A Market, A Grotto and Some Cliffs

This morning we were up at 7:00am and after showers anDingli Cliffsd breakfast we were ready for our day of exploring. Around 9:30am Graham and Jessica came over and then we all walked over to the Freedom Monument where Graham had made arrangements for a van to pick us up. Once in the van we were headed to Marsaxlokk. It took us about thirty minutes to get there and we arrived to a packed and busy city. First, it was Sunday and they were having their market and second, it was Freedom Day on the Island. We spent quite a bit of time walking through the market. They have everything from fresh fish and seafood to local honey and produce, clothes, souvenirs, pastry, candy and pretty much anything you want or need. We ended up buying fresh strawberries, local honey and some nougat. After spending time walking through the market and along the harbor we decided it was time to get some lunch. Graham wanted us to eat at Tartarun but they were full. So we ended up at T'Anna Mari. Thomas had a salad with chicken and I had lasagna made with rabbit. It was all very delicious. Lunch lasted two and a half hours - a long, leisurely meal. We left the restaurant and stopped at the Marsaxlokk Parish Church and then continued to a bus stop so we could move on to our next stop. After about 20 minutes of waiting Graham figured out that the buses weren't coming into the city because of all the activity so he called for a van to pick us up.

From Marsaxlokk we drove to The Blue Grotto near Żurrieq. The van dropped us off near the ticket office for the boat ride to the grotto. We got our tickets and made our way to the boats. There was about ten of us in a small boat and we took a thirty minute ride in and around the coast and caves. It was beautiful! I wish it had been warmer so we could have spent more time on the water. But even so the area was incredible and after our boat ride we walked around the area for a while before heading to a bus stop to make our way to our next destination.

We took the bus to Dingli Cliffs. We spent about an hour walking along the cliffs enjoying the beautiful views of the Mediterranean. As we walked the sun lowered itself and gave us a totally awesome ending to our day. The area along the cliffs is wonderful, a natural and serene place. We enjoyed the late afternoon while we left the cliffs and headed into the town of Dingli to catch a bus back to Valletta. It was 6:00pm when we finally caught the bus and made our way to Valletta. Once in Valletta we wandered around looking for a place to eat. Most of the restaurants were packed (remember it was Freedom Day) but eventually we ended up at Is-Suq Tal-Belt which is like a food court. So we could all find something to eat that we wanted. We had a good meal and then we walked around Valletta for a bit before making our way back to the bus for our trip back to Birgu. We finally arrived at the apartment around 9:00pm. We are all exhausted but happy. It was a wonderful and beautiful day along the coast of Malta.