A Taste of Malta...part 1

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 I'm back from my holiday, totally relaxed & ready for anything, well almost anything!

Something I love when flying is the amazing shapes of the clouds...

...& then the rush of excitement as land comes into view...

I thought you might like a little taste of Malta because, for such a small island, there is much to see...

 If you wander down the quayside in Marsaxlokk on a Sunday morning your senses will come alive. The smell of the sea, the hustle & bustle of the fish market...

& the vibrant colours of the traditional fishing boats called luzzus. Painted in shades of yellow, red, green & blue, & on their bows, the eyes of Orisis to ward off evil spirts...

As you can imagine, there are lots of fish restaurants along the quayside. We chose to eat in a traditional one called Il-Bukkett, (the bouquet - after the original owner because he was very handsome!).  Now run by his son, a lovely man called Mario Grech, who took time to talk to us about the fish & Malta. If you are ever in Malta, do try his restaurant, the fish was amazing.

I've been to Malta several times, (husband S used to live here), & something I loved were the old brightly coloured buses. Unfortunately, they have now been replaced by new modern buses. They may not have been very emission-friendly but they were such an icon of the island. The few that remain are now used as tourist attractions or mobile shops.

The island played a big part in WWII as a base for the allied forces in the Mediterranean. It suffered terribly from constant bombing & many historic buildings were destroyed, as well as countless homes. There was a huge loss of life but the Maltese were so brave & refused to surrender. The island was awarded the George Cross in recognition of their bravery. During this time, food was really in short supply and Victory Kitchen's were set up where inhabitants pooled their meager food rations so meals could be produced to feed everyone. I love the design of the signs they used...

As my son J is a budding pilot, we had to visit the aircraft museum. While he enthused over the planes, I had a coffee in the tea shop set up in one of the wartime huts, complete with lace curtains at the windows. Well, I suppose this is the home of the famous Maltese lace...

As we were leaving we decided to pay our respects at the war cemetery just up the road. Such a lovely peaceful place, with beautiful bougainvillea hedges adding colour & a view over to the local town of Rabat...

Muuuummmm!!! No more photos!!!