Welcome to Malta - merħba f'Malta

As the first streaks of light seeped around the edges of the curtains, and the muffled sound of early morning traffic threaded its way into my consciousness, I threw back sheets, grabbed my camera, and quietly padded along the cool lino of the passageway to the front window. I swept back the curtains, slid open the glass door, and stepped onto the balcony. The view of the harbour lay before me. The air is crisp and I can smell cooking. The first golden rays of the morning sun filtered through the buildings lighting up the yachts floating peacefully at their moorings, making perfect reflections. A seagull rode the gentle upcurrents, his wings silvery in the light. A couple of joggers paced along the waterfront beneath the palm trees.  

On the opposite shore the creamy-yellow sandstone buildings reminded me of Africa which lies only 290 kilometers (180 miles) away across the Mediterranean. My first morning in Malta was here. 

The cityscape is a mixture of the very old and the very new. and there appears to be a lot of reconstruction building going on as evidenced by the cranes on the skyline. The view from our front balcony (above" seemed to be more modern, whereas the view from our back balcony (below) was more old style. We had rented a small apartment for our stay and yes we had two balconies! Happy me!

We had arrived in Malta the evening before after a flight from Barcelona in Spain. A Maltese born Australian picked us up from the airport. He told us he came here 26 years ago for a 6 week holiday and never left. He still had his Aussie accent and told us a lot about the island on the way to our hotel which was situated in a narrow sidestreet.  After booking in, we followed a "man" with our suitcases in tow, down the street to our apartment which was separate from the hotel, and along the waterfront. I had booked a sea view apartment, so after the narrow lane where we had first been deposited by the driver I was relieved.

We hadn't had anything to eat, except for a snack, since lunch time, (our Ryanair flight from Barcelona didn't provide meals), so even though it was 10pm, we headed down the street to Moos, a Turkish-Pizza bar along The Strand on the waterfront, which I had noticed on the way to the hotel, to buy some dinner. 

Being a crossroads in the Mediterranean and with a rich history which goes back to the Neolithic period and includes Phoenicians, Romans, Normans, Arabs, French and English (from who they gained independence in 1964), it is not surprising that Malta enjoys a mix of cuisines. 

The official languages in Malta are Maltese and English, and Italian is also widely spoken, so English speakers won't have any problem with the language. 

 The main reason for our visit was to visit our French friend, Aude, and meet her Maltese husband and little boy. We had not seen our friend for 13 years, so it was great to meet up with her again and she hadn't changed a bit. She owned a cafe-bookshop in Malta for a couple of years, but now teaches English. 

As she was working during the day and we only three full days in Malta between our Spain and Italy tours, we booked a couple of tours so we could see some of Malta while we were there. Aude was horrified when we told her that our taxi driver from the airport told us we could easily explore Malta using local buses. Malta may be a small island (245.7 sq kms, 94.9 sq miles) but for a tourist it is difficult to get around and local buses often require long waits. 

The arrow on this map shows the approximate location of our apartment, part of the Blue Bay Hotel chain. Not five star but clean and comfortable, and a million dollar view as you can see in the photos and video below. We had to walk a couple of doors down from our apartment to the main hotel where we had our breakfasts which was part of our package.

Malta is very densely populated, and a great proportion of Malta can be considered as one metropolitan area, made up of a number of towns. Our apartment was located in the town of Gzira which looks over the water towards the capital Valletta. 

 We were very happy with the location of our apartment. Along the waterfront there were many eating places, and you can catch ferries, join tours, and the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus along here. And of course, we had a view!

 Looking across the water to Valletta and St Johns Cathedral.  

There are several tour companies operating in Malta. We opted for a full day tour with Hello Malta which conveniently picked us up from the front of our hotel. Our tour guide was very informative with his information about Malta. After picking up all the guests for the day our first stop was the church of St Mary in Mosta. 

