Today we left Sicily, after ten captivating days (and we
have chosen to put aside those days when we were held captive in the clothes we
arrived in after our luggage was lost).
First a farewell walk through the Catania market, with its stalls selling
everything from clothing, electrical and electronic goods, to kitchenware, pottery
and pot-plants, seafood, fruit and vegies.
Then off to Catania Airport (in plenty of time – we had been warned
about the chaos) for a delayed RyanAir flight to Valletta. Our arrival in Malta was stepping into a
different world; everything at the airport was orderly and calm, the driver of
the car our host had arranged to meet us was a well-dressed, knowledgeable and polite
young man who spoke faultless English, and we drove through light traffic to our
accommodation, an immaculate, modern apartment (although in a centuries–old building)
owned by an architect who had no doubt practised his craft on its modernisation.
And the views are to die for! We look directly onto the water separating
Valletta from Sliema, with beautiful Manoel Island in between.
After a quick orientation from our host,
Lucienne, we walked to the nearby supermarket and bought a seafood pack (prawns,
mussels, clams, squid) to have with our leftover pack of spaghetti from Palermo and some of the sun-dried tomatoes we had bought at Noto, cooked and
ate it, washed down with a local Maltese white, then sat on our balcony and
watched the sun go down over the horizon.
If we sound like we are being totally self-indulgent, we are. This is bliss!
Tomorrow – we start exploring Malta.
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