Mdina

Today we had an organised trip to Mdina, the old walled city.  We left at 10am on the coach and first visited Mdina Glass, where we watched them shaping glass pieces, and then we walked around the shop with various band members under strict instructions not to break anything.

From there we travelled up to the walled city of Mdina, where we spent a couple of hours exploring.  The city is fortified with walls, and was the place the local population would retreat to when the Turks came raiding.  It was used as a filming location for the first season of Game of Thrones, before the film crew dumped a load of sand on a historical monument, and they were then asked to leave the island.

We went to the local band club for a pasta lunch, and then on the way back to the hotel we paused briefly at the cliff above the Popeye Village.  This was the filmset for the movie starring Robin Williams, and is now a theme park.  (See extra)

After returning to the hotel we bought a cup of tea from a cafe overlooking the bay before attempting to walk to the beach.  We though the path led through a gorge but in the end it petered out, and we didn't make it all the way!  We had dinner at Greystone's again before a short open rehearsal at the Imperial Band Club and a tour of the building.  We hope the locals of the band were suitably entertained watching us!  

It's eye-opening how different the fates of the bands here are - they're well supported by the community, with halls that are used for coffee mornings and events, and a bar open all day.  We're still scratching for pennies and rehearsing in someone else's building.