The Joys of Retirement Production Company

Sunrise on the Nile

We started with orientation with our guide,  Mohamed Samy, and then set off to tour the Citadel (1300,’s) and the Alabastor Mosque, of Mohamed Ali.  This is in the Turkish style,  like Hagia Sofia in Istanbul

We then went to the old Egyptian museum.   Many many of the pieces have been moved already to the GEM, the Grand Egyptian Museum, which has had its soft opening.  The Grand opening is July 3. 

We could not take any pictures on the rooms with the Tutankamon golden items,  but we were able to see some of pieces that have not been moved yet.  

Other interesting pieces from the earliest times. 4900 years ago, the early kingdom

This 1 also shows the Sphnix

I also caught the new GEM, Grand Egyptian Museum from the plane too

Our lodging,  the Sheraton Cairo, on the Nile!

What a cool day for our last day in Malta! 

We woke to find a marathon ruining outside our hotel!  8 years ago we were in Barcelona and had a similar experience!  They ran on the street right below our hotel room here!  A 5K walk passed first,  then the elite runners,  1 and 2 passed by.  i believe best time was 2 13.

We took the ferry over to Valletta with the intent to see the war museum at Fort St. Elmo.  To our surprise  and delight, there was a reenactment of grandmaster Valletta and the Knights of St. John coming to the islands of Malta in 1530.  It only happens occasionally,  the next in about 2 weeks,  so we were very lucky to come at the right moment!

The ceremonial arrival of the Grandmaster Valletta, the founder of the city.

Each flag was presented to the Grandmaster and the flag of St John, the red field with the white cross

The flags and who they represent,  knights of St John came from each of these regions, originally in the 1100s to liberate Jerusalem from the Turks, then to Rhodes, where they ran hospitals for the pilgrims.  When the ottomans drove them out, they came to Malta in 1530. 

The first 3 flags are representative of regions of France

They also enacted a sword fight

After the reenactment, we visited the war museum which covered the entire history of Malta.

The George cross,  awarded to the countrymen of Malta, the only time in history it has been awarded to a whole country

We walked to the Lower Barakka Gardens for the view

Then we decided to walk up to the city center for lunch.   We stopped again at the Valletta market.  Soup and sandwich,  Maltese street food style

We encountered another,  our 3rd serendipitous event!  A competition for Carnival in Malta, where dance teams were competing in the Republic square in the heart of Valletta.   We had seen a group on Gozo, practicing,  when we visited from St Paul’s Bay!  We just couldn’t figure out what that group was practicing for! 

Just a few more street scenes,  then back to the hotel for a rest.

We cruises out of Sliema, around the peninsula is Valletta and the 3 fortified cities across the grand harbor this morning for a totally different view of Valletta

Valletta and the side facing Sliema

Out of the harbor by Sliena, into the Mediterranean and around St Elmo Fort into the Grand Harbor

Around ship yards and loading socks off the working harbor

And back out into the sea toward Sliema

Sliema is more modern,  but you can still find a few balconies,  like Valletta

Lunch of felafel and gelato! 

But just a short distance.   We changed locations from St Pauls Bay to Sliema, just across from Valletta.  Our bus trip was about an hour,  but the distance was only about 9 miles.   We are staying our last 3 nights here at the Londoner, the tall black hotel here.

Across this bay is Valletta, and along the coastal walk are many ferries and boat rides, 

Tomorrow we will do some more exploration of this area is the island

Dinner was too good not to mention!  Carpaccio, brucetta, mushroom risotto ( no picture…. we must have been hungry)  and profiteroles for dessert!  (Little cream puff pastries with a chocolate mousse on top)

And our nighttime view is pretty spectacular too

The country of Malta has 3 main islands,  Malta and Gozo are the 2 bigger ones,  Comino has only 3 inhabitants,  and a dog.   Today we joined a trip over to Gozo by bus and ferry. 

  On the island we visited several places of interest.   One of the many Megalythic sites on the islands is Ggantija. There were 2 temples there built between 3600BC and 3000BC, older than the pyramids of Egypt

We visited a place called an inland sea.  There is a huge opening cave from the sea that fills a Lake with salt water.   Small boats then take you out to the sea and into small caves along the coast

Along the same coast, we took a small train (without a track) to visit some salt flats,  some of them dating back to Roman times.  They run along the Rocky coast approximately 3 km

We ended out your in Victoria,  the capital of Gozo, named for Queen Victoria to celebrate her golden jubilee.  St. George’s Basilica,  one of 2 of the island,  in on the center of the old town.

There is a Citadel there from 1515

The views must be wonderful from the top. We just stayed near the base and these were our views of the island towns nearby.

It was a very full day. But enjoyable!

We adventures by bus today to the town of Mdina. It is a beautiful walled medieval city which was the original capital of Malta.

We walked along the very narrow streets to the cathedral of St Peter and visited the museum there as well.  

The church inside was beautiful

The tomb markers in the floor were exquisitly crafted marbles! I’ve never seen any like them anywhere!  Beautiful! 

We toured the museum as well with many art works and alter pieces,  gold,  silver,  and relics.  The oldest bell in Malta, forged in 1309 on Venice is displayed there.  It is almost the size of Emmett.

2nd floor displays many paintings and furnishings

The other church was much smaller but elegantly decorated

From the ramparts of the city walls we could see the nearby city of Mosta and it’s rotunda.   I had seen it from the air as we approached Malta.  The countryside below is green and beautiful

The view of it on our arrival last week

The squares and street signs are porcelin!

We are staying 5 nights in this resort area,  enjoying a bit of American style hotel comfort! 

We walked around the bay a bit today,  and passed an ancient Roman salt beds and many restaurants

We’ve enjoyed seeing the sunset again!

Life is good

We change lodging today,  moving to St.Paul’s Bay in the north.   And today is the big market day in the little fishing town of Marsaxlott.  It’s well known for great seafood, so we made arrangements to store our bags at a luggage place and take the old fashioned bus to Marsaxlott!

There is a huge market on Sunday here but i really wanted to have a great fish lunch and see the colorful boats in the harbor, so i was happy to skim the shopping parts

Sea bass lunch was delicious

The shopping was typical fare, local products, foods. Clothing,  and daily necessities.

After lunch,  we took the old bus back to Valletta, enjoyed a delicious gelato,  picked up our bags,  and caught a ride to St Paul’s Bay and the Doubletree hotel there.  

From this point on,  we are staying in hotels,  and enjoying a bit more luxury.   We were upgraded at the Doubletree since we own some Hilton Grand vacation timeshares.   Our room has a king sized bed,  and a great bay view.

From this part of Malta, we plan to visit the ancient capital Mdina and Rabat, as well as spend a day on Gozo, the sister island of Malta.

Today’s weather forecast is a bit iffy, so we opted for a tour of one of Malta’s aristocratic homes.  This 1 is still occupied by the Marquis and Family,  9 generations,  150 years!  The home is a 16th century building.  This is still a family in the Order of St John of Malta

We walked a bit more to the old Valletta market for lunch

An iconic picture around Valletta,  these balconies,  originally built to hide Muslim women so they could look out on the street but not be seen