First Day in Gozo

 

Every time we come to Gozo we have to take a photo in front of the "Marta" house. Many houses in Malta have names... and this one... which happens to be on the same street that we are staying... has OUR name on it. That must be a sign right?

Our first day in Gozo was pretty relaxed. We spent most of the day trying to acclimate to the time (not very successfully I might add!) The temperature here is pretty hot right now. The high is about 35 degrees celsius and it is only going down to about 25 in the night. Thank goodness for air conditioning. Here's a travel tip for you... if you come to Malta in the summer do NOT book a place without aircon!

When we finally went out... we went for a walk down to see the gym Steve wants to join for the summer. Of course it was closed because today is a public holiday for the feast of St. Peter and Paul. We'll put that back on the list for tomorrow!

We did a bit of wondering and got reacquainted with Victoria. Here are a few photos to give you a glimpse into Victoria:

This building always fascinates me. It looks like it was a glorious hotel or something... I think it hasn't been occupied by anything since we first saw it in 2016. It surprises me because it is a beautiful building right on the main street of Victoria. I guess it is just waiting for someone to love it!

Here is the main street in Victoria. I think the decorations for the festas stay up all summer? I guess I'll find out :)

Side note: They drive on the left side of the road here. I'm working very hard at not getting run over! I am finding the traffic circles particularly challenging!

Here is the beautiful (and steep) road up to the Citadella. Also note that this is the slipperiest sidewalk I've ever walked on (hence the railing!)

After a little walk, we decided to have dinner in our favourite square... St. George's. It is steps from our apartment and has such nice ambience. Steve ordered a burger that came like this!

Who could possibly eat a burger that big you ask? Well Steve can! He also ate half of my burger!

I tried to get a video of the square to give you a feeling for it, but there were so many big umbrellas you can't really see the pretty buildings.

After dinner we took a walk up to the citadella. This is one of my favourite places in Gozo, and it looks extra pretty at night! We saw a few fireworks (for the feast of St. Peter and Paul I'm guessing!) and enjoyed a walk around the fortress.

When. you first walk inside the gates you see these beautiful buildings!

There was actually a service going on in the cathedral. I guess on feast days you can go to church late at night?

You can also admire the views across Gozo from the Citadella...

Just an interesting little side note... you know how I love side notes!

Maltese is a difficult language to learn and has a lot of unusual letters (lots of x, q, j). One of the signs I find most fascinating is this one... which we first thought meant no parking... but later learned it means "don't leave your trash here". It's one of the few Maltese phrases we know. So on our way out we snapped a photo of me reminding everyone not to leave their trash here!

It seems like several other people also don't know what the sign says because this is what we found on the way home!