Dublin Lady

Winter has come and gone and it was a relatively mild season, especially when compared to last year’s.  We had an early burst of spring in February and all the daffodils burst forth only to be blown about as the winds returned and the temperature dropped again.  The poor trees don’t really know what to do either, with cherry blossoms blooming early along with the magnolias and tulips. Then it actually snowed in Dublin last weekend, which created havoc at Dublin Airport.  Climate change anyone?

Michael and I have been fortunate to attend a couple of exhibitions at the National Gallery.  The first exhibition we viewed was Canaletto and the Art of Venice, a selection of Venetian works from the UK’s Royal Collection. Paintings, drawings and prints by Canaletto were displayed alongside groups of paintings and drawings by his contemporaries, including Sebastiano and Giovanni Battista Piazetti.  The grand scenes of the canals of Venice and the Doge’s Palace were both colourful and intricate.

The second exhibition we viewed was Turner: The Vaughan Bequest.  This was an exhibition of 31 watercolours and drawings by JMW Turner bequeathed to the Gallery in 1900 by an English collector Henry Vaughan.  In his will, Vaughan divided his collection of Turner watercolours between the national galleries of London, Edinburgh and Dublin, stipulating that they be exhibited every year, free of charge, for the full month of January, when the light is at its weakest.  The watercolours were delicately beautiful and we had a lovely time taking in this annual Dublin ritual.

One of the stranger things to occur in Dublin was the unveiling of two statues on the same day of Luke Kelly to mark the 35^thanniversary of his death.  Luke Kelly was an activist and a musician with the famous band, The Dubliners.  Both of the statues were unveiled by the President, Michael D Higgins, (or Miggeldy Higgins as he is affectionately known), with one of the sculptures positioned outside our apartment complex.  This sculpture is a marble portrait head of Kelly standing over two metres high with hair made of patinated metal.  This sculpture has divided opinion but I have to say that I like it.  The other is a life size bronze featuring Kelly singing and playing the banjo and stands in the city centre.  As one Irishman put it, “you wait 35 years for a statue of Luke Kelly and then two come along on the same day”.

Michael still enjoys his whiskey and he is now the proud member of two whiskey clubs.  He enthusiastically attends his meetings and tastings and has become somewhat of a connoisseur of Irish whiskey.  Next week there will be a tasting of Highland Park Scotch Whisky and I will be attending as Michael’s guest.  I don’t know very much about Scotch whisky, however I don’t think that will matter too much.

I should perhaps also mention Michael’s heroic deed.  He was walking alongside the Liffey on his way to his early morning swim, when he heard a commotion.  He went to investigate and found some men running along the river trying to find a life buoy.  Upon looking in the river, Michael could see someone splashing about.  The buoy was located and thrown into the river and Michael joined the other men in hauling the person out.  It was obvious that the man was intoxicated and upon reaching the riverside he complained that his “fookin head hurt”, to which one of his rescuers responded that he was lucky he “hadn’t feckin drowned”.  Then everyone set about their day as if what had happened was an everyday occurrence.  I love Dublin!

 “He has been here and fired a gun”

James and Amber were in Melbourne for a wedding and they graciously allowed Michael and I to stay in their London home while they were away.  I flew over on the Thursday and Michael joined me on the Friday evening.  I spent a lovely day wandering the streets and taking advantage of some shopping time (to say Michael is not a shopper is an understatement).  It was a good time of year to visit London, as the tourist hoards were yet to descend on the city and the weather, while cool, was not unpleasant.  

The reason for our weekend sojourn was to view two artworks, which sparked a famous feud between British masters Turner and Constable.  The works were on display at the Royal Academy and were being shown together for the first time since 1832.  The Turner painting, Helvoetsluys was on loan from the Tokyo Fuji Art Museum and the Constable painting, The Opening of Waterloo Bridge, was on loan from the Tate Britain.  During the Summer Exhibition of 1832, the paintings were hung side by side in one of the main galleries and Turner, worried that his seascape would be overshadowed by Constable’s colourful work, decided to add a small red buoy on his grey sea. 


