Today started by going to the tour office to book our trips for the week. With that competed we grabbed some pies and headed to a rocky beach to eat by the water. We found a nice rock pool and spent more time feeding the fish and crabs then eating. It was just a perfect way to have a feed and enjoy the aquatic life and views of crystal clear ocean waters. The 22 deg weather certainly helped too.
Our first tour began after lunch with a trip to Mdina, an ancient walled medieval city built by the Phoenicians and a place that has held out against many sieges through the ages. There we watched a film tracing it's history from the beginning of settlement on Malta to modern times. Then we wandered through the cobbled streets and enjoyed being in a place so important to Maltas history.
From there it was on to Mosta Dome. A church that has the 3rd largest unsupported dome in Europe. A bomb was dropped by the Italians during WW2 and crashed through the dome during mass with 300 people. It never went off which is as close to a miracle as you ever hear about.
From there we were returned to our apartment in St Julians. We dropped off some gear then wandered down to their mall and had a look around. We came across a cinema and decided to see Due Date with Robert Downey Jnr. It was hilarious and well worth the €14 we paid. A great comedy if you are looking for something to watch. We have really enjoyed seeing all these movies on our trip as it's something we hadn't done as much as we used to in Melbourne. Then it was back for an early night as we have heaps planned for the next week.
Strangely the shops in Malta remind us a lot of home. Just the set out and types of stores remind us of home more than any other country so far. They also have a lot of pubs and clubs which are busy every night of the week. This can be a bit of a pain because we heard them and drunk people all last night even though we are 6 floors up. Still we will no doubt get out for a few drinks at some stage.
Tomorrow we head down to Valleta for a look around and no doubt many photo opportunities. Then tomorrow night we head out to the Knights Live Spectacular Dinner Show. Will tell you more about that down the track. On Friday we head to Sicily for a day tour. On Saturday we head to Gozo which is Maltas sister island. There we go to a festival of light and see a live recreation of Bethlehem put on by one of the villages in a 2km square field which will be amazing. We have a few more tours around Malta as well and will keep you informed.
We haven't cooked yet but haven't really come across a supermarket. It doesn't matter though as food is so cheap and amazing. Probably the best food we have had so far in Europe. That's pretty amazing considering it's a small nation in the middle of the ocean. Our tour guide was telling us about these huge government houses that you can rent for £500 a year. That's a year. Pretty crazy hey?