Live Blog: Exploring Malta

The flight departed Stansted half an hour late but due to Ryanair's very generous flight times, we only arrived 15 minutes in Malta outside the scheduled time. At the boarding gate in Stansted, the ground staff did an additional check for a vaccine certificate and upon arriving in Malta, there was an additional station for the health authority checks and they wanted to see the Passenger Locator Form and the Vaccine certificate. Besides that, everything else was smooth and my airport transfer driver was even surprised that I came out of the airport so soon.

20 minutes later, I was all checked in at the hotel but feeling slightly peckish - nothing was available but room service, so roast beef sandwich and a cheeky local beer it was for a late night snack before catching some Zs.

A good night sleep it was and I had to be awaken by a 9am alarm so that I didn't miss my breakfast and had enough time to go for free walking tour of Valetta. Breakfast was what they call an "assisted buffet" - I guess that's one of the precautions they took due to Covid where you had to to ask the server at the buffet counters to put they food on a plate for you. I kept the crêpes for the next breakfast though - so stuffed with meat and fruits, off I went to the walking tour with Maika from Authentic Malta. Talk she could and it was an interesting tour around the sights of Valletta with some personal views and insights from a true Maltese. The history of the Crusaders specifically the Knights of St. John's which still exist until today was worthy of an extra Google search later on.

Note the mild steps in the city which was apparently built that way so that the Knights in shiny armor could get down and up comfortably

After an hour and a half walking around the very well planned fortress city of Valletta, Maika had another tour planned - this time of the Co Cathedral of Valletta and instead of queuing to get into this magnificent Baroque church, I simply followed Maika and the group for a more personal tour of the church instead of the boring old audio guide. The grand masters of Valletta definitely wanted to leave an eternal mark on the city and the ostentatious decorations of this church proves this and is now available at its full glory for everyone to enjoy. Did I mention there are two original Carravagios in this cathedral? One was even painted for the exact spot it still stands today, catered to the natural lighting of the space as well, making it have quite a good 3D effect!

Inside the Co Cathedral

Phew .. that was a lot of exploring for the day... Something that I do truly miss due to the pandemic but it was beach time. Back to the hotel I went, securing a lounge chair on the private 'beach' of the Grand Excelsior Hotel. And who knew I would be swimming with the fishes in the bay! Good thing I brought my swimming goggles with me.

An afternoon by the beach with a couple of beers did recharge my batteries and off for another exploration I went - this time to the oldest of the three cities, Birgu. Having only a rough idea on where to go, I simply went back to the Barraka Gardens as instructed by Maika earlier on, took a €1 lift ride down to the lower area of Valletta to catch a ferry to the other side of the bay. Not really checking the destination of the ferry, I simply hopped on, paid €1.50, and let the ferry take me wherever it was going. Luckily it was only going to one of the other three cities, enabling me to walk to the city I wanted to go. Upon arriving in Birgu after a short walk from Senglea, I was greeted by a magnificent sunset hue behind the churches of Senglea. I then went on walking around the old town of Birgu with its narrow lanes looking for dinner - first choice of a restaurant in one of the old buildings in the city centre fully booked, I went on to a restaurant by the docks - and I dined on one of the best tuna steaks I've had ever at Don Berto. Fully satisfied with the evenings adventure, one last thing to do, getting back to the Valetta peninsular, this time on a traditional water taxi, akin to a Venetian gondola.

Upon arriving the Valetta, I realised that the night was still young so I went looking for a spot to have a drink and stumbled across Vino's Cafe and Bar which was serving ales from a local brewery, Huskie. Having tried 2 different beers, I stayed for 1 more of the Mosaic and chatted with the proprietor and a Spanish-Italian couple who is living and working in Malta. Was good and called it a night after 3 bottles.

So, Day 2 of my Maltese adventures continue, on the day I am writing this journal entry on. It is 4.30pm and I am once again laying a sun lounger, this time at a prime spot right by the water without anyone in front of me except a barrier to the sea. But so much has already been done today - I visited the Silent City of Mdina and the suburbs of Rabat on the same walking tour with Maika by Authentic Malta and I think some facts about Malta did stick to me after hearing it twice - for example, that Malta was simply rented to the Knights of St John by the Aragon Kings for a price of 1 Maltese Falcon

The city or Mdina was the old capital of Malta and the location was ideal as it was on top of a Hill and was right in the middle of Malta, enabling the defenders of the island to see and prepare for attacks from any corner. The contrast between a fortress like architecture and then the more elegant architecture of peace-time periods was emphasised before we were brought to a local producer of Pastizzi. For €0.9, lunch demands were met! And the tour continued in Rabat and the history of Catholicism and how the story of how the Knights tried to dupe the local Maltese on their Christian heritage was told and today the so called grotto of St. Paul is still there and is one of the main tourist attractions of Rabat. So, into the grotto I went, and the same area served a more practical purpose of a bomb shelter during WWII for the Maltese. Fun fact - Malta was one of the most heavily bombarded area adjusted to land area during WWII as the Axis tried to destroy Allied bases.

Instead of going straight back to Valetta after the tour of Rabat and Mdina, I decided to traverse the width of Malta and took a bus to the Dingli Cliffs. A few photos of the cliff later, I hopped on the bus back where I played the dumb tourist thinking that the same ticket would work. A few incomprehensible words from the bus driver behind a screen and a mask, I think he just gave up and waved me through. I still don't know what the issue with and whether I was in the wrong or not. Ah, whatever, I'm now back at the hotel and hydrated with the local bittersweet soft drink called Kinnie.