The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Paul (Maltese: Il-Katidral Metropolitan ta’ San Pawl), commonly known as St Paul’s Cathedral or the Mdina Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral in Mdina, Malta, dedicated to St. Paul the Apostle. The cathedral was founded in the 12th century, and according to tradition it stands on the site of where Roman governor Publius met St. Paul following his shipwreck on Malta. The original cathedral was severely damaged in the 1693 Sicily earthquake, so it was dismantled and rebuilt in the Baroque style to a design of the Maltese architect Lorenzo Gafà between 1696 and 1705. The cathedral is regarded as Gafà’s masterpiece.

The cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Malta, and since the 19th century this function has been shared with St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Valletta.

Overnight I came out with a cold which I am sure is why I was feeling out of sorts the previous day. Thankfully my runny nose had settled down before breakfast.

We caught a bus to Rabat where we visited the Wignacourt Museum which is linked to St Paul’s Grotto, the cradle of Christianity in Malta. The underground level of the museum consists of a labyrinth of Punic, Roman and Christian Hypogea as well as WWII shelters. It was a fascinating experience.

When we had finished our visit to the museum it was time for lunch, which we had in the nearby Grotto Tavern. Amongst other things on the menu there was a ‘snack box’ heading. I opted for the cheese snack box which turned out to be cheese on toasted ciabatta, served with a sauce and in a cardboard box. Also, on offer was freshly made lemonade; how could I resist?

After lunch we had hoped to visit the Basilica of St Paul but it looked closed and under refurbishment so we walked the short distance to Mdina. Mdina’s city walls are an impressive site to see.

Once inside the walls, we visited St Paul’s Cathedral and museum then wandered around the narrow streets within the city walls.

We retraced our steps back to the bus station in Rabat to catch a bus back to Valletta where we enjoyed a cup of tea on our balcony over looking the small harbour in front of our window.

We dined in Ta’ Nadia. The portion size was enormous which left me overfaced by my meal choice. We had a nightcap in our usual bar, which was open again, before returning to our hotel to retire for the evening.

You might recall that I used to make an annual trip to London that was organised by one of my former work colleagues. Sadly last year’s trip was the final one but another excuse to travel to London at the same time of year arose. We were meeting up for an evening meal with family members to celebrate a young lady’s qualification for her degree as an accountant. We drove to Wolverhampton and caught a train to London. We had hoped to have tea and a bacon sandwich but they had sold out of bacon sandwiches because the train had come from Edinburgh.

During the journey we looked up things to and decided to visit Apsley House which was the home of the 1st Duke of Wellington and currently houses his collections. Due to the lack of food on the train we planned to stop for lunch on the way to Apsley House. The first place we tried had about an hours delay for food. This didn’t fit with our plans so we carried on walking and arrived at Apsley House without finding anywhere else that sold food. This led to a long walk before we found any food outlets. As we were walking it had started to rain quite heavily so I was unable to take photographs because of juggling my handbag and umbrella. By now it was getting past lunchtime and nearer to the evening meal so I elected to have a Krispy Kreme doughnut.

After eating we made our way back to Apsley House where we enjoyed the picture galleries and collections. By the time we had finished it was time to make our way to the restaurant; Madison. This venue had been chosen for its roof top views over St Paul’s Cathedral and the city. We arrived at the appointed time and found that all the other guests apart from the main party had arrived. We waited and waited and some of us began to wonder if we would be able to dine there because it is a restaurant that books time slots rather than allowing you to have a table for the night. Eventually the missing people arrived and a good evening was had by all.

All too soon it was time for us to leave in order to catch our train back. The train was waiting on the platform when we arrived, allowing us to get straight on. It was a good job we had pre booked and reserved seats because the train was packed. Once the train had set off Mr C went to the buffet carriage to get drinks. When he returned he paused briefly by his seat before walking off into the next carriage, much to my amusement and also of the people who were sitting opposite. One gentleman jokingly asked if I had done something to upset him to which I replied, ‘I don’t think so’. A little later the same gentleman said, ‘He’s back’ as Mr C re-emerged into our carriage and made his way back to his seat. The rest of the journey ran smoothly without any further incident.

From the St Paul’s Cathedral website:

The present St Paul’s is the fifth cathedral to have stood on the site since 604, and was built between 1675 and 1710, after its predecessor was destroyed in the Great Fire of London. This was the first cathedral to be built after the English Reformation in the sixteenth century, when Henry VIII removed the Church of England from the jurisdiction of the Pope and the Crown took control of the Church’s life.

The architect of St Paul’s, Sir Christopher Wren, was an extraordinary figure. Although he is now best known as an architect, he was also an astronomer, scientist and mathematician.

Wren was a founder member in 1660 of the Royal Society, a national academy for science, but he was also a man of profound Christian faith. He came from a family of clergy who had been loyal to the Royalist cause during the Civil War, and it was faith that inspired his though. ‘Architecture’, he once explained, ‘aims at eternity.’

As an architect favoured by royalty and state, Wren’s commissions varied wildly. They included the Greenwich Observatory and Greenwich Hospital, and extensive work at Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace, as well as some magnificent building in Oxford, where he studied and worked as Professor of Astronomy from 1661 to 1673.

Yesterday I had a well earned day off work and spent the day in London.  The trains managed to behave themselves although the reserve booking of seats was all messed up which seems the case more often than not…

On arrival in London there was  a short detour to check out the Bank of England before moving on to the main reason for the visit, St Paul’s Cathedral. You might recall that I had planned to visit last October but those plans changed due to the protesters taking up residence.

It was well worth the wait, there was so much to see and I still haven’t seen it all.  There were a lot of steps to go up and down and a lot of walking.  My feet are still hurting today