garyandpearl

Tuesday Nov 21/23

I thought I would try to write about what we are experiencing here using my senses.

Breakfast was delicious as usual and the smell of the freshly baked pastries was so enjoyable!!

The sun on the terrace felt so warm and made us smile as we enjoyed our feast. We soaked in the warmth like one of the geckos I saw later on.

Our destination today was a fishing store called Mister Fish about an hour’s walk from our bed and breakfast.

Sights: cars, dog droppings, plants and trees, pigeons, sail boats, garbage piles on the sidewalk (people just leave their garbage in tied-up bags outside their doors), brightly coloured doors and balconies, unique door handles, bakeries and other shops

Sounds: cars both EV and gas powered, honking, yelling, sirens, pigeons, buskers playing music. (Last night we had an elderly man singing the weather forecast to us!)

Smells: vehicle exhaust, tobacco smoke, bakeries, delicious food (lots of garlic butter), sewage, and wonderful perfumes and colognes.

We enjoyed our walk of over 12 km and made a few stops along the way.

The Busy Bee Cafe showed great promise, but there were some communication issues and we had a bit of a laugh as two desserts showed up instead of two forks. Interestingly, the restaurant staff are usually from the Philippines or South Asia.

There is no sandy beach near us, but people were laying on the polished rocks and sun tanning, I found the remnants of a charcoal fire and thought of The Apostle Paul being bitten by a snake (Acts 28:3). Sadly, the gecko was the only reptile I saw today.

We continued our walk and headed up the mountain which Valletta is built on. A stop at Sa Maison Gardens was a welcome rest.

Triton Fountain greeted us at the top of our climb.

There were extra guests in town from at least one cruise ship.

We found the elusive entrance into this church and had a bit of a look around. Supposedly their relic is part of St Paul’s wrist bone, but I didn’t see it as there was an impromptu service going on.

A shower and nap were then appreciated back at our room.