Melting in Malta: Mdina and Rabat

for the second leg of the trip, we were now headed towards game of thrones territory. i did watch 3 seasons (i think) of this HBO hit and like most fans would like to see the filming locations because well, i was already in malta anyway. 

Mdina at Daytime

we stayed in mellieha for two nights and then moved to an apartment close to mdina. i got lucky by booking a small room that is so close to the mdina gate, you can see the gate when you exit the apartment. 

of course, there was no way we could take a photo of just the mdina gate because every other soul was trying to do the same thing. who could resist getting a selfie in the place where the starks bid their farewell in king's landing? 

this old, walled, former capital of malta might be small, but there are plenty to see. we walked past st. paul's cathedral but to go in, you'll have to pay 5 euros. knowing lovro's displeasure with visiting churches there was no way i would pay that. it might not be so unreasonable when you find out that you could visit the museum as well, but that wouldn't fly with lovro either.

even if you haven't religiously planned your trip to mdina, you could just as well walk around and get lost. everything was beautiful. even the door knobs and knockers they sell.

it was impossibly hot in midday and it was time for lunch, so i wanted to find a place that would have a nice breeze. luckily there's this rooftop restaurant that the apartment owner recommended: fontanella tea garden. i couldn't help myself so i tried a local brew. not bad, but nothing compared to belgian beer. 😁

post lunch i managed to convince lovro to visit one of the churches because it will be colder inside. so we went inside carmelite priory. he behaved for a few minutes before finally making it known that it was not cool what mommy tricked him into. he was at least considerate to let me take a few photos before complaining. to be fair, i didn't lie to him, it was really colder inside! 

we roamed for another hour or so, until it was time for his nap. poor boy was exhausted! normally i would let him nap in his pram so i could actually enjoy sight-seeing but at that moment, with that weather, i was worried his legs would be sun-burnt. back at the apartment, i realized it was definitely a good decision.

Mdina at Night

cat had been saying that mdina is quite charming at night too. that in fact with this kind of summer heat, visiting at night is better. so we decided to come back one evening. that weekend there was a food festival so the gate was pretty lit. literally.

i have to agree that it felt more mysterious at night. and because i didn't have to fear burning and melting, we walked slower and more enjoyably. i managed to take more photos of the places i wanted to see, including more film sets of GoT like the mesquita square where jamie and ned fought and littlefinger's brothel. the pictures i took didn't do them justice, but this square was really pretty.

Rabat

just outside mdina's wall is rabat: home to some very important archaeological sites and relics in malta that are a must-see in most tourists' lists. if you've done your research then you'd know easily of the catacombs of st. paul and st. agatha that were used as burial sites during the roman period. we visited the st. paul's catacombs, but since i'm not much of a history buff, and it wasn't exactly fun for lovro, we didn't spend as much time there as, say, my boyfriend would have. 😀 

another place we visited in rabat was this courtyard where cersei famously coined the quote "when you play the game of thrones you either win or you die" - st. dominic's convent. we went on a late afternoon, and was pleasantly surprised that there was nobody there at all. we were the only visitors. hurray! 

mdina and rabat make the quintessential part of a maltese trip especially if you're out for some culture and history. malta has a lot of beautiful beaches and coastline but the old capital is definitely not something to skip.

Melting in Malta: Mellieha

the plan to visit malta came about when i found out that our family lawyer - a friend of my college friend - just moved there. she diligently helped us on my son's case and i really wanted to personally meet her and thank her.

the small country, while pretty dense for its size, doesn't get a lot of love from tourists. thanks to game of thrones, the country became a subject of curiosity and more visitors had been visiting steadily. since i've planned to visit with lovro, i knew that we couldn't do much and allocated only 6 days. but after that trip, i realized that was a mistake. there was so much to see and do in malta that we could have easily taken 2 weeks. 6 days felt quite rushed, especially with my limited mobility, my 4 year old and that wicked summer sun. nevertheless, we made the most out of it.

