Magical Mdina

We have spent a lovely day in Mdina. A bastion town in the centre of the island and the former capital. A real gem.

We didn’t rush out this morning, took some time to find the market for some supplies. As with all places you can’t find it’s really obvious when you do! We just grabbed a few things when we arrived on Saturday which included UHT milk and M&S gluten free bread believe it or not. We are now stocked with fresh milk and real Maltese bread and ingredients for pasta tonight as the pasta sauce Chris thought he’d seen in the cupboard turned out to be strawberry jam!
We were surprised this morning by the sight of a large cruise ship reversing into the harbour right in front of us it seemed. We saw it later from the Upper Barrakka Gardens when we stopped for a coffee on our way to the bus stop.
At the counter of the coffee bar I could see beyond to some shelves which had cat dishes on with several cats eating. Popped round to see if I could get a picture and got this rather amusing extra. The cats here seem well looked after.

We’ve had a leisurely day here.  Walked the narrow historic streets; had lunch on the walls with great views of much of the eastern island including Valetta, Mostar and St Paul’s which is why it was built here so that invaders from the sea could be spotted early, (the same of the citadel yesterday on Gozo but sadly that was sacked by the Ottomans). Too hot up on the walls to stay exposed for long so we sought a shady garden restaurant for a drink and then headed to the main gate to join our afternoon walking tour of the city. It was very interesting to hear about this place much of which has been hear since medieval times and before but a lot has been restored in the late 17th century in Baroque style  due to an earthquake in Sicily hitch destroyed many original buildings.

The tower here is St Paul’s Cathedral, at one time the main seat of the Bishop of Malta. It is said to have been founded by St Paul who brought Christianity to the island and is the patron saint of Malta.

During lunch we heard and saw the puffs of smoke from fireworks. Apparently this was the start of the of the Fiesta of St Joseph which is tomorrow and is particularly celebrated in Rabat (the town immediately out side the bastion walls) but is a public holiday everywhere.
We’ll see what is and isn’t happening then.
Enjoying the sun, sandals and sunglasses but not taking it for granted as it may not last all week.