Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Malta, 7: On To St. Julian's

On Wednesday, June 6th, we moved on to our new home, the Hotel Meridien, at St. Julian's, Balotta Bay, a bay or two north of Valletta, the capital, and its historic Grand Harbor. On the Big Island. Although by no means our first 5 star hotel, we spent the first few hours exploring and gawking, then dining and walking about the neighborhood.
Our hotel, the Meridien

Balotta Bay from one of our two balconies

Looking toward Valletta























































Living area



















Dining area and looking toward the entry hall



















Bedroom



















One of two bathroom suites; I spent the first hour or so muttering "we are not
worthy...we are not worthy," while Vicki, who does the finances, countered
"yes we are, yes we are"





















Among many little extras

Enjoying an upgrade or two, we made ourselves familiar with the executive
lounge; snacks, hors d'ouvres, and especially...

The DIY bar


I used my time well, experimenting, comparing among Campari and sodas,
Aperol Spritzes, Negronis, and other such; Vicki focused on coconut rum
and milk, a tropical version of the Argentinian favorite, gin and milk

We ate that evening at a place called Wigi's, down the street, overlooking the
bay and a water polo match

My Moroccan lamb; the lamb was good, but somehow
they forgot to add the seasoning; I surmise the largely
British clientele keeps things ultra-bland

Her veal piccata; sort of

Mediterranean fries and ketchup

St. Julian's and the next bay north are apparently where the
action is, among younger people, including the natives; we did
our paseo there, enjoying the sights and sounds, etc.; also
checking out a molecular restaurant...

Perhaps a church converted to disco?

An M&S! Disappointingly, no clotted cream, however

Street scene

Hookah bars

And, sandwiched in among the casinos, clubs and such, a
marine massage parlor


Monday, June 18, 2018

Malta, 6: Gozo Scenes

Miscellaneously...
A main street...the thing to notice is all the balconies...

Mediterranean climate...warmer Mediterranean climate...
pretty much everything grows...maybe not Sitka Spruce

Most of the balconies are plain framed; some are rather more
interesting

After Ggantija, we decided to hop on the bus to Marsalforn, on the eastern
side, a newer development

At a restaurant there, associated with the Cafe Jubilee in Victoria; so is your
Pizza Hut certified by the Associazzione Verace Pizza Napolitana?! And why
not?! And why are you still eating there?!

My salmon salad

Her, um, Italian dish

Beach-side bench with table...don't think the resturateurs approve

It's in his genes...and more power to him

Among the many hill-top towns

Another narrow mountain-top track, another bus-to bus encounter

Scene of Mgarr harbor from our suite

Below the Gothic whatever down from the hotel

In Victoria the next day; I was there bright and early to score special tickets to
the Hypogeum...Racecourse Street

The entire Gozo Channel Lines fleet in action

Farewell to Grand Hotel Gozo, center; nice place

Arches and caves on Comino, the island between Gozo and Malta;; Comino is
officially uninhabited, except for the 10-50k tourists who visit daily; it has a
Blue Lagoon, but we have already seen two or three of those, right?


Malta, 5: The Ggantija Temple Complex On Gozo

Some highlights from the temple complex at Ggantija, c. 3,500 BC...
Drone view...helpful model #456,289; five apses on the left, four on the right

Approaching, dorsal view

It's warm and sunny; not that bad, but we're taking refuge under a carob tree

Approaching

Heritage Malta has done a wonderful job in displaying these sites and in
permitting access to them

So the thing here, if you're expecting Stonehenge, is that the rock is limestone;
it is easily worked; but it is easily weathered


One of the apses



One of the entry ways, looking back: finely worked orthostats


A wall in some danger of collapse; buttressed until they figure out how to save
it

How the ancients moved and set the gigantic stones is a mystery; some
theorize they used spherical stones, much like ball-bearings

Such stones appear in abundance at the various sites

Another apse

Another mystery is the holes in the big rocks...gigantic
cup-marks?


And then there are these "rooms," post and lintel, finely worked; we'll see more
of such at the Hypogeum, in a few days