry doors...

... and the balconies which, we were told, made the bedrooms just a little bit larger. 

These houses at a town square were very ornate. 

Local guide Annmarie pointed out the wrought iron around the statue: crosses on top and half moons on the bottom. The fight of the Christian Knights against the Ottoman Empire. 

This photo doesn't really show it clearly but we had to walk through a crowd of lunch-eating film-making crew. The local guide knew one of them which seemed to be one in charge but he said he was not allowed to say the title of the movie or tell anything about it but it was for a British TV series. 

Lunch time! We had been asked yesterday whether we wanted lunch #1, #2 or #3. Number 2 was excellent but too much. It was so tasty that I ate it all up. Sigh.

Dessert (luckily) not so much. Both dishes typical Maltanese. 

Vanessa explained: filo dough with dried fruit filling.

Time to go to the little boats. That was extra ... 10 Euros per person. Yes, we wanted to do it.

Bye bye! Only max 6 passengers per boat. We were 4.

Tony (our "gondolier") was very good pointing things out. One of the most expensive yachts (The Maltese Falcon).

Tony was so pleasant.

People were swimming and children were having a good time playing at the rocky beaches. 

And there is our Artemis waiting for us.

This photo is for our grandsons: a crane painted like a giraffe.

Back to the "dock".

And ... after a short bus ride ... finally embarking our ship the Artemis. 

As soon as we set foot on it we had to bend down take our temperature. There is also a hand sanitizer dispenser. We had to give our passports and had pictures taken for our boarding passes. Those are now on a board were we have to take them from when we leave the ship and stick them back when returning. And of course we got our room keys. The most amazing thing was that almost immediately all the crews addressed us with our names. How they memorized them so fast I don't know. 

But soon we all went up to the sundeck and had the safety drill. Who can argue about safety?

 

After we had had a little time to sort ourselves out in our room (and have a shower!) it was time for the Captain's welcome and dinner.

A glass of champagne, some nibbles and the introduction of the crew. One couple fellow travelers recognized that our captain had been on two previous trips with them. 

Dinner was fun. The appetizer: smoked ham on colorful salad arranged with dry fig mousse and crispy pear slice.

Hot Appetizer: poached shellfish soufflé centered on white wine risotto surrounded by lobster curry sauce.

Sherbet: pineapple sherbet with water melon and champagne

Entree: Whole roasted pink loin of veal on pan gravy composed with onion pie and arranged with macaire potato

Dessert: crème brûlée (don't have the other details)

And then this was brought to our table. The mouse was very cute but our tummies......

What I liked very much: When orders were taken in the beginning, half-portions were offered of the entree. That was very much appreciated ... and good. 

Dinner was very comfortable with wine offered (red or white, this time from Malta). And with lots of lively conversation. 

Night, night!

Not much time to work on a blog. We have wifi but the speed is a real problem especially for the photos to be available. But here it is from yesterday. 

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Huge thank you to those who comment on the bottom of a blog. I love love love it. Unfortunately I can't reply. Just wanted you to know.