Shirley and I had the morning to ourselves today, so we went walkabout in Valletta. We headed downhill to the Grand Harbour which is indeed very grand! See below.

Valletta was swarmed by tourists today. No wonder – five criuse ships were in harbour!

You’ll hear me moan on the video of the Grand Harbour that I do not like having my picture taken – true fact. This did not deter my sister! We continued along the waterfront to Lower Barrack and Upper Barrack Gardens, me snapping photos along the way. Our uphill path was made easier by wide shallow steps – but such a lot of them!

We were picked up by our wonderful driver of a few days ago and delivered to Mdina (pronounced emm-deena), the “silent city.” It is silent because cars are hardly allowed. The 94 people who still live in Mdina can have cars, but all others – personal vehicles, taxis, commercial vehicles – can stay only one hour at a time inside the gates.

I made a video tour of my room at the Xara Palace (in Malta, an X is pronounced as SH). It, and the hotel, are ridiculously luxurious and very comfortable.

A third guide, Rebecca – our favourite! – met us mid-afternoon and took us on a walking tour of Mdina and Rabat, the small city just outside the Mdina gates. Mdina has a 4,000 year history. Because is it 10 km distant from Valletta with its Grand Harbour, Mdina was never bombed. It remains largely in tact to this year. If it looks familiar, the first season of the Games of Thrones was filmed here.

The Foundling Wheel in Rabat really struck us. Through history, unwed mothers could give birth and take the babies to a nunnery with a foundling wheel. The wheel turned so the mother could place her baby on it in the street, set the wheel turning, and the nuns inside would accept the child as an orphan. Frequently, the fathers of these babies would be religious men like the Knights of St. John.

My favourite part of the walking tour was the visit to Saint Paul’s Metropolitan Cathedral built betweenn 1696 and 1705. I have a new favourite church! The frescos decorating the walls and the ceiling are exquisite. Even the tombs on the floor are works of art. If I lived in Mdina, I might even go to church.

We decided to have dinner at the restaurant in the hotel, the De Mondion which, it seems, has a Michelin star. The very amateur-ish video below will show you the evening’s tasting menu. I sincerely hoped far more sophisticated diners were not watching me do this.

We ordered the shorter tasting menu with delicious Maltese wine pairings and an initial glass of bubbly to sip with complimentary snacks. I chose a rosé champagne while Shirley choose a white champagne. The dishes proceeded as follows:

1. Local sourdough bread with olive oil
2. Tribute to the Mediterranean Sea. Since it involved shrimp and Shirley cannot eat shrimp, she had a salad instead.
3. Leeks “en papillote” with hazelnuts, potato and lardo di “Colonnata.”
4. “Delica pumpkin Berlingots” with Zeppi goats milk and spinach.
5. Suckling pig with a tarte of green tomatoes and creme fraiche.
6. Childhood memories. A little ice cream with sauce and candied orange peel eaten with a coloured spoon of our choice. I chose yellow for my sunny upbringing. Shirley chose green – she said it was because it was the closest. 😉
7. Kannoli. One with a tart-ish peach filling, the other with a sweet ricotta filling.
8. Petit fours – a baked bread of some type accompanied by a small cup of warm white chocolate milk for dipping.

I really wish I had taken the food photography course as part of my certificate!

After three and a half wonderful hours, Shirley and I waddled out, happy that we could take the elevator down a floor and fall into bed!

Iktar tempji għada. Narawkom dakinhar. 🙂