Mellieha

our first stop was in mellieha. i wanted to take lovro to see the popeye village and so i decided to stay close by, and based on what i've found online, this town has a beautiful coastline and is famous for its beaches. just a short bus ride to cirkewwa and a ferry ride away from there is the popular blue lagoon, a spot in comino island just off the coast that is known for its azure-colored water. we arrived in the afternoon and i have arranged for an airport pick-up with the owner of the apartment. the driver announced that it was 42 degrees outside and as we drove by i couldn't help but notice that the land was barren. there were hilly views but they're mostly brown from lack of vegetation, and trees were few and short. the apartment owner greeted us and explained all we needed to know about our stay, and his living room was filled with a million flyers of things to do all over malta. it was perfect because i have not really prepared much for this trip and was thinking to just wing it.

summer days are long, and lovro did not want to nap, so after a bit of rest we decided to explore the area. i was told of a playground nearby, and thought the little one could use a bit of playtime. it will be two blocks away, he said, after the church. what he didn't explain was how beautiful the facade and courtyard of this church was! it was the sanctuary of our lady of mellieħa.

when you exit the church patio, the beautiful coastal view awaits. like a wonderful surprise. and at the end of the road, next to the cemetery, we finally spot the playground. a playground with a view, at that!

that evening we had a dinner date with Catherine, and i booked a table at the second highest-rated restaurant in TripAdvisor, Rebekah's. i had the chef special of traditional maltese rabbit dish. food was great, and the company better.

Comino Cruise

when i spoke to our host about a plan to spend the whole day in popeye village, his immediate response was NO. he figured the 'park' is too small to spend a whole day at, and suggested that we go only in the late afternoon. the heat would also not make it enjoyable for lovro, he stressed. so in the morning i've decided why not take a cruise to comino (or anywhere, really) to see what the whole blue lagoon buzz was all about. i was preparing breakfast when the couple occupying the other room in the apartment came around and we chat for a bit. they were heading to cirkewwa that morning, and offered to take us there since they rented a car. there was a comino ferries co-op booth and the boat ride costed only about 9 euros round-trip so we opted for it. 

the blue lagoon looked great in the flyer photos but even more amazing to see with your own eyes. 

the beach was of course packed with tourists, but that was expected for such a beautiful place in the height of summer. and for 9 euros to get there, i can't really complain. i initially thought of not even having to leave the boat and just cruise back immediately, as i wasn't sure if lovro was going to like it. but he did, and he himself asked that we get off and hang out by the beach and eat some fries. 

it was scorching hot by the time we had to leave, but we needed to go back to the apartment as we had a date for our next agenda for the day.

Popeye Village

Catherine agreed to join us for this trip. she said she's always wanted to go there but it didn't seem fun to go without bringing a kid along. popeye village is actually the film set of the 1980 musical which was converted to a theme park and became a major tourist attraction in malta. initially our host said that if we visit late in the afternoon we only pay half the price. but that was not the case - we still paid 17 euros. maybe for locals?

we arrived around 4, and the village closes at 7. luckily it's small enough that we didn't feel rushed and still managed to see almost everything. we could've taken it slower though, but with the sun melting us away, that wouldn't have been so fun either. 

there was a floating playground but i believe you'd have to pay extra to go there. we weren't prepared to get soaked though - i didn't bring swimsuit. plus, lovro the scaredy cat didn't want to go there. 

we saved the best for last. we went for a boat ride which gave visitors a good view of the village from the sea. also, anchor bay is really beautiful. the boat ride is included in the entry ticket.

we managed to be out the door just as they've announced that the village is about to close. we took some more photos of the magnificent village before we headed to the bus stop, only to realize that the bus will take 20 minutes to arrive. luckily, a guy driving a coach passed by and asked people where they'd be going. he took a few of us who were probably going towards the same direction and charged us 2 euros each. in the philippines, we call this kind of transport agreement as "colorum". interesting to see this exists in this more ancient side of the world too. 😆

bye bye popeye village