Favourite Places Revisited

The morning looked promising.

So we decided to just get on a bus and go in any random direction. It was a good-bye journey, bussing through many of the memorable places we have been, some more than a few times. We went north through Mosta, Saw Mdina up on the hill, out to the coast and Mgarr where we had had a couple of good lunches. Then on to Golden Bay. It was beginning to get windy and we could see the white caps out on the sea. It was easier to stay on our bus and make the turn around trip. Mellieha still shone white in the sunshine.

We passed so many places that we had walked or waited for a bus. It really does amaze me how much of this island we have seen. Not the tourist places but all the communities and the many village streets. People and even bus drivers are starting to look familiar. I sit quietly watching the people coming and going on the bus as much as the scenery that passes......an ever changing microcosm of Maltese culture travelling from stop to stop....shopping bags, back packs, strollers and wheel chairs, the young and the old, all have their place on the King Longs.

It was another good decision on our part coming back when we did. We stopped in the harbour, bought a few vegetables and then stopped, possibly, for our last cappuccino and apple cake at Ximo's.

As we walked up the hill the black clouds rolled in. Not more that two minutes after we were home the rains came:).

Observations from our almost last day.....

I'm running out of daily blog material.

Malta is ancient, modern, idyllic, urban, loud, peaceful, sunny, warm, cold, windy, stormy...more thunder and lightning than I think I've seen in my whole life...it is golden, ochre, green, incredible blues....limestone, rock.... Arabic, British, Italian, ciao, ciao....but above all with all the civilizations that have had input into this culture over thousands of years....it is purely Maltese... the country and its people have been absolutely breathtaking and wonderful.

We haven't eaten out a lot. But we have shopped all across the island....butter is imported from Ireland, a lot of meat is from Poland, even potatoes are often from Spain. We shopped at an Italian market in Mosta. I had the best bottled pesto... that I used for weeks on my chicken breasts. And the bread!!!.... It is the best and is always available everywhere, every corner and fresh daily. The produce trucks that park on every street making shopping easy for locals on the block.

Propane trucks calling their arrival....the Bigilla Friska ( fresh bean dish) van announcing itself.

The ever present drilling, hammering of concrete blocks, as old apartments are demolished and new ones are created. We have watched them in St Paul's Bay and we have watched this one right outside our patio here in Marsascala. So different from home. They don't use much scaffolding because they just move up one floor at a time. Today I watched the 'journeyman' that laid the blocks, levelled them, and added the grout/concrete while his apprentice lifted each block, passing it up from his shoulder.

I can hear the sound of the buses travelling through the narrow village streets below us.

There was another funeral today at the Parish Church. We have become accustomed to the ritual of the hourly tolling of the bells so when the solemn sounds began before 2:30 this afternoon it caught my attention. I looked outside and there was a big gathering of people all in black.

Bus Stops.......they tell you so much information.......You Are Here....Qieghed Hawn.... street name first and then the Konsill Locali (similar to our municipality:) the bus numbers that pass by this stop and where each one goes to (Timur) and the expected time to reach the end of the line.

Our mysterious #124 bus that would have saved us the steep walk up our hill if we could ever have found out how it got uphill. We did catch it on the downhill run when we wanted to go to the Three Cities of Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicua...(Isla) .....but I will leave Malta not knowing how it got uphill and or where it came from. I asked bus drivers a few times but they never seemed to understand my question. I guess if we could have been able to ride it up we would have missed a months exercise climbing to Triq Il Quccata.

The extensive bus system, that is in the process of changing to yet new owners, has provided us with the opportunity to visit every small village on both Malta and Gozo that we have wanted to see.

Today has been a few lasts...the last 8:00am and noon bells....a last walk down the hill to town after the rain took a break. We needed a 'bit' more wine and a pizza to be delivered for our 'last supper'.

Like almost every day we have been here, when there is rain it is always followed by sunshine and oftentimes a rainbow. Today was dark, grey and rainy but it cleared and the sun came out long enough to provide us with our 'last' beautiful view of Marsascala Harbour and possibly our last view of Malta.

 

Posted with Blogsy