Sunday 4 January 2009

Soldiers and Caves


An early start this morning to get to Fort St Elmo by 11am for a re-enactment of a medieval parade. It's held in the courtyard of what is now the police academy, and we're greeted by men in costume at the gate. It's a splendid show, with guns, mortars and cannons being fired, men fighting with swords and a marching band. Alex is enthralled.

From there we go to Ghar Dhalam cave, where hundreds of fossilised hippopotamus and elephant bones have been excavated. The museum is an exhibit in its own right, unchanged since Victorian times, with cases crammed full of bones, all sorted by type.

Lunch at The Corinthia's Cafe 24 is another example of traditional Maltese service, with Alex's baguette toasted to charcoal - so we send it back and they make him a new one.
This morning's hot sun has been replaced with cloud by now, so Alex has to settle for a swim in the indoor pool - he's longing to use the one outside but has to concede that it's too cold even for him. While he's away, the housekeeper arrives with our daily delivery of chocolates and to check that everything's OK. We're pretty sure that every hotel and restaurant in town now has a poster of us captioned "watch out, they complain" but I think daily chocolate deliveries are standard for residents in suites.

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