Ukraine BBQ and The Malta Film

In Pissouri Bay, The Bay tree held a BBQ afternoon to raise funds for the Ukraine crisis. Even though there was a cold, brisk wind down the bay, there was still a very good turnout.

We published a short film on our recent trip to Malta.

St Patrick's day in Malta

 On our final day in Malta was on St Patrick's day, so we made our way back over to Valletta, the sun shone through the clouds although there was a brisk breeze.

Rob then decided to return to the Upper Barrack gardens, this time he visited the Saluting Battery where he had tour of the firing gun and a close view of the canon when it fired at Midday.

We then met back up and headed over to "The Pub", a bar where the famous actor, Oliver Reed passed away after a huge drinking session.

All too soon it was time to head to head back to the airport after a wonderful visit to the Island of Malta.

Valletta and Marsaxlokk

 Once again we made our way over to Valletta and strolled around the City admiring the wonderful old buildings and the people enjoying the Spring sunshine.

 We then jumped on a bus down to the fishing village of Marsaxlokk,  which lies on the Southern coast of Malta. 

The bay of Marsaxlokk was completely full of brightly coloured fishing boats bobbing at their berths.

The first thing we noticed was a  small outdoor market and Mandy made a beeline for it to get a few items.

We wondered around the waterfront and the small town square  before deciding to stop for lunch. 

We chose the Carrubia restaurant on the seafront. Mandy had the grilled  salmon and Rob had the grilled Swordfish,  both served with delicious roasted potatoes and vegetables.

A trip to the Island of Gozo

On a bright and breezy morning  we made our way over to Valletta to catch the Fast ferry to the island of Gozo. The ferry leaves from the waterfront  close to the Seaman's memorial. 

 After buying our tickets, we found a small coffee shop close by and settled down in the early morning sun, as we enjoyed our drink we were approached by a couple asking direction, it turned out that they Also lived in Cyprus and we had friends in common. The ferry trip took 45 minutes and was a slightly bumpy ride.

We arrived in the port of Mgarr in Gozo where we popped into the visitors centre and a very helpful guy gave us some useful information about how to spend our day.

We hopped on a local bus and drove into the capital, Victoria,  the trip only took about 15 minutes.

 From  the bus station we walked into independence square and had a very tasty  sandwich at the Bellusa cafe. 

We then crossed the road and walked upto The Citadel,  this is a hugely impressive complex containing  several museums and a 17th century  Cathedral.

We the walked along the ramparts which give truly beautiful view of the town, surrounding countryside and numerous small villages in the distance.

We then made our way back to the port and stopped off at the Black bull for a drink while enjoying the views of the harbour below.

The ride back on the ferry was quite rough as we bounced over to the sea back to Valletta. 

A day in Valletta.

 We started the day with a walk down to Sliema  waterfront and hopped onto the ferry for the short trip to Valletta.

Arriving in the capital we walked upto the Hastings gardens which has superb views of the surrounding area and the  City's  fortifications. 

We then strolled down to the Triton fountain which is the gateway to the City and a popular meeting place.

From the fountain we made our way through the City gate onto Republic street.

We walked through the narrow streets looking  at the suberb architecture of the old buildings,  statues and impressive  churches.

After a quick  coffee break we headed over to the Upper barrack gardens which are immaculately kept and have superb views of the Grand harbour and the three cities  beyond.

We arrived in time for the midday firing of the military cannon.

We then took the local ferry over to Cospicua

 where we stopped off for lunch at a waterside restaurant nestled in the heart of the marina.

We the made our way back to Sliema via Valletta  and stopping of for a well earned  drink at the Victoria pub.