Travel blog: Malta & Gozo - Day 3

A brief overview of the third day of our 6-day visit to these beautiful islands at the end of December 2019.

Day 3: Mosta, Rabbat, Popeye village, It-Torri L-Ahmar, Coral Lagoon, Baħrija

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Our last day in our Airbnb before we move to another Airbnb in Floriana near Valletta we decided to visit some nearby cities. Firstly Mosta, a busy and prosperous town spread across a level plateau. Mosta is is famous for its domed church the Mosta dome, also known as, the Rotunda. Designed by a Maltese architect Giorgio Grognet de Vassé and built in 1833-1860. As a miracle it survived a bomb attack in 1942 as the bomb failed to detonate.

The Rotunda is a beautiful church on the outside but also on the outside. At the back of the church is a small playground and a park with colourful benches. Nothing special, but worth mentioning. The church interior is a must see and definitely worth the entrance fee. Definitely go up the stairs to get some nice views of Mosta and the church interior. You can also see a replica of the bomb inside the gift shop inside the church.

After visiting this magnificent church, we had enough appetite to try out some local Maltese pastizzi from Sphinx Pastizzeria across the street. I personally had a chicken and meat pie, which was delicious. After this snack we continued roaming around the city streets and made some interesting photos of mainly doors, wall textures and the occasional Boy Band photo.

We took the car and headed to Rabbat where we wanted to see the St. Paul's Catacombs together with the St. Agatha Crypt & Catacombs. The entrance fee of 5 euro, is for both sights. Obviously it's quite dark in the catacombs so less than ideal for photography but worth the visit, but mind your head tho.

After visiting the catacombs we bought some small cakes from Parruccan Confectionery and found a good spot at the Grotto cafe near the Parish Church of St Paul & Grotto Of St Paul. Obviously we started with a double espresso as we watched people walk by. We spent the time drinking a Golden Bay, an American Blonde Ale from Lord Chambray a brewery on Gozo. You can also check all our beer adventures on @TheHopsters on Instagram. 

Unfortunately, the weather changed just before sunset and it started raining, nonetheless we decided to head back to the coast and visit Popeye village. Upon our arrival it started raining even harder and we only managed to get a few photographs from the viewpoint looking out on Popeye village. We got back in the car and drove off in the direction of the Red Tower (It-Torri L-Ahmar) and eventually uphill towards the Radar Station in the west.

In the meantime the wind also started picking up and thunderstorms were developing, we all feared getting hit by lighting. We still got out the car and I made some dramatic shots, trying my best to keep raindrops from hitting my lens.

The end of the day approached and we continued driving the Marfa Peninsula, often described as Malta's wildest corner. We drove the bumpy roads in our Hyundai i20 to the White Tower Bay and walked up to the Coral Lagoon in stormy conditions which was quite an exhilarating experience. Unfortunately is was already too dark and too wet to take any pictures. We took a road from a horror movie to see the Madonna statue at Dahlet ix-Xilep. For dinner we wanted to try a real Maltese rabbit dish at the North Country Bar & Restaurant in Baħrija, a small rural village. After that we went home with our bellies full. 

Click here for Day 4 of my Malta and Gozo trip.

#Mosta #Rabat #Popeyevillage #RedTower #WhiteTower #Malta #Gozo #MarfaPeninsula #Marfa #Baħrija