Well, up really early (4:15) on Wednesday to catch our 7:15 flight to Malta. Only 30 minutes of actual flying time, so we were in the terminal at Luqa airport by 8:15, waiting for our shuttle to our apartment. So the first thing you notice about Malta is the traffic! It took about half an hour to get a mile down the road from the airport--and it didn't get much better from there. Now, there were some extenuating circumstances--a major accident had closed one of the 2 main arteries and it was raining, which they are not used to, so it slows everything down.
And of course there was ongoing roadwork. But the big problem is that there are just so many cars. There are 430,000 people and 380,000 vehicles. We finally made it to our abode, The 1930's Maltese Residence (sits right beside The 1930's Mechanical Carpentry Wine Bar, which is closed for renovations, unfortunately). Needless to say, it's kind of a funky place and Oliver, the owner, has all kinds of vintage devices on site--tv's, toasters, radios, gramophones, etc. We are located in St. Paul's Bay, or San Pawl, about an hour by bus from the capital of Valetta. When we arrived, our host took us for a bit of a walk around the neighbourhood to show us where a few things were and then, after grabbing quick showers, we went out to find lunch. This turned out to be fish and chips at a tiny neghbourhood spot called Fins and Gills. The British influence is the most striking difference coming from Italy to Malta. Signage is all in English and most people speak it (one of 2 official languages) and there are lots of British brands, even though the most common language heard on the street is still Maltese (and most of the place names are unpronounceable when read by us).
Our first afternoon, we took a stroll along the waterfront from our place through to the far end of Bugibba, the next village, to the National Aquarium. We didn't go in and weren't planning to--it was just a turning around point. We had bought bus passes and thought we would just catch a bus back, but we couldn't figure out why all the buses were heading the wrong way (turns out we were at the end of a point and some were just heading around the point and looping back). Anyway, we walked a good portion of the way back, caught a bus part way, but it turned away and we got off and walked some more. The first of our many adventures on buses here already. But I am so glad that I am not driving, with the crazy traffic and driving on the left--and the drivers are all so polite! After Italy, I would be lost. For our first dinner we went just down the street to a little one-man-show restaurant called Ta' Bertu. We had a very good Maltes Platter to start and I had a great lamb-shank. Carol had pork that she was not too thrilled with--thought it was overcooked. I had a really bad cold coming on, too, so I really couldn't appreciate my meal.
Next morning, we thought we would go to visit Gozo, the neighbouring island, because the weather forecast looked like the best of the next few days, but by the time we got up, the forecast had changed and we decide to head into the capital, Valletta, instead. We first headed out to find a bite of breakfast. But...we're not in Italy any more. There isn't a cafe on every corner serving brioche or croissants and espresso. We had to walk quite a few blocks down along the waterfront to a place that we knew was there (but one of the few of those cafe type places). Then, back up to the main road to catch the bus into town, about an hour's drive in the traffic. Our two main objectives to see in town were the National War Museum at Fort St. Elmo and the Lascaris Tunnels War Rooms. We arrived at the bus terminal by the Triton Fountain and wandered through town to Fort St. Elmo and had a quick lunch at a nearby restaurant, just as the skies opened up, as luck would have it. By the time we finished lunch, the rain had stopped and we headed back over to the Fort to go in and see the War Museum, which is housed in 6 exhibits in different buildings of the old fort. Malta definitely has an interesting history, being situated strategically at the centre of the Mediterranean and thus being a bit of a target from ancient times through the 20th century.
After the War Museum, where we dodged another heavy rain, we headed back to near where we started and visited the Lascaris War Rooms. These are the tunnels, deep below the Upper Barracka Gardens and the cliffs along the harbour, that were the operational headquarters during WWII for the defence of Malta and the vital Allied shipping convoys that sailed through the Mediterranean to keep British troops in North Africa and elsewhere supplied and was from where General Eisenhower oversaw the 1943 invasion of Italy, Operation Husky. It is really a fascinating place and the restoration, only begun in 2009, is really impressive (and ongoing).
Then, after a bit of chasing our tails, we found our bus to go home. (We walked all the way back up from the tunnels and around to the bus terminal by Triton Square only to find out that our bus left from a bay around and down the hill--and right next to where we started up the stairs from the tunnels!) Took a while, but our bus finally came and we got a seat (important for a 1+ hour ride). Bus was jam-packed and we got to a stop in a not-so-nice neighbourhood. Bus driver opens the door to let 1 person off and shouts "1 only!" at the crowd trying to get on. 3 people get on. Driver screams. 1 person gets off. Driver screams again "All of you off!" And it went on from there, for about 10 minutes. I seriously thought someone was going to throw a punch and we would be stuck on there waiting for the police, but eventually we went on our way and finally got home. Then it started to rain again. Fortunately we had decided to go for dinner to a place basically across the street, since we were expecting rain. Ironically, it was an Italian Restarurant of course--La Buona Trattoria del Nonno. I had a very good Lasagna and Carol had a huge plate of Spaghetti Bolognese--I was impressed that she finished it.
Thursday, we weren't sure what the weather would do, but we decided to take a walk "the other way" around St. Paul's Bay, to Ix-Xemxija (remember what I said about not being able to pronounce any of the names), which is a much newer area with lots of modern condos and apartments. Malta is not only a tourist destination but also a big retirement destination for a lot of EU people, particularly Brits obviously. Then, since the weather seemed to be improving, despite the forecast, we decided to catch a bus from there and go to see the the Rotunda (Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady) in Mosta, which we had passed by on the bus the day before. It took a while for the right bus to come along, but we finally got on one--no seat, though. About 2/3 of the way there, the bus broke down. So, everybody out and standing by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere (and there isn't a lot of that in Malta). Eventually a bus came along that was going to Mosta (most of the people had taken another bus because they were going to Valletta) and we got there, after crawling through some terrible traffic, just in time for the rain to start so we headed inside to see the Rotunda, which is really quite spectacular. One of the things that makes it an attraction is that, during WWII, a German bomb came through the dome and failed to explode. Of course this is considered a miracle by the Church and the bomb is on display in one of the rooms inside. But the church was definitely worth the visit. Then we had a nice lunch at a pub (yes, pub!) next door, some great ftira (Maltese bread) wraps of chicken and smoked salmon, and Carol even got a Strongbow cider. Then caught the bus for an uneventful (surprise!) ride home and a lazy afternoon.
2025-02-14