Today, it is a modern and bustling city. Look at this fabulous view from where we docked.
Isn't it awesome? At night, it turns into a promenade filled with cafes and restaurants.
I am now officially tired and my knees hurt. The port intensive itinerary is taking its toll on me. I am now escorting panoramic tours, you know the kind -- that's where you sit on a bus most of the day. I made an appointment with the Ortho doc to see what is what; I'm thinking the time has come to seriously think about getting them fixed. I am scheduled to have my right hand operated on again on June 25. Getting old is not for sissies! If I was a car, I would have traded myself in on a new one years ago! Oh well, my motto is: keep truckin' no matter how much it hurts. Plenty of time to sit in a rocking chair when I am old and gray. Wait a minute, I am old and gray! Hahaha. LOL. A good sense of humor always helps.
Anyway, on my less strenuous tour, I got to go olive oil tasting. That cracks me up because being the great cook that I am [big eye roll here], who cares? (No offense to my culinary talented friends). We drove through the city and into the mountains (that's being generous, they are really hills) to Bidnija Olive Grove. The owner, Sam Cremona, showed us his various trees and told us about how the oil is made. This is a totally organic farm. There were ducks, peacocks, chickens, and other assorted fowl everywhere.
This is what I learned:
*They keep wasps around because they eat the eggs of other bugs
*Herbs planted around the olive trees create a microclimate around the trees
*The ideal temperature to process extra virgin olive oil is between 75-82 degrees
*In the old days, only young children and young maidens processed the olives -- that is why it is called extra virgin olive oil. 😁
For the tasting, you don't dip the bread into the oil, you soak it. Then you suck the oil out of the bread. Even my non-discriminating palate could taste the fruitiness of fresh olive oil. Then Mrs. Cremona made a mixture of chopped tomatoes and what not. Bread, in the shape of a large flat bagel was toasted. Then olive oil was spread over the bread -- saturated would be a better description -- then topped with the tomatoes and then fresh herbs sprinkled on top with more oil drizzled over the entire thing. It was delicious and my hands got a nice oil job, too.
Then came the best part of the tour. We stopped at Mdina, Malta's former capital, a medieval fortified city that looks like Disney created it. I have seen lots of medieval cities, but for some reason, I really liked this one. It is just beautiful. People actually still live here and car traffic is limited to the Main Street. There is no way a car could go down the side streets. I liked the clean lines, the wall-hanging lanterns, and all the balconies. This is a place you want to say to the crowds, shhhh, talk softly. The baroque and medieval architecture has been virtually untouched by modern development. The view over the wall is spectacular. Here a picture is worth a thousand words.
Michael also toured Mdina and thought it beautiful. He also toured Valleta on foot and had a swell time. He went to the St. John's cathedral and was duly impressed with the Caravaggio masterpieces. Sorry, no pictures from this place. He also saw the Mosta Dome, a church that is known for a miraculous event that took place in 1942 -- During a church service, a bomb fell through the dome, but it did not explode and no one was injured.
We overnighted here and on the second day, I gave Michael a break and ran the duplicate game. At least I think I did. All the days are starting to run into each other.
On to the next port.............
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