Saturday 18th February
We spent a lazy Saturday morning sitting in the sunshine watching people feeding fish and pottering about in boats.

Early afternoon found us walking through the entrance to Mdina at Rabat, the ancient capital of Malta.

The Natural History Museum is in the Palazzo de Vilhena which is a beautiful building with elegant marble cantilevered stairs

You can take a carriage trip but it's very easy to walk around as cars are banned from most of it.

 

Palazzo Falson is a beautifully preserved medieval mansion built around this lovely courtyard.



 

In the kitchen is a display of these pots which are specially designed for cooking the local speciality, rabbit.

Mdina is built on a hill and the high walls offer wonderful views across the surrounding countryside.

St. Pauls Cathedral is said to be built on the site of the villa belonging Publius, the Roman governor of Malta, who welcomed St. Paul in AD 60. The present building was constructed between 1697 and 1702.

The stunning floor is covered with beautiful and intricately designed marble tombstones.

We took afternoon tea at a cafe on the wall itself with probably the best views anyone could wish for.

We later strolled around the quiet side streets of Mdina.

Rabat spreads down the hill south of Mdina and is known for its narrow streets and wooden galerijas (Maltese balconies).

We just had time to travel on to the coast to see the Dingli cliffs and to enjoy a walk along the clifftops.

On our way back to Mellieha, we passed Mdina and could see where we had enjoyed our afternoon explorations.