Mosta is an Arab word meaning "centre". The remains of the first people who lived in Mosta goes back to the Copper Age (circa 4100--2500 BC). Work began on the church in 1833 and took 27 years to complete. Built on the site of an existing church, the church was modeled on the Pantheon in Rome. Most of the work was done by the Mostins themselves without any remuneration. The central rotunda dome of Mosta's beautiful church is the third largest unsupported dome in the world with an internal diameter of 35.97 metres and an internal height of 54.86 metres.

On 9 April 1942 in World War 2 a German bomb dropped through the dome but did not explode (one of 4 bombs that hit the church). The church was crowded with worshipers when the bomb dropped but no one was injured so this event is considered by the people to be a miracle. A replica of the bomb can be seen in a small side room.  Our guide pointed out where the bomb came through the dome.  In the right hand image you can see one of the tiles that is slightly worn looking, this is one of the original tiles where the bomb hit.

  After a stop at filigree and glass blowing workshops, we visited the town of Mdina, in the centre of the island. Once the capital of Malta, Mdina, sometimes known as the 'silent city', has had many different names and titles depending on its rulers and its role. The Phoenicians, named it Maleth 'away from the sea', the Romans Melite meaning 'honey,' and the Arabs Merdina - 'city of fortifications'.  

Mdina's history is linked to the 'Knights of St Johns" who came here in the 1530s. Across the Maltese Islands you'll find more evidence of their stay in military engineering, architectural, art and medicine.

In the courtyard of the Mdina Natural History Museum you can see the Maltese Cross which was adopted by the Order of the Knights Hospitallers of St John in 1126. The cross has eight points denoting the eight obligations of the knights, namely "to live in truth, have faith, repent one's sins, give proof of humility, love justice, be merciful, be sincere and whole-hearted, and to endure persecution". 

The eight points also came to represent the eight languages of the Knights of St Johns - German, Italian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Catalonian, Bavarian and English. 

Although I just found this, so don't quote me: Malta Uncovered.com With time, the eight points also came to represent the eight “langues” (literally “tongues”, but in effect national groupings) of the noblemen who were admitted to the famed order, namely those of Auvergne, Provence (France), Aragon, Castille and Portugal, Italy, Baviere (Germany), and England (with Scotland and Ireland).

Home to many noble families, Mdina is one of Europe's finest examples of an ancient walled city and a mix of medieval and baroque architecture. The houses are actually palaces. Royalty stay here when they visit Malta. It is a UNESCO World Heritage listed city. Despite the rain when we visited we enjoyed our walk around part of Mdina.  I loved capturing the detail and would have liked to have had our own time here exploring the beautiful city. 

 Don't you just love this balcony? The pink was such a contrast from the sandstone.

Our next stop was Valletta over the water from where we were staying in Gzira.  Valletta is the capital city of Malta and the administrative and commercial heart of the Islands. Valetta contains buildings from the 16th Century built during the rule of the Order of the Knights of St Johns. 

Unfortunately because of the weather, and that the tour was running late because we had been held up by a traffic accident, and the fact that we had to purchase our late lunch in Valletta, we really didn't get much time to explore the city.  At the Barracca Gardens we had views over the harbour and city.

We were guided through the St John's Co-Cathedral, designed by the Maltese architect Girolamo Cassar, who designed several of the more prominent buildings in Valletta. In the 17th century, its interior was redecorated in the Baroque style by Mattia Preti and other artists. The interior of the church is considered to be one of the finest examples of high Baroque architecture in Europe.

The Cathedral was a shrine to the Knights, and many sons of Europe's noble families from the 16th to 18th centuries lie buried here. Their intricate, marble-inlaid tombstones form magnificently crafted pavimento floor tiles.

On our last day we spent the morning exploring some of the back streets in Gzira. This is what I enjoyed the most, exploring in our own time with my camera. Lots of balconies to add to my collection!

And in the afternoon we joined a two hour harbour boat cruise with commentary with Supreme Cruises.

