To say Malta has a rich and long history is an understatement. I can’t even list how many groups of colonizers they have had over the 7000 years that people have been living here.
I arrived late yesterday and took the bus to the part of Floriana, where I’m staying. My Airbnb is unique. It’s right next to the street and the bathroom is the shower. Everything in the bathroom gets wet when you take a shower. But it’s clean and newly remodeled, though I can’t even say how old the original building is. All the buildings in Malta look really old. Like perhaps, 400 years old that people are still living in.
They drive on the left after a long time as a colony of Great Britain. Also, they use three-pronged plugs and have Marks&Spencer food stores. I have some favorite snacks from living in England 40 years ago that I still love.
This morning I went for a short walk to photograph the cruise ships below me on the waterfront while I waited for my laundry to finish.
Then I got ready to face the hot, humid day and walked into Valletta to the St. Johns Co-Cathedral. It shares its cathedral status with another church in Mdina.
I am lucky to have seen a number of fancy churches. I’ve seen St. Paul’s, St. Peter’s, the Sistine Chapel, the church in Assisi, and churches in Venice, Florence, Germany, France, and Scandinavia. And this church today was THE most opulent I’ve ever seen. It was jaw-dropping. I took the tour to the bell tower and they timed it so we could see and hear the 300-year-old clock in action. It’s a six-hour clock, so it resets four times per day. It chimes for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 o’clock, then at 7 it chimes once, at 8 it chimes twice, at 9 it chimes three times, and so on.
After the church visit, I ate a tasty sandwich from the nearby Spar market and ate it on a bench in front of the church.
I walked down to the harbor, visiting a museum about how the many castles, forts, and walls were built along the way. I took a ferry to Sliema, but I think it was about to melt down over there in the afternoon sun so I found a mall to cool off in.
I took a very crowded bus back to my area and rested in my apartment.
Later I went down to the disappointing Waterfront Shops and ended up back in Valletta at the Spar again for groceries.
I made myself a healthy dinner and was eating when I heard music outside my apartment. A band was playing as part of a procession of people on their way to the church. The church bells were ringing continuously. A group of men were carrying a large, heavy statue of the Virgin Mary.
Gozo Island Day
I walked into a tourist information office mostly because I hoped they sold water, and even though they didn’t, I got a great plan from the guide for the rest of my visit.
My All-Malta bus pass included a trip to Gozo Island, so that’s where I went today. I took the fast ferry to Gozo and jumped on a bus up to the main city of Gozo called Vitoria. It wasn’t a very interesting place from what I could see, but I trekked up to the Citadel, which is a major site in the town. It had nice views, but the most interesting part of my trip there was that there was a sort of scavenger hunt/race going on with a bunch of mostly French ladies running all over the place trying to accomplish certain tasks, kind of like The Amazing Race. At one point the locals taught them a dance and they were short a partner, so I joined in. It was fun. See the photos with the ladies in the orange shirts.
I took a bus back to the same port I had arrived in and paid for another boat trip to yet another island. This time I went out to Comino Island so I could swim with a whole bunch of other people in the blue water and then see some fancy caves and arches.
Back in Valletta, I made some dinner, did some laundry, and studied my Spanish.
Sunday in Malta
I had decided to switch to a hotel in another part of the island, so I wrapped up two activities that were closer to Valletta. I took the bus to Mdina, an old city with the oldest hotel in Malta in it, and a was used as a filming site for the Game of Thrones. I took a carriage ride for the first time ever. The guide was nice and showed me around. I arrived early enough to beat the tour busses and I had the chance to take pictures of the empty streets.
I took the bus back to my Airbnb, packed and then took another bus journey to Marsaxlokk. The harbor was charming and the market was interesting. The vendors were selling fruit, veggies, clothes, and the usual other market offerings like bags, scarves, books, and toys.
On the way back, I got on the wrong bus mostly to get out of the sun, but I found my way back to Valletta anyhow.
Then I took an Uber to my new hotel and relaxed a little bit. It was finally cooler out but that is due to some blustery wind that has taken over the island.
The new area I’m in could not be more different than the old area. It’s gone from grubby, pigeon-pooped-on sidewalks in a residential area to tall buildings, hotels, malls, and tacky clubs and restaurants. The Paceville area varies from glitzy to seedy in a matter of half a block. My hotel is lovely and I’m so happy I made the switch. And as an added bonus, this is the first hotel shower on this entire trip that the shower doesn’t get the floor outside of the shower wet. Miracles never cease!
Final Day in Malta
It was a special kind of wonderful to wake up in a nice hotel for a change. I made myself a sort of breakfast from my collected snacks then worked out in the gym. I took the bus to Valletta to return the sandals I bought last week, but they would only give me a credit in their stores so I traded them in for a cute pair of sneakers with Penelope Cruz as the designer.
I went back to Spar market next to the cathedral with the great sandwiches and ate mine on the steps of the opera house in the shade. I rode the bus back to Exiles Beach and had a look around at the rocky beach and the town there.
Back at the hotel, I relaxed at the rooftop pool and enjoyed the views of Malta and the deep blue Med in the distance.
I did some more shopping and had Thai food for dinner.
