No photos for this entry. We packed up and took our bags up to a nearby bus stop on the thoroughfare encircling the city along the waterline to order transport from Bolt. Had a little difficulty with credit cards (both the FSU travel card and our personal card) as they held payment for anti-fraud confirmations from us. As such, we aren't clear which card got charged. Just a little more administrative hassle to deal with, no biggie.
It was great to get outside of Valletta, into the countryside to see green, terraced fields. Lots of prickly pear everywhere. Saw a field of artichoke as well as other crops. The predominance of Maltese limestone as a building/fencing material is obvious. As it is a relatively soft, porous rock we found that it would come off on our clothes when we brushed by and the rain in Valletta had evidence of the erosion streaming down the stepped sidewalks. As is true with most urban locations, one must be careful where stepping as there is more than a fair amount of dog poop. Cats are pampered here, we saw several cat houses, beds, feeding stations by doorways. Pigeons are everywhere, walking near the tourists in hopes of feasting on some errant food droppings.
Jo commented that the Maltese countryside reminds of New Mexico, except the view of the sea coast. We are here in the rainy season but Malta has a rather arid climate even though the sea imposes high humidity in the summer. Arrived at the ferry terminal. The crossing was a bit choppy as the wind was still above 25 knots but nothing alarming. Jo maintained focus to manage her chronic motion sickness but everything was fine.
We made the mistake of taking an overpriced taxi from the ferry station. Arriving in ir-Rabat (Victoria) he informed us that he was cash only, which confirmed our suspicions that he wasn't really giving us an honest price. He also was unclear where our final location was - even though it is on the main road through town - a bit odd that he wasn't utilizing GPS (perhaps so there would be no official tracking of the trip?) No tip!
Our phone message and text to our host Marla would not go through so we sent emails to all of those who are involved in our residency. Standing in front of the building we met another guest entering the building who, in spite of not speaking English, helped us as much as possible by calling the manager of the building as well as Marla (his attempt to reach her failed as well).
Manuel the manager let us in. There was some confusion based upon our earlier emails about the cancelled ferry and he and Marla thought we weren't coming until Sunday. When Marla came she was very apologetic about the misunderstanding though our communications were a bit confusing so it was our fault as well.
The studio apartment is small, with furnishings that exacerbate that perception. It is an efficiency apartment that isn't very efficient. However there are some very nice things like the nice sized table I'm sitting at to type this blog, the wash machine and small balcony. We spent some time organizing where things should go and, especially if our request for a few more supplies is fulfilled, it will work fine as a home base for the next three weeks.
Rabat is only 1.1 square miles with a population of less than 12,000 yet, with our apartment's location on the main drag it feels rather urban. We need to get out and explore the town on foot though the rainy conditions today (Sunday) slow down the urgency to start walking. First stop may be for shopping for umbrellas.
It was great to get outside of Valletta, into the countryside to see green, terraced fields. Lots of prickly pear everywhere. Saw a field of artichoke as well as other crops. The predominance of Maltese limestone as a building/fencing material is obvious. As it is a relatively soft, porous rock we found that it would come off on our clothes when we brushed by and the rain in Valletta had evidence of the erosion streaming down the stepped sidewalks. As is true with most urban locations, one must be careful where stepping as there is more than a fair amount of dog poop. Cats are pampered here, we saw several cat houses, beds, feeding stations by doorways. Pigeons are everywhere, walking near the tourists in hopes of feasting on some errant food droppings.
Jo commented that the Maltese countryside reminds of New Mexico, except the view of the sea coast. We are here in the rainy season but Malta has a rather arid climate even though the sea imposes high humidity in the summer. Arrived at the ferry terminal. The crossing was a bit choppy as the wind was still above 25 knots but nothing alarming. Jo maintained focus to manage her chronic motion sickness but everything was fine.
We made the mistake of taking an overpriced taxi from the ferry station. Arriving in ir-Rabat (Victoria) he informed us that he was cash only, which confirmed our suspicions that he wasn't really giving us an honest price. He also was unclear where our final location was - even though it is on the main road through town - a bit odd that he wasn't utilizing GPS (perhaps so there would be no official tracking of the trip?) No tip!
Our phone message and text to our host Marla would not go through so we sent emails to all of those who are involved in our residency. Standing in front of the building we met another guest entering the building who, in spite of not speaking English, helped us as much as possible by calling the manager of the building as well as Marla (his attempt to reach her failed as well).
Manuel the manager let us in. There was some confusion based upon our earlier emails about the cancelled ferry and he and Marla thought we weren't coming until Sunday. When Marla came she was very apologetic about the misunderstanding though our communications were a bit confusing so it was our fault as well.
The studio apartment is small, with furnishings that exacerbate that perception. It is an efficiency apartment that isn't very efficient. However there are some very nice things like the nice sized table I'm sitting at to type this blog, the wash machine and small balcony. We spent some time organizing where things should go and, especially if our request for a few more supplies is fulfilled, it will work fine as a home base for the next three weeks.
Rabat is only 1.1 square miles with a population of less than 12,000 yet, with our apartment's location on the main drag it feels rather urban. We need to get out and explore the town on foot though the rainy conditions today (Sunday) slow down the urgency to start walking. First stop may be for shopping for umbrellas.