 Disappointingly a lot of the old buildings in Malta are being pulled down to make way for new apartments and hotels. I hope they preserve their historical heritage and don't tear everything down in the name of progress. This notice you see below here announces that an application has be made to demolish the site and built a nine-storey complex including 16 residential units and shops. This sort of redevelopment is heart-breaking to many Maltese.

On our last night we went to Ta' Kris restaurant which was located a short walk from our hotel. Look for the sign on Bisazza street, up from the waterfront in Sliema, then head up the stairs. Housed in an old bakery, with a friendly warm ambiance, the food is fresh and authentic home-style Maltese cuisine. We shared a tasting plate to start (our friend had snails) and then I had the Braggioli, a thick home made beef stew, delicious.

Our trip to Malta was over too soon, as we bade a sad farewell to our friends. We could easily have stayed in Malta for at least a week and still not seen everything. Until next time...."suhha Malta".

We would have loved to have visited the nearby island of Gozo where you can visit the Ġgantija Temple complex. The two temples here are amongst the oldest free-standing stone buildings in the world, dating back to 3600BC and have UNESCO World Heritage status.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed visiting Malta with me. Have you been to Malta? Perhaps you would like to tell us about it in your comments. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.  

For more information on Malta, visit here - Visit Malta
and for more balconies - Hola Spain! 

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
All Seasons
Mosaic Monday 

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at Deep Fried Fruit
Little Things Thursday

Life in Reflection

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.

If you are blogger you can link to the Wednesday Around the World linky party right here! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Is a bus tour for you?

We have just returned home from 4 weeks in Europe visiting Spain, Malta and Italy.

We booked two bus tours with Trafalgar with a few days in between visiting a friend in Malta. 

Spanish Wonders – 9 days and 8 nights – visiting Madrid, Toledo, Seville, Granada, Valencia and Barcelona.

And Grand Italian Experience – 17 days and 16 nights – visiting Rome, Alberobello, Ostuni, Sorrento, the Amalfi coast, Pompeii, Assisi, Venice, Milan, Trento, Lake Maggiore, Santa Margherita, the Cinque Terre, and Florence, finally returning to Rome for one night before we flew home.

Sounds exhausting? Yes it was, BUT we believe we travelled more safely and probably saw a lot more than we would have under our own steam as it was our first visit to this part of Europe, we didn’t know anything about travel in these countries, and don’t speak their languages.
A fellow traveller said she felt like she had been in the "amazing race"! 

An organised tour is not for everyone, but looking back over our holiday I started thinking about the 'fors' and 'againsts' of organised bus tour travel.

But first a few travel tips: Seasoned travellers probably have many more you could add.

•  I suggest arriving the day before your tour starts to allow time to rest after your flight. We had an approximately 30 hour trip from home in Western Australia to Madrid, had virtually no sleep on the plane, and arrived at the hotel with only an hour to spare before we went to our tour's evening "welcome" dinner.

• Check the luggage restrictions of the airline you are flying with and your tour bus. Sizes and weights may be different so you need to pack for the smaller size.

•   Pack lightly. My friend advised – lay out the clothes you would like to take, then take half away. I tried to do this, and still had clothes I didn’t wear.  Try to pack clothes that don’t crease. We found that hotels in Europe didn’t supply irons.

• Hand wash your essentials every night and other clothes every couple of days. The hotel supplied shampoo and soap are good for this.  We carry a small ‘washing line’ and pegs with us and hoped for a balcony for drying when we had a two night stop over.

• A great way to wring out extra water from your washing is to wrap the items in a bath towel and hand wring tightly. It is amazing the amount of extra water that comes out.

• If you are a reader only take one book or take an e-reader. Honestly you won’t have time to read unless you intend reading on the bus or you are a late night reader. 

• Make sure you take an international power adapter with you so you can charge your devices. A power board for plugging in multiple devices is also a good idea. 
•  
• The easiest way for photographers to store photos is to take multiple memory cards. 

