Four Days in Malta

We had a few rough months this past winter.  I spent six days in the hospital with pneumonia, followed by a long recovery.  Then I had cataract surgery in my left eye and that took a month to recover from.  Then I had the right eye done.  There were some problems with my right eye, but they were resolved thanks to my competent ophthalmologists.  That put us very close to summer and the start of the beach season.

We had a trip to Malta on our to go list for quite some time, and since there is a direct flight from Pescara to Malta, we decided to get that accomplished before the beach season began here. 

Ryan Air has an interesting late-night flight schedule to Malta with one direct flight and one direct flight to return each week.  We left Pescara on a Tuesday night at 9:30 p.m., arriving in Malta at 11:00 p.m.   We didn’t return until Saturday night, leaving Malta at 10:00 p.m. and arriving back in Pescara at 11:30.   This gave us four full days, although we had to extend our hotel checkout time on Saturday.

We thought we’d be ahead of the vacation crowds, but not so.  There were no hotel rooms available inside the walls of Valetta.  I did find a nice hotel and spa just outside the walls, and it actually worked out well for us.  It was a five-star hotel, and our room had a nice balcony overlooking the pool area and the harbor.  We had a full breakfast each day that made Mike very happy. 

I had planned for us to spend Wednesday in Valetta and had purchased tickets ahead of time for the Archaeological Museum and the Co-Cathedral of St. John. 

We always enjoy meeting people on our trips.  They have so many interesting stories.  One couple we met were from the USA, staying a few days in Malta, then were off to Paris for a wedding at Notre Dame where a friend of theirs was going to play the organ.  How cool is that?

The walk from the hotel to the old town of Valetta took just about 15 minutes.  The town is surrounded by a wall that was built by the Knights of St. John in 1566.  It is typical of many medieval towns, with narrow streets that are filled with shops and restaurants.

Our first stop was the Archaeological Museum.  We were very impressed with this museum.  Mike was most impressed with an exhibit of a healed femur and the accompanying quote from Margaret Mead that the multi-week support that one needs to heal  a femur is the best marker for civilization.

Next, we went to the Co-Cathedral of St. John. (The other cathedral in the diocese is St. Paul's Cathedral in Mdina.)  Here, we were blown away by the opulence.  Every inch of the nave walls and vaulted ceiling is covered in gilded Baroque relief carvings.  The floor consists of 400+ tombstones of Knights, each one an inlaid marble masterpiece in rich polychrome, marking the burial places of knights from across Europe.  There are eight chapels lining the nave representing a different “langue” (national grouping) of the Knights — Aragon, Castile, France, Italy, Germany, England, Provence, Auvergne. 

Since we’d had a late big breakfast at the hotel, we weren’t really hungry for lunch.  So we stopped for gelato.  That evening we went to the hotel’s buffet dinner venue.  I really should know better.  I always eat too much, because it all looks so good!

Having learned about the benefits of hiring a private driver from cousins Dave and Marlene, we secured the services of a driver in Malta for the day and also for the island of Gozo the next day.  We didn’t think about it at the time, but the Maltese drive on the wrong side of the road.  At least for us.  So we wouldn’t have rented a car anyway. 

Our driver Alex picked us up at the hotel and drove us around for the next seven hours.  We purchased the tour through GetYourGuide, thinking we would have a guide as well as a driver, but that was not the case.  Alex was a good driver, and friendly and told us stories of life in Malta.  We visited the Tarxien Temple, the Hagar Qim Temples, the Mnajdra Temples, and Ghar Dalam Cave and Museum. Each site was well equipped with signs explaining the site.  Alex took us to a pastizzeria owned by a friend of his for a quick lunch.  Pastizzi are typical Maltese street food, pastry stuffed with peas or cheese or chicken. 

 Back at the hotel, we took showers, wrapped ourselves in the soft robes provided by the hotel, and ordered room service.  We relaxed on our balcony, enjoyed a bottle of Maltese wine, and soaked in the warm breeze. 

Friday was up early and a hotel shuttle to the ferry that took us to Gozo.  There we met our driver, Paul, who was an excellent tour guide as well as driver.  We saw the Sanap Cliffs and Kantra Valley, the Citadel, the Ta’Pinu Shrine, the coastline along Dwejra, the Wied il-Mielah Arch, the Xwegni Salt Plans, and the Ggantija Temples.  Paul also took us to a cluster of artists shops where we met his friend who makes blown glass vases, bowls, and things.  We watched as he skillfully made a vase.  I, of course, had to buy one.  We had lunch at a café just outside of the Citadel.  After six hours, we were back on the ferry and to our hotel. 

Since it was our last night there, we opted to go to the hotel’s finer restaurant for dinner.  We had a nice table next to the window looking out on the harbor.  Malta doesn’t have much beef, they have it shipped in from the USA.  So we ordered Chateaubriand and a nice bottle of Maltese red wine. 

On Saturday we were able to extend our checkout time to 5:00 p.m.  I went to the hotel spa for a facial and Mike took off back to Valetta to tour the War Museum.  We met at the pool and had a nice lunch there. 

Checked out, shuttled to the airport, checked in with RyanAir, and found a table at the Hard Rock Cafe.  Mike watched the ending of the Championship finals (Paris SG vs. Arsenal) on the restaurants TVs along with everyone else there.  Arsenal lost in the shootout, unfortunately. 

Our flight home was uneventful, which is always good.  We retrieved our car from the airport parking lot, thankful that the TelePass worked for the parking fees, and found our way home. 

The link to our photos is: HERE

We are both so grateful that we were able to take this time to explore Malta and take a very needed getaway.  This summer we are looking forward to spending time at the beach and visiting more Italian sites.