Constable was outraged by Turner’s act and declared, “He has been here and fired a gun”. It was thrilling to see the pieces hanging opposite each other, knowing the story behind the works.  The artworks are very different from each other and it is hard to declare which is the better piece, however, if I had to choose, I would lean towards Turner’s choppy seascape.  Michael and I enjoyed the paintings so much that we returned to view them again the following day.  We also viewed The Collection Gallery, which had a number of memorable pieces, including an almost full-size 16^thcentury copy of Leonardo’s Last Supper (I still hope to return to Milan to see the original).  Michael loved Satan summoning his Legions by Sir Thomas Lawrence, a very imposing painting.  

Being a culture vulture is thirsty work, so Michael and I made our way to one of our favourite London haunts – Gordon’s Wine Bar.  It was actually warm enough to sit outside in the sunshine, where we relaxed with some cheese and wine.  I love London!

The rest of the day was spent wandering up and down the streets, seeking anything that interested us. We saw a couple of art installations, one of which was in the Royal Academy of Art’s Annenberg Courtyard, titled PsychoBarn.  The piece is based on the homestead from the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho, which in turn was based on Edward Hopper’s painting House by the Railroad.  It was made from repurposed strips of wood from an American red barn and looked suitably eerie.  The other installation was called Bridging Home and was a replica of a traditional Korean home built on top of a pedestrian bridge.  This was a quirky piece with one of the house’s walls hanging over the bridge looking as though it could collapse at any time.  It was certainly not something you see everyday.

Sunday was a bit of a lazy day, with not too much walking around, mainly because the weather had turned a little wet and dreary.  We had traditional roast lunch at The Bull in Islington, a hip and popular pub and all too soon it was time for Michael to head to Gatwick for his flight home (I was staying an extra night).  Unfortunately for Michael, Storm Freya moved in, bringing high winds.  Michael’s 9.20pm flight was delayed, then delayed again, then delayed some more before finally being cancelled at midnight.  He managed to book into a nearby hotel for the night, however the earliest flight he could re-book was for 9.20pm the following evening.  Not the most ideal way to end a lovely weekend, but what can you do?  I flew home the following day having had a delayed journey to the airport due to track repair works caused by the storm. Michael then endured further delays with his re-scheduled flight, finally falling through the door after midnight.  The joys of flying!,   

    

The Maltese Falcon

Michael had read about scuba diving in Malta and so decided that would be our next holiday destination. We flew out of Dublin on the afternoon of his birthday and arrived at Valletta in time for dinner.  Our hotel was situated in the resort town of Sliema, with many restaurants, bars and shops lining the streets opposite the waterfront promenade.  Michael lost no time in choosing a seafood meal for his birthday dinner.

The next morning we found a nearby dive shop where Michael booked in for a series of dives starting in two days time, when the wind lessened.  Then it was a short 15 minutes ferry ride across the Grand Harbour to Valletta.  I have been very fortunate in our travels to see many walled cities, with fortifications large and small, but I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like the scale of the fortifications of Malta. The defensive walls and bastions completely surround the city and make for an awesome sight when seen from the water. They date back to 1552 and have been modified throughout the centuries.  

We disembarked the ferry and made our way through the winding streets up the hill to the Holy Infirmary of the Knights of St John.  There we attended the Malta Experience, an audio-visual show, which took us through 7000 years of history.  It was a terrific introduction to the island and covered the influences on the island that various cultures have had over time including the Phoenicians, the Romans and the arrival of the Knights of St John and, of course, the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.  The islands were also conquered by Napoleon who was then driven out by the British, with Malta subsequently being made a British colony.

Valletta was virtually destroyed during World War ll, with more than 14,000 bombs dropped on the island prompting George Vl to present Malta with the George Cross (the civilian equivalent to the Victoria Cross) “to bear witness to the heroism and devotion of its people”.   

