MEMORIES INDEED

MONDAY, MAY 16 -16 11:pm- Our London friends are heading back on Wednesday so we have invited them to a dinner at Piccolo Padre, trattoria; a casual dining restaurant we discovered on our first visit in 2008.  It is housed in an 18th Century villa with very exclusive

Fine dining above called The Barracuda and Piccolo Padre is situated below in what may have been the storage vaults and wine cellars. It has become one of our special dining spots, reserved for special occasions and we wanted to share the experience with our friends as a send off at the close of their time here in Malta. Little did we know just how memorable the evening would become. We had a beautiful view of Balluta Bay on the enclosed balcony cantilevered over the sea below.  We were about ready to leave when we heard what sounded like a horrible explosion and a flurry of many pigeons, who had seconds earlier, flown overhead to perch on the roof.  A bomb?!  Maybe a car or bus had not been able to negotiate  the sharp curve in the road directly in front of the Villa and crashed into the building or gone overboard into the sea...(they all drive far too fast on the winding narrow streets) It was clear our young, maybe 22 year old, Italian waitress was very distressed and when we asked, couldn't tell us what happened.  She could only shake her head.  We found that part of the restaurant was in darkness, but the staff was quite calm so we really didn't feel any anxiety, at least I didn't.  But something had happened.  I gave our young waitress a motherly hug  and said I hope everything is o.k.  She still was speechless, but her wide eyes betrayed her. We still had no idea.

            As we climbed the steps to street level, we encountered crowds of people, sounds of sirens, police, ambulances blocking the street, with more arriving; cars and busses unable to get around the curve, people running and gathering on the street to peer over the railings into the sea.  We couldn't believe what we were seeing...and it soon became clear what had happened.  A section of the Barracuda's balcony right above where we had eaten had collapsed and fallen onto our balcony right beneath them and part into the sea - we were just there; but thankfully we'd been sitting at the far end of that same lower balcony.We were around the back of the building with full view of the bay and open sea. It was now full dark and it seemed in no time two rescue boats were in Balluta Bay shining spot lights looking for victims who may have fallen on the rocks below and the sea. This newspaper night photo has been edited so you can see the devastation.   Reports varied as to how many people were on the balcony at 8:10 pm, but it was reported one was in critical condition and another had several fractures and was in surgery. 

            Traffic was detoured for some time of course, we walked in the direction of home but finally we were able to hop a bus.  Memories indeed.   

Ciao,