Non Serviam

J Magnus Ericsson has just completed his stay in Malta about which he has been blogging regularly. He has written about his first impressions; the Merlins over Malta events; his visits to Gozo and Comino and to Valletta and about his mobile phone worries in Mdina and Rabat. In this entry, he blogs about food, transport and religion:

..Personal displays of Virgin Mary, and Madonna & Child abound. Even bus drivers adorn their driving compartments with biblical scenes and sayings: Verbum Dei caro factum est!. I cannot get over the feeling of kitsch when I see Virgin Mary decorated with a string of electric lights that would mostly be found in cheap restaurants and in christmas trees. Churches are similar all over the island; Two belfrys surrounding the entrance, and sometimes the midship of the church has a cupola. The work of Gerolamo Cassar, the St. John Co-Cathedral, was so successful it was copied by every village parish.

Tha pastime par preference for women in Malta was said to be bingo. Still I was amazed to see a bingo party gather at the hotel, and bingo discussed on the bus by old and young women. Apparently there was something on the network TV, but I missed most of the conversation in Maltese.

What about the title of the posting then? For dinner at a good maltese restaurant I ordered quail for starter, and rabbit for main course. Typical maltese dishes. Through some impenetrable conversion on the way to the kitchen, the starter became snails, proudly presented to my table! Well, they were quick about acknowledging the mistake, but there had been so many misunderstandings this day, so I let it stand as a typical end of the day...

Conclusion of vacation