Montserrat, Spain

• We purchased a "travel sim" for our mobile phone which made calls home much cheaper. The mobile phone was a good way to check our emails and update family and friends on Facebook. Our bus had wifi and the facility to charge mobile devices, but make sure you take the necessary cords with you.

• We loaded a ‘travel card’ with Euro before we left home and used this instead of our Visa card, as well as some cash. The travel card is not connected to any of our bank accounts, can be used to withdraw cash at ATMs, and can be loaded with extra cash on-line if necessary. 

•  Whilst we agree that airport transfers when you arrive at your destination make life easier and a lot less stressful, we found that a taxi transfer from our hotel to the airport for our return flight was easy and a lot cheaper. 

•  Be aware of additional or ‘hidden’ costs. These include optional experiences, lunches and evening meals, and gratuities (tips) expected by the local guides, your tour leader and coach driver. This can add many extra dollars to your cost, so you need include these in your budgeting before your book.  
•  
• Be careful of paying "gratuities" to tour leaders and coach drivers upfront when you pay for your trip. Gratuity rates are 'recommended' by the tour company but they are "something given voluntarily or beyond obligation usually for some service" - therefore they are not obligatory - they are a 'tip' for good service. Unfortunately some times you might feel that your tour leader or coach driver has not given you the service you expected, in which case you should not feel 'obliged' to pay the 'recommended' amount. If you have already paid up front when you paid for your trip, you have no say in how much you pay. 

Now the fors and againsts tour bus travel, as we saw them.....

FORS

• The tour companies know the countries you are visiting and are well placed to get the best deal to see the most in a limited time.

• Travel in the safety and security of a group under the guidance of a tour leader who will also address language difficulties.

• All your accommodation, breakfast and many of your meals are organised. Generally we stayed in good quality hotels, but this depends on how much you pay for your tour.

A very enjoyable "optional" dinner in Madrid with opera singing waiters

• You don’t have to plan or think about your day – it’s all organised for you

• You receive a good snapshot of the country including visiting the iconic sites.

•   A good tour leader will be very organised and have you arrive at points of interest early before the tourist hoards descend. 

•  Be taken to places you might not have been aware of in the region: eg UNESCO World Heritage listed Trulli houses near Alberobello in Italy dating back to the 14th Century.

Trulli houses

•   No queuing at locations. To me this is the biggest plus of an organised tour when I saw the length of queues at the iconic sites. Our tickets were already purchased and we went straight past the waiting queues of other tourists, some of which were hundreds of metres long. This can save many hours of queuing which is wasted sight-seeing time.

Colosseum crowds, Rome

• Optional tours with local specialist guides at places of interest or street walks gave us an in-depth experience of these places. We found in general that local guides were passionate about their cities and its history. We all had headset radios which worked well for everyone to hear what the guides were saying.

The Mosque of the Caliphs in Cordoba in Spain, built in the 10th Century, and now a Catholic cathedral, and our passionate local guide

• All our breakfasts were included in the price of the tour, some of our evening meals, and some optional cultural dinners were offered.

• Meet a range of people from different countries with whom you can share experiences, fact find together, and share information. 

AGAINSTS

• The pace of the tour was hectic. We only had a few cities where we stayed two nights. The ‘get packed up, put your suitcase out to be collected, have breakfast, and get down to the bus by 8am or earlier’ regime was tiring.  

• There was very little opportunity to relax. We often had long driving days with a visit to a place along the way, usually not getting to our hotel till after 4pm. We would have liked to have had 3 nights in a few places, and perhaps an ‘at leisure’ day in the middle of the tour so that we could rest, recharge, explore on our own or get our washing done. 
• You may have to spend time at locations of little interest to you as they are part of the travel itinerary.

•   Whilst the ‘optional tours’ give you a more in-depth experience, they leave little time for self-exploration, especially if the stop also required finding lunch, all within an hour or so. But of course these are 'optional tours' which you can opt out of.

• No flexibility to stop and explore places of particular personal interest or move on quickly from places of little interest to you.

