Malta Road Trip: Experiencing Mdina

November 20, 2020

Destination: Mdina, Northern Region, Malts

Travel Period: November 2018

This is Delphi and moi in Mdina, the ancient capital of Malta. We spent an afternoon checking out this place. We had lunch with a view and during our discovery walk, we came upon a church where we witnessed a local wedding.

We got rained down but we managed to enjoy our time here in this ancient stronghold. I have lots of pictures and a few bit of stories to share about our nice time in Mdina.

This is the entrance to Mdina and this is called the Mdina Gate 1724. From the street, you walk on a stone arch bridge, where below is a garden which I would assume was a moat in the past. Many old cities and castles dug and built a moat around to serve as first defense protection for any invasions.

We saw some kind of historical re-enactment parading around the city with people dressed in bright medieval clothing. Always nice to see these kinds of events promoting life back then.

Only Mdina residents with permits can go inside the walled city with their vehicles which is understandable of course because the city is very small. We saw this lovely traditional horse-driven carriage. They are a good help for older people and those with mobility issues. The horse-drawn carriage reminds me of the old times in my home city in Cebu. Back in the '70s and early '80s, you see them on the streets, but there's not a trace of them now.

For our lunch, we went to the Fontanella Tea Garden. They are very famous for 2 things, their delicious cakes with original recipes going back to 1975 when it started and for their open-air terrace with panoramic views of the surrounding plateau.

As this is a very popular place in Mdina, we had to wait for a few minutes for our table. We asked for a table on the terrace. It rained earlier in the day so the outdoor part of the terrace was closed. Below is a picture of the decked terrace and we managed to get a table right by the window.

We first ordered a tuna sandwich to share. The bun roasted and I didn't expect a lot for this but this was quite good. Then followed up by our dessert and coffee, a slice of their old-time favourite, the chocolate cake, also to share. When we tasted the cake we understood why Fontanella became what it is today. A successful undertaking begins with a good product.

Here is our delicious cake dessert with coffee. To be honest it was very tempting to order another slice of cake. This cake is really good.

This is the terrace which sits on the wall of the ancient city. The sprawling panoramic views make this place really one of a kind. It would be perfect to sit here on the terrace in the summer with a very cold drink.

This is the decked terrace of Fontanella where we sat for lunch. They have two of these decked terraces fitted parallel on each side of the city wall's rampart. The walls/doors and roof can be slid open.

After lunch, we explored further the old capital. I love walking around an ancient city and appreciating the old architecture. Here in Mdina, the windows have bordeaux red and torquiose blue colours. We saw some green ones as well. They really come alive with the limestone building walls.

This is St. Agatha's Esplanade area, one of the pretty and busy areas in Mdina with a number of lovely shops catering to tourists. There is a small square and a fountain here. At the end of the ramparts, there is a corner serving as a lookout point.

As you can see the streets are still a bit wet from the rain. It poured down again while we had lunch at Fontanella and luckily it stopped after we finished.

I just love this climbing purple bougainvillea, so dramatic, elegant, and beautiful. It must have taken years to let this grow like this, and well, with some care and attention too.

Triq in Maltese means street.

We didn't go inside the museum of the Knights of St. John though as it was almost closing time. We decided just to walk around more.

The Maltese islands were given to the Order of St. John in 1530 as a vassal state under the Kingdom of Sicily. They are a catholic military order with previous headquarters in Jerusalem and Rhodes Island. They are still active today but haven't been engaged in battles and sieges. The battle they fought was the French Invasion of Malta in 1798.

At the Cathedral, we saw a local wedding. The wedding just finished and the bride and groom are just coming out of the church.

Family, friends, and guests of the newly-wed couple were standing outside the cathedral waiting for them to come out. When they finally emerge, everyone made a fuss, lots of camera clicking, and then they had a champagne toast and some more pictorials before they were led away with the white old-timer car. It's so nice to see people dressed up in celebration clothing.

And of course, it was also lovely to witness this beautiful moment. I hope they are a good match and can accept each other's quirks. There is no marriage or relationship made in heaven. It's about compromise and making the decision to stick with each other if it's bearable. Otherwise, it's better to go on separate ways.

It was getting late and we planned on going to St. Julian's for dinner, so a few more photos below before going back to the car.