Our last two days in Malta were spent trying to stay cool (fail) and seeing the last of what Malta had to offer.

We went to the island of Gozo, Malta’s sister island. We had a one hour and 40 minute bus ride ( for 2 euros) then a 20 minute ferry ride to the pretty harbour of Mgarr to get to the island. We did the “touristy thing” and travelled on the hop on hop off bus.

Our first stop was Xewkija , the islands oldest village. it’s claim to fame is it’s church which sits atop of a hill, which they all do, and has Europe’s third largest dome.

We then travelled onto Gozo’s capital , Victoria. It’s main attraction is it’s stunning Citadel. It’s a tiny walled city constructed in the 17th Century , and beautifully restored.

We made the climb to the top and we were rewarded with 360 degree views ( note Rhonda’s hat! For those who know her well, you know she HATES wearing hats , but it is a case of “buggar the hat hair” , it’s too bloody hot not to wear one!)

There are many , many , many churches on the island and they seem to be extremely large for the small population in each village! You see them dotted across the entire skyline.

Nearly all the windmills on the islands of Malta date back to between 1663 and 1773 , and were built by the Knights of St John., ( useless fact…..Malta has the highest density of windmills in the world , more than the Netherlands!)

It was lovely wandering the streets of Valletta during the evening when the heat has gone out of the day, most of the people are eating , and the day trippers have left.

We enjoyed a great last meal in Valletta in Nenu,the Artisian Baker. The beef olives and fried rabbit were sensational as was then traditional dessert of baked date pastry with Maltese ice cream. YUUUUM.

We have enjoyed our time in Malta and have come to some conclusions about the country!

There are so many boats in so many harbours across the islands, we have decided that due to the population being only 432,089 people , each resident must own at least 2 boats.

Another fact that we have noted is that the Maltese people are very generous and have a great sense of humour. We were walking down a quiet street one day admiring the architecture, when an elderly gentleman invited us inside to see his renovated house! we declined just in case he had a “mob” inside who wanted to rob us!

Also one day , when we asked for the “bill” , we were told ….” sorry Bill has gone for the day but would you like Peter instead!”.

We also found some great bars down the narrow side streets with seating precariously perched on the steps! Great fun!

We enjoyed our time in Malta but it was time to move onto the next phase, to return to Italy and our 4 week stay in the village of Chiusi on the Umbria / Tuscany border.

It’s that time, time for a bloody drink, it’s bloody hot!

Ciao ciao

Love Greg and Rhonda.