At the end of the show we took a guided tour of the Holy Infirmary, which was built in 1574 and extended several times over the ensuing years.  The Great Ward is a long hall measuring 155 metres in length and was at one time the longest in Europe. 

It could accommodate 914 patients (men only) in an emergency.  The building suffered serious damages during World War ll and approximately one third of the complex was destroyed.  It has now been beautifully restored.  Our guide then showed us the Republic Hall, an impressive and imposing structure, which was built on what was once the main courtyard of the Holy Infirmary. 

We also visited St John’s Co-Cathedral, which was built between 1572 and 1577.  The interior of the cathedral was redecorated in the 17^thcentury in the Baroque style.  Sir Walter Scott may have called the cathedral a “magnificent church, the most striking interior ever seen”, but I thought it was hideous.  It is extremely ornate with gold absolutely everywhere.

 The floor was interesting though, as it is comprised of an entire series of marble tombs, housing 400 Knights of the Order of St John.  The other items that interested me were the two artworks by Caravaggio.  The first is Saint Jerome Writing, which was a lovely piece but it is The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist that steals the show.  This is considered to be one of Caravaggio’s masterpieces and is the largest canvas that he ever painted.  It is a very impressive piece of artwork and we spent a considerable amount of time admiring the painting.  Michael declared the painting, ahem, “well executed”.

The next day we took the ferry from Sliema to Valletta and then another ferry to Il-Birgu to see the Three Cities.  The cities of Il-Birgu (Vittoriosa), L-Isla (Senglea) and Bormla (Cospicua), were the first home to the Knights of St John and the palaces, churches, forts and bastions are older than those in Valletta.  We visited Fort St Angelo which lies at the tip of Birgu.  The fort has been restored and was opened to the public in 2016.  Over the years, the fort has played an important military role providing headquarters for Knights and the French and British armies.  The view from the top is just magnificent.  The rest of the day was spent walking around and exploring the streets.

The day of Michael’s first dive dawned and he awoke with an ear infection!  Naturally it was a Sunday and all of the doctor surgeries were closed, so it was necessary to visit the nearby St James Hospital.  The hospital was very efficient and in no time Michael had seen a doctor and was sent on his way armed with antibiotics, painkillers, ear drops and the news that he couldn’t dive for at least two weeks. This of course meant that we would have to re-arrange our plans, but the good thing was that once the painkillers kicked in, Michael was well enough to continue sightseeing and the infection didn’t affect his appetite.

Gozo: You’re a Diamond

Now that diving was off our list of things to do, we decided to head over to the island of Gozo.  A taxi is the easiest way to travel to the ferry terminal.  The system for hiring a taxi on Malta is very good – you simply go to the taxi kiosk, tell them where you want to go, pay a set fare to the attendant who then directs you to your taxi and off you go.  We followed the procedure and we were soon on our way.  In no time at all we arrived at the airport – we had assumed that the kiosk attendant had told the driver that we wanted to go to the ferry port whilst the taxi driver had assumed that we wanted to go to the airport. The poor driver was most apologetic but we didn’t mind as the ferries to Gozo run frequently and we had enjoyed a nice scenic tour in his taxi!  The ferry ride only took 30 minutes and then it was a short taxi ride to Victoria (Rabat) to our hotel, The Duke.

Victoria is a lovely city filled with a maze of old, narrow, winding cobble stoned streets and alleys. We had a relaxing time just wandering the streets and admiring the architecture. We roamed around the St George’s Basilica, which was built in 1672.  This church was decorated in the Baroque style but was nowhere near as gaudy as St John’s Co-Cathedral.  

