Looking back toward Xlendi Bay. Note the absence of litter!!! The islands are gloriously free of it, except for an occasional ‘accidental’ piece (I would guess). The homes, yards and gardens also reflect a very tidy quality.
Ahhh… I hear the toot of a ‘market truck” – my name for them. We’ve seen them in Xlendi and neighboring towns. The horn announces the arrival of basically a rolling mini-grocery store. You have to be quick though, they don’t linger in any one spot long.
– Laura
In December 2004, Dave & I visited Malta for 3 weeks. We stayed in 2 different places on the main island and had a 4 day stay in Marsalforn on the north coast of Gozo. Though it was rainy and unseasonably cold (so they said), I remember fondly the walks we took through the countryside from town to town. I’ve anticipated these walks on this trip, and thankfully the weather has cooperated. Cloudy mornings skies seem to always clear by midday.
Monday’s walk started in Xlendi Bay where we headed east on a trail through the fields. The islands have been inhabited for over 5ooo years, and I can’t imagine how much work it took to build the rock retaining walls that cover them. The terraces they create are garden/farm lands. 
We met a gentleman on the trail who said he had been in bed with a bad back for 3 days – he blamed the bumpy scooter ride! He and his dog Charlie were headed to Munxar – where they do have a grocery store.
Our walk continued along these beautiful south facing cliffs.
Construction challenges with narrow streets! There are many eunfinished homes with for sale signs. It appears as though they build a shell on speculation and the buyer finishes the interior, including windows. It also appears as though no mortar is used between these solid blocks of stone.
Finally, we wound our way through the villages of Sannat and Munxar before looping back to Xlendi Bay. – Laura
A personal shout out to my brother Al (Fritter) for placing first in a professional dog sled race in N. Michigan this last weekend. He ran with 10 dogs (winning time of 4 hr, 28 minutes), and I’m very proud of him. He works hard training these dogs, and I’m sure he’s enjoying the payoff. Way to go Frit!! – Laura
Travel day Sunday, Jan 11 (Go HAWKS!!)
Norberto arranged for his regular taxi driver to pick us up at 5 a.m. (Aurg!). 15 minute ride to airport and search for Ryan Air’s ticket counter.
NOTE : Ryan Air (a big Boeing customer) is a budget carrier. Our 2.5 hr flight to Malta on a 737-800 was $60 each. The reverse trip will cost us $45. What you give up for that price is:
Dave’s suitcase, which fit as carry-on flying to Europe (and within the states) was larger than their max carry-on size, so it had to be checked – for a fee. If you make the mistake of thinking your bag WILL fit as a carry on and it doesn’t, that fee is double at the gate. We did witness 2 young ladies in this bind – trying in vain to squish their hard shell bags into the little measuring box. 🙁 There are more restrictions, all of which are detailed on their website. Ryan Air and Easyjet are great options for budget travel, just be advised to do your homework to avoid surprises.
Back to Sunday!
Flight was uneventful – we flew over the north coast of Africa, and arrived in a cloud-covered, windy (palm trees swaying) Malta.
Took local bus from the Malta airport..
to the ferry dock at north end of the island. The 30 minute ferry ride (cars & walk-ons) took us to the island of Gozo.
The island of Gozo is a part of Malta, just a little smaller and greener (less populated) island than the main island. Our lodging host (Joe) picked us up at the ferry terminal. We could have taken a taxi, or 2 different buses to get to the town of Xlendi, where our 1 week rental is located. Graciously he offered to stop at a supermarket for us to get provisions, as our little beach town of Xlendi has no grocery store – though it does have has 18 restaurants! – Laura
This is the link to the airbnb site posting of the place we stayed in in Madrid:
https://www.airbnb.com.mt/rooms/2788425?guests=2&s=U9oZ
Some notes about constructions style that most of you probably don’t care about.
1) toilet water is fed to the top right of the tank rather than the bottom left as they are in the states
2) the apartment heating is a modern radiator with gas fed boiler. The boiler heats all the water both for sinks/showers and the heating radiators.
3) Instead of our typical front door locking door nob and deadbolt, their doors have a lock insert that is inset all the way up and down the door. You turn the key several times around and each time a dead bolt like protrusion extends further into the door jamb. The main difference however is that the “deadbolts” are three sets of three deadbolts, one set at the top, middle, and bottom of the door. Each of the three deadbolt sets has three 1/2 inch round deadbolts about an inch apart. In addition you have to turn the key to get into the apartment as there is no door nob to turn to unlatch the door. So three revolutions of the key, two to unlock the deadbolts and the third to unlatch the door.
4) washer and dryer are combined in one unit and frequently located in the kitchen
5) in all of the airbnb posts I have never seen a dishwasher
6) the refrigerator/freezer in our unit was probably a foot taller than we see in the states but a little skinnier as well and very quiet in operation (made by LG).
7) most residences have metal roll down blinds/shutters outside of the windows and they use them, although I don’t quite know why.
8) our fairly new apartment did not have a closet in the bedroom and I believe that is typical. One buys an amour to put in the bedroom for clothes. -Dave
I visited the Palacio Real (The Royal Palace) in downtown Madrid. It was built from 1738 to 1755. The Spanish royal family does not live here today instead living in another palace on the outskirts of town. This palace is now used for special occasions. There was a music room in the palace that contained 5 Stradivarius instruments in display cases (two violins, one viola, a small cello and a normal size cello) which is the only complete Stradivarius quintet in the world. Another impressive room was the dining room with the table set for what looked like about 100 people. It is hard to imagine daily life living in this 3418 room 1,450,000 square foot home. -Dave
Madrid is a large city, and we only saw a little slice of it, which was probably typical of the rest of the city. Lots to see and do. The people are delightful and willing to help when asked, and we had blue skies every day. The only negative I would note is the litter 🙁
The Spaniards LOVE their ham (jambon). It’s the most common sandwich, and there are many stores that sell just ham and sausages.
The Spanish seem to exercise their right to peaceful protest often. We saw 3 different protests – all very organized. This one was against some changes (firings?) at the Coca Cola plant.
Ten delightful days into our adventure and we’re off to Malta, and some musings about low cost air carriers. Laura
I’m always drawn to beautiful doors. Laura
Added 2 interior photos of the staircases in this unique building, the first was stone, the second steel:
This is a really unique building – the center core supports the building, with most of it cantilevered. One can walk under it through to the other side. Note the brick lower 1/2 and the steel plate facade on the upper 1/2.
We toured the museum, and then had a coffee break on the top floor. From this inside shot, you can better see the pattern cut into the steel façade. – Laura
Madrid’s official Symbol.
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What is the Bear and a Strawberry tree? Mmm… didn’t see either. Maybe in July…. Laura
