Malta, Walk by the Sea, Day 17, June 6th

We decided to have a nice lunch out and just make a simple salad at home for dinner so we headed to the market for what we were missing.  We had a big breakfast at home so we went for a long walk around the fortification wall to build up our lunchtime appetites.  The wind was strong today and the swells were crazy as we watched the various boats running Harbour cruises blast through as they exited Marsamxett Harbour into the open sea hell bent for the shelter of the Grand Harbour.  The passengers could not have been having a good time. 


Lunch was going to be at a highly recommended quaint restaurant called Guze’ on Old Bakery Street but for some reason it was closed when we got there at 2:00.  It is rated #2 out of 131 restaurants in Valletta.  Earlier we had stopped by Aaron’s Kitchen where we made a resso for tomorrow’s lunch. Aaron has a cooking show on TV and is rated #5 out of 131 restaurants in Valletta.  We checked out menus of restaurant’s we passed as we made our way back to Aaron’s but did not find anything that appealed to us. We got back to Aaron’s at 2:20 and they agreed to serve us even though they close at 3:00 to prepare for dinner.  It was fabulous and probably the best lunch of our stay in Malta.  I should mention that a high rating does not mean high prices.  We had two delicious specials, a bottle of sparkling water, and an Aussie bottle of Peter Lehmann unoaked chardonnay for a total of 40 Euros (CDN$48) all in. To put this in perspective, when we treat ourselves in Fergus and go out for a sushi lunch, it cost us over $40 with a beer and a small sake. We left Aaron’s at 3:45 and headed for home exploring some new streets along the way.  

                             On our walk we discovered a large tunnel under the fortification wall

                                                   Looks to me like a mutant dog drinking

                                The water was spraying us as we squeezed ourselves along the rocks

                                                Shrapnel marks from the WWII bombings

                                                    Jill dwarfed by the rocks along the way

                                            A drainage tunnel through the fortification wall

                                                           Stairs cut into the limestone

                                                            East of Fort St. Elmo

                                                                A happy customer

      A monument to Dun Mikel Xerri, a Maltese patriot, who was executed along with others in 1799,
                    for leading an unsuccessful revolt during Napoleon's two year occupation of Malta

The inner courtyard of the Auberge D'Aragon, built in 1571 which was occupied by the Knights of St. John from Aragon.  The security guard was fast asleep at her desk so we casually walked by and took some pictures. It is presently occupied by the Minister of Education and Culture.

                                                   View from the Auberge D'Aragon