The Citadella is Gozo’s major landmark – an imposing, ancient fortified city.  Until 1637 the entire population of Gozo was required by law to spend the night within the Citadel for their own safety due to marauding Turks who harassed and pillaged the Maltese islands.  The worst raid on Gozo was in 1551 when the Turks overwhelmed the citadel and captured 5000 people and took them into slavery.  It took nearly 50 years to re-populate the island and rebuild the Citadel.  Only a couple of families still live within the Citadel walls today.  We spent an entire morning roaming the streets, impressed with its size and the various museums that are housed there today.  The Cathedral of the Assumption was especially magnificent, with a trompe-l’oeil painting of a dome on the ceiling.

The following day we took a Hop On Hop Off bus tour around the island.  We first hopped off at the Inland Sea, which is a lagoon of water linked to the Mediterranean Sea through a narrow natural arch.  It was a very picturesque spot and we were pretty much the only people there.  It is very popular in the summertime with people flocking to soak up the sunshine on the stony beach and to take a fishing boat through the tunnel under the archway to the open sea.

The bus tour took us all around the island, which is very beautiful, however the highlight of the day was a visit to the Ggantija Temples.  These are two temples built between 3600 and 3200 BC (before Stonehenge), which were fully revealed in the 19^thcentury.  The limestone blocks used to build the temples are gigantic and the people from Gozo used to believe that they were temples built by giants. Some of the blocks weigh over 50 tons! It was a very impressive sight and once again Michael and I were virtually the only people there.

Vanishing Valletta

I really didn’t want to leave Gozo, as we had enjoyed our time there however, there was still more to see and do on the main island.  This time we stayed in the heart of Valletta, where we were just a stroll away from the many shops, bars, cafes and restaurants.  The streets are lined with worn limestone buildings with lovely timber balconies and virtually every home is adorned with iconography.  The most popular images are Mary and Child and the Holy Family.  The streets are kept scrupulously clean, although there are many vacant shops and businesses. 



The streets were also being decorated for the Feast of St Paul’s Shipwreck.  The event is a Public Holiday and religious ceremonies and festivities are held in and around St Paul’s Shipwreck Parish.  

Michael and I took a bus to the original capital of Malta, Mdina.  This is another fortified city, which is still confined within its walls. The city dates back more than 4000 years and the Apostle St Paul is said to have lived there after being shipwrecked on the islands.  Malta’s noble families lived there and there are a number of impressive palaces lining the narrow streets.  It is known as the “Silent City” with no cars allowed except for those owned by a limited number of residents.  Only 250 people now live within the city walls and we spent the afternoon admiring the mix of Norman and Baroque architecture as we wandered the quiet streets. We finished with afternoon tea in a café on the top of the city walls where we overlooked the countryside and could see right back to Valletta.

We also visited Valletta’s brand new arts museum – Muza.  Valletta is the 2018 European Capital of Culture and this is the centrepiece. The interactive gallery is based in the 15^thcentury Auberge d’IItalie, once home to the Knights of St John. It houses a diverse collection of artworks and the building itself is very nice indeed.

Michael and I spent the rest of our time exploring the different restaurants, cafes and wine bars. The traditional meal of Malta is rabbit and Michael made it his mission to try every rabbit dish on offer.  He had fried rabbit, rabbit stew and spaghetti with rabbit to name just a few.  I am not a big fan of rabbit so I stuck mainly to the wonderful fresh pastas on offer.  Michael also enjoyed the abundance of fresh seafood available.  We also tried as many Maltese wines as we could during our stay and found most of them to be very good.  In short, Malta is a very good foodie destination.

One of the things that I had wanted to do, was to see where Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth ll had stayed when she was in Malta as a young bride.  Unfortunately I discovered that Villa Guardamangia is now privately owned, and despite being a listed Grade 2 monument, the owners have let the building deteriorate. The Maltese government is attempting to expropriate and restore the villa, as they wish to turn it into a tourist attraction, as obviously I am not the only person who would like to visit there.

It may not have been the holiday that we had intended, with Michael unable to dive, but we enjoyed our stay in Malta immensely.  Hopefully we will be able to return so that Michael can undertake some dives – we just need to let the rabbit population recover first!