To Marsascala

On the 29th we move from St Paul's Bay to the southern end of Malta to Marsascala. We decided to make a day and go see where we will staying for our last four weeks. It took us three buses to get to Marsaxlokk where we wandered the waterfront. There was a market of tourist souvenir shops along the promenade. The usual stuff, Luzzus, Osiris eyes, lace and all bits and pieces that people think they need to take home. We have traveled enough to know that we, and our loved ones, don't need any of this.....so we just take pictures instead. Lace umbrellas and table clothes.

 

The sun was out and it was the warmest we have been for at least three weeks. I took advantage of it and sat on a bench to sketch while Bob walked and took pictures.

It is pronounced Marsashlok Bay

This is a picture Bob took that I will try to paint. They were pleased to be asked to have their picture taken.

Marsaxlokk and Marsascala are neighbouring bays that are true fishing villages. They are far enough from Valletta to have less tourists than where we are now. Although St Paul's Bay is very quiet in itself, it is still close to Bugibba and Qarwa which are communities with a lot of British expats in the winter and a very busy tourist population in the summer months.

We took one more bus to Marsascala and found a spot in the sun for lunch along the bay. It is winter here and the Maltese take every advantage to enjoy the warm sunny days. Every couple sits side by side facing into the sun and towards the water. A Maltese couple having lunch beside us were from Marsaxlokk and had come here to this restaurant for lunch. They said it was one of their favourite cafes. He was what he called 'a hobby painter' and she had just started practising with acrylics. They were pleased to see my journal and like other Sketchbook Skool students I passed on the the website information along with Urbansketchers.

We were craving a salad and our waitress promised to tell the chef we needed lots of shrimp on our salad. A half bottle of Chardonnay and a HopLeaf, fresh Ftera bread and it was another lovely lunch. The fly on the table was free.

I think when we move down here we will do a lot less traveling and a lot more sitting in the sun. We have spent the last, almost five weeks trying to see everything in this larger part of Malta, including several trips to Gozo. We have more than three weeks left here and still lots of places to see or revisit.

Our trip home only took two buses and we got off right in front of the Sphinx Pastizzeria and for €1.90 we brought a cheese tortellini home for an easy dinner.

Observations....every small town has a beautiful church. Every bay has its colourful Luzzus and there are always the doors, the balconies and cafes for cappuccinos and wine. All of which I have tried to capture with my sketches so far. Brilliant blue skies and ochre cities have not disappointed my preconceptions of Malta.

I've seen the rows of recycling bins but nobody uses garbage cans. All garbage is put out in some kind of plastic bag. Garbage trucks roll through town everyday picking up whatever is set out on the sidewalks. There are a lot of public garbage recepticles on the streets but there is still a lot of litter. Even here, unfortunately, you see a McDonalds bag dropped along the sidewalk. As I had noticed in Italy there are still a lot of smokers and with that comes all the butts on the sidewalks.

A store I saw was called Euroland... I wondered if that was the Maltese equivalent of a dollar store ....yes it is:). Our Home Depot is an Ironmongery and DIY store. A muffler shop is called a Silencer Shop...

 

 

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