•  Sometimes the ‘experiences’ don’t necessarily match the itinerary, or hold ups with traffic etc can mean that you are rushed through planned experiences. Unfortunately this happened to us in Pompeii, and the rain that day didn't help.

• Visits to artisan workshops and outlets, whilst very interesting, can be little more than a chance to push sales. On several occasions I felt I would have rather spent my time exploring the city instead.

• You may find you are travelling with a group or tour leader that isn’t a good match for your personality. Touring in this situation can make for a less than happy experience considering how much time you spend together over the duration of your tour. This can make or break your enjoyment of the tour.

• Tour groups can be too large. Our last tour had 49 people. Tour groups of this size puts additional pressure on tour leaders and make it more difficult to have interaction with everyone on the tour. When you are walking with a local specialist the tour group tends to get ‘strung out’ over a long distance.The 'plus' of a large group is that you are more than likely you will find somebody who you 'click' with.

•   On the bus, whilst our tour leaders could tell us information along the way via their microphone, it was limited how we could interact back to them or ask them a question due to the size of the bus. 

•   A large tour group can make for very noisy dining experiences.

FINALLY

At the end of our tours we were given evaluation sheets. This is a good opportunity to express your likes and dislikes, or make suggestions, about the tour, or you could email the tour operator direct on your return home. Please try to give truthful and useful feedback, otherwise the tour company won’t know what they are doing right, what doesn't work, or what they could improve on. 

Overall we enjoyed our travels through Spain and Italy and we met some lovely people who we will no doubt keep in touch with over the coming years. However next time we will be looking more closely at the length of the tour, the area being covered and the number of people we would be travelling with. 

A note on ‘hop on hop off’ buses. These can give you a good overall view and get you around to the iconic places in a city. However be aware of traffic conditions. When we were in London several years ago we wasted a lot of time sitting in traffic and didn’t get to see all the places we had planned. We could have walked quicker than the bus drove through the city. Also you still need to buy your entrance tickets and queue which wastes valuable sight-seeing time. You could catch local buses, but if you don't know your way around this could be problematic. 

Thank you so much for stopping by. Over the next few weeks I hope to bring you more from our travels to Spain, Malta and Italy. 

Have you been on a bus tour? What did you think about it? Do you have any travel tips for us? Perhaps you would like to share in your comments. 

I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.  

The views expressed in this article are entirely mine and my husbands.
We travelled with Trafalgar and via Qatar Aireways at our own cost.

I am linking up to the link-ups below. Please click on the links to see fabulous contributions from around the world - virtual touring at its best!

   
All Seasons
Mosaic Monday 

Our World Tuesday

Pictorial Tuesday 

ThroughMy Lens 

Image-in-ing
Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday 

The Lovin' Life Team over at Deep Fried Fruit
Little Things Thursday

Life in Reflection

Hello there! I love reading your comments. If you scroll down to the bottom you can comment too! I would love to hear from you.
If you are a blogger you can link into Wednesday Around the World at Communal Global right here -




 

"Hola" Spain 2018

Hi everyone - or actually "hola" as they say in Spain. 

I have been a little absent from my blog the through the month of May as we have been away travelling through Spain, Malta and Italy. So firstly, my apologies for not replying to any of your comments or visiting your blogs. I actually wrote my May blogs before we left home, and there was certainly no time "on the road" for blogging! But I really do appreciate the time you took to stop by and comment and I hope over the next week to stop by and visit you too. 

Mauritius Pamplemousses gardens

In May 2017 we had a week's holiday in Mauritius in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa. I realised I didn't bring any photos to you, so today I am sharing with you some photos from the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botantic Gardens in Pamplemousses. 

Covering an area of about 37 hectares the garden dates back to the French period of Mauritian history. In 1736, the French Governor, Mahe de Labourdonnais, chose to set up his domain around the present main gate of the garden. In 1767 the French Intendant Pierre Poivre, the creator of the garden, introduced vegetables, fruits, flowers and spices from all over the world.