We are on our way to Isla, one of the three cities across from the Grand Harbour of Valletta. We have walked the harbour walks on both sides, so today we walked the narrow streets above the water through streets wide enough for one vehicle and one row of parked cars. No buses travel these roads.
I love the clothes drying racks that are suspended off every balcony. We have our own but it is a stand alone. It doesn't hang off the rail. Each street has a church, a 'corner' store for the necessities and a produce truck and bakery nearby.
The mobile vendors are calling out their wares. A produce truck stopped ahead of us. She had loose potatoes so we bought a half dozen to get us through our last few days. The residents come out when they hear the horns or the calling out. The next one we hear is a familiar sound from our apartment. It is a Bigilla Friska van. It is coming down the hill. I watch as an older man waits for it to stop.. I thought it might be an ice cream truck. Nope:) I stand close to watch what is happening. He told me it was ground beef to which he adds Chili sauce and parsley on top. It is kind of warm. I'm hungry and after a taste test I buy a small portion for €1.
He asked if I wanted an extra spoon of Chili sauce, I said sure....my mouth is on fire...luckily there is a small grocers nearby where I buy a bottle of water. Tonight when we are home I google "Bigilla" to find out the ingredients. It seemed to me to be more of a bean mixture than beef. Turns out it was ground beans, not ground beef....which is OK with me as I needed some instant protein.
An oil tanker coming into Valletta Harbour.
The streets of Conspicua and Isla are quiet as we wander the neighbourhoods. It is only a few minutes walk in any direction to find yourself in a bustling, busy street with cafes and buses. Our bus back to Marsascala only runs every hour and an half so we walk to our stop to see when it will be coming. We only have a thirty minute wait. Not enough time to go for a wine or a coffee so we sit in the sun to wait. A woman comes to wait with us. She was on the same bus as us this morning. Malta may have almost a half million people but it is still very small town:). I cannot believe how many times I recognize people from our travels. She lives in Marsascala but is from Conspicua. She offers us powdered jelly candies and we talk until our bus arrives. She has been to Toronto on vacation to visit her sister. She likes Canada and the people, as we like Malta and its people. We are back in Marsascala before we know it and get off along the bay. We are finding our shortcuts up the stairways. Our butcher shop is open so we stock up another two nights dinners, climb three more sets of stairs, two more blocks of uphill and we huff and puff into out apartment.
I put on a load of laundry that will hopefully dry outside overnight. We sit out on the patio with a glass of wine watching our farmer neighbour, Martin, turn over one of his fields with a hoe. It is a peaceful, idyllic end to another wonderful day.
These are examples of the small boats that take people along the harbour from Valletta to the Three Cities, kind of like the gondolas in Venice.
The weather forcast for the next week is not looking good, but if today is an example we are happy. Again we take one day at a time. George was over tonight replacing our toilet seat. Our plans to go with him and his family to their property on the cliffs of Bahria before we leave do not look promising weather wise. He is such a nice man. I will be disappointed to not meet his wife and children. He is 39 years old, young enough to be my son:)
Observations for today, no time to paint :(
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