A Day tour to North-West Malta
We are in Malta for a few weeks and staying in a Deluxe Sea-view Suite at the Corinthia St George. The hotel is an outstanding establishment, with magnificent Mediterranean Sea views, spacious, strategically located to access the island and wonderful foods. This is one of the two hotels we normally stay in when in Malta. Very relaxed and clean environment. Our suite has a separate bedroom with own balcony, separate room for sitting and dining with own balcony and large bathroom.
Power Walk, Tigne Point
I went for an early power walk to Tigne Point, taking me about 60 minutes return, after which we had a very light breakfast which was accompanied with the usual mantra of “that’s it! no more eating and drinking: MUST DIET” …. Unfortunately, I said it out aloud while I was buttering my croissant (as if the croissant NEEDED more butter!) and of course this provided Nanna with the first belly laugh of the day😊
Incidentally, Tigne Point (formerly Point Dragut) is a peninsula in Sliema. The area was originally occupied by several fortifications and a considerable British barracks complex as befitting Malta’s strategic naval position in the Mediterranean. The fortifications were built by the Knights of Malta and named after Knight Francois Rene Jacob de Tigne in recognition of services to the Order.
Once the British left after Malta’s independence, the area was became derelict for many years until it was dramatically redeveloped. The redevelopment created Malta’s largest retail centre as well as building the most luxurious apartments in Malta and completely converted the area into a pedestrian paradise. Throughout the redevelopment there was a strong emphasis on restoration of historic sites within the peninsula surrounds including Fort Tigne, St Luke’s Garrison Chapel, the Garden Battery and the Clock Tower Block.
Goal # 1 for today: Visit the “Times of Malta Book Sale”….I had a general idea where to go to BUT, we had to ask for directions several times and I must say that all Maltese are/were most helpful….
It’s just that we still have a problem in understanding their meaning of “just around the corner” 😊. Such a term has a number of interpretations including, go through the roundabout, take the next on the left (notwithstanding that the next on the left is a dead-end alley!) or other similar interpretations. I do not ever use a GPS when in Malta as I love the challenge of “getting lost”…. besides one can never truly get lost in Malta or Gozo😊….
As a matter of fact, in trying to interpret one such direction, it led me to crossover into the lane of oncoming traffic in the mistaken belief that the road was a 2-lane each way thoroughfare!!…. and on realising this (as a truck was bearing down on us! … like, where the hell did he come from!! …. Oh yea, that’s right…. I was in HIS lane!!!), all I could utter, as I swung sharply right into a drive way on the pretense that I knew what I was doing was “F#$& me dead”…. at the end of which I had a momentary vision of St Peter saying to me “Yip, you’re F@#$ed!”😊…Clearly, Nanna and I are a couple destined to front up to St Peter in an ignominious way as we often get ourselves into “driving strife” in Malta.
…. aaah driving in Malta with yours truly is an X-Treme Sport😊
Anyway, we finally arrived at The Times of Malta Book Sale. It’s a small affair. Most of the books are novels however they did have 2 tables with Maltese historical books which were very interesting but simply too heavy to carry around on the remainder of our holiday and to ship them to Australia was horrendously expensive! Nevertheless, we did spend nearly an hour here (perhaps to recuperate from the previous hour’s driving ordeal😊) and Nanna did buy 2 small books….it’s a “sacred ritual” for her😊….
Goal # 2 for today: visit Ta Qali Craft Village. We didn’t realise (or more likely, forgot) that most all shops would be closed because it is Sunday. …. so, we chalked it to having to revisit tomorrow….
Diar il-Bniet, Malta
Goal # 3 for today: visit Diar il-Bniet at Had Dingli. It wasn’t that far from Ta Qali (not that anywhere is far in Malta when one lives in Australia😊).
Nanna and I had seen a cooking episode in Australia some months ago and it had a segment about this place. We fell in love with in and made a promise to visit it when next in Malta.
As it was way past lunchtime and we had had an incredibly meager breakfast (remember my mantra?) we decided to have a late lunch/early dinner. We opted for the buffet. Yet again, a notable decision made😊.
Diar il-Bniet appealed to us immediately….rustic and charming, immaculately presented and clearly enticing.
This is without doubt, one of Malta’s culinary treasures comprising of authentic Maltese cooking, amazing quality, beautifully presented, deliciously cooked, sensational atmosphere, entirely tantalizing, 5-star service…….AND embodying “farm to plate” religion plus much more. If I was to coin a phrase about this restaurant, it would be “orgasmic…. where the food makes love to your mouth!”
We not only enjoyed the food but also relished speaking with the chef, the wait staff and of course, the CEO (who tells us that he and his sisters look after the restaurant and the businesses around it while their father is in charge of the 600 acres – most of which are under cultivation – that feed the religion around “farm to plate”).
Dingli Cliffs, Malta
After this absolutely delightful feasting interlude, we decided to take a very slow drive around the western side of the island.
We arrived at the popular Dingli Cliffs. Magnificent view of the Mediterranean. This area (and many others like it) is so unlike Australia when it comes to safety! There are simply no safety fences at all. We took a long stroll and captured the island of Filfla in our photos.
Filfla is an uninhabited islet (2.5 hectares). Visitors are forbidden to land on it due firstly because it’s home to Europe’s largest colony of Storm Petrels and secondly because past naval forces used it as target practice and so unexploded ordinance remain on the islet.
We next wandered with our car through narrow village streets and country lanes, driving ever so slowly…. probably driving no more that 10-15 kms/hr. It was very relaxing.
We stopped and walked at a number of points including Rdum Dun Nazju, Rdum ta’ l-Ihfar, Rdum tal-Qaws, Rdum tas-Sarg (Rdum is a Maltese word for “cliffs”), Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (a church built in 1656 but has been abandoned for quite a while…said to be a “mysterious” church), Y.O.U.R.S. (which appeared to be an abandoned prison), Rdum tal-Vigarju back inland to the hamlet of Bahrija (a most tranquil area seemingly oozing with history), onwards back to old capital of Malta, Rabat (the environs of which houses Mdina, Malta’s citadel) the before eventually heading back to our hotel.
Back at Corinthia St George
We arrived back at our hotel by about 7.00. It had been a long, memorable, enjoyable and at times, “perilous” yet exciting day😊. Given that we had a very late and filling lunch, we didn’t venture out to dine. Instead, we opened a bottle of wine, took center stage on one of our balconies overlooking the resort and the Mediterranean Sea, ordered a light supper later in the evening and simply enjoyed the views and the enveloping evening.
