…and Away We Go!

Many of our days in Malta have been sort of serendipitous. We start out to see one thing and stumble on something even more fascinating. That’s what happened on our final stop in Valletta – we found Fort St. Elmo – guarded by these knights.

From here we had a great view of the harbor and imagined what it must have felt like to defend Valletta from this vantage point;

had an excellent history lesson, and a tour of the National War Museum. An afternoon well-spent.

We were fascinated by this persistent dandelion which found a speck of soil in a crack of the old stone fort and blossomed! Cheers!

On another day, we roamed around the maze of streets in Rabat.

We found a cozy lunch spot at Cafe Il-Baxa,

and ate a delicious, traditional sandwich called ftira (translates to “bread with oil”) plus a filling of pork or tuna.

We’re reflecting on our time here – someone we met along the way described Malta a “yellow” country – referring to the color of the many stone structures. We agree.

Here are a few facts we found interesting:

• The alphabet has 30 letters.
• There are over 365 churches on the Maltese Isles.
• There are 3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Larry wrote this after our two weeks here in Malta:

We’ve been very happy exploring this unique country but it’s nearly time for us to move on.

Tomorrow (Monday) we’ll fly 50 minutes north to Catania, Sicily and then we’ll take a bus to Ortygia, Sicily. A place we like very much!

So long Malta – until next time!!

😎😎

Maltese cuisine is influenced by Italy with a Mediterranean twist. Pizza and pasta with eggplant, olives or zucchini; garlic, olive oil, and Maltese, Italian or other wines are commonly found on the menu.

The national favorite meat is rabbit – perfect for Larry as he is an adventurous diner and loves to try new things. He’s feasted on pasta with rabbit bolognese sauce and whole pan-fried rabbit as shown below. He reports that “it’s something different and I liked it!”

Fish is more my dish and this sea bass was simply prepared and tasty.

Maltese bread is served with nearly every meal – usually with a creamy dip made from either black beans, fava beans or kidney beans and a deep, red tomato paste spread called kunserva.

The Maltese are very proud of their bread made from durum wheat – it’s extra-crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. We discovered a tiny bakery nearby that bakes their bread in the wood-fired oven (note Maltese cross on the oven door) shown below.  According to an article in the Times of Malta, this bakery has been in business for over 130 years!

Beautiful just-out-of-the-oven loaves of Maltese bread look like this!

There isn’t a sign on the door at Trofimus  Bakery (shown below) but we can smell the aroma of fresh-baked bread as we approach!

And, we couldn’t wait to take a bite of this wood-fire-oven-baked jam tart. These tiny tarts are also made with apple or mince filling. Yum!!

Our least favorite treat was this ‘honey ring’ made with traces of tangerine, lemon and orange. It’s a traditional Christmas item and the honey ring pictured below was likely baked well before the holidays and probably why this one tasted especially stale.

We like a chain of fast-food restaurants called Eeet Well for good salads, sandwiches, grain bowls, and wraps.

As for drinks, the local favorite beer is Cisk – an ordinary lager. The local soft drink is Kinnie – brewed from bitter oranges and extracts of wormwood. We like it!

Maltese food is simple, not fancy or fussy, no slick presentation but it’s good, hearty, and inexpensive.

Our next stop in a couple of days is Ortygia, Sicily where we have happy memories of delicious dining!

Cheers!

Sharon and Larry

Getting to the small island of Gozo from our home base in Sliema is complicated. We set out earlier than usual to catch a bus and wound our way northerly for one hour. We then rushed to catch the Gozo Ferry for a 20 minute crossing to the island.

The scene on the large (car and passenger ferry) looked like this.

We knew that a day trip wouldn’t do justice to this popular, laidback, rural destination but we were determined to find our way there without a tour or a car. We arrived at the Ferry Port Mgarr and caught a city bus to Victoria – the major city of the island which we liked very much!

We’ve just arrived, and it’s already time for lunch! Our guidebook directed us to a “not to be missed” restaurant called Ta’ Rikardu. The interior was pleasant,

…but the service slow and lunch totally “missable”. We wasted valuable time waiting for lunch when we could have seen more of the island.

Gozo is a wonderful destination for hiking, birdwatching or cycling, plus there are prehistoric ruins, salt pans, museums and more.

We walked from the town Gharb (which means ‘west’ in Arabic) to the Cathedral Ta’ Pinu (shown below):

The parish Church of the Visitation sits in the central square of the Gharb (shown below).

In total, we took six bus rides and two ferry crossings to spend some time on the island of Gozo. We missed some major sites but now that we’ve worked out the public transportation options, we’ll plan to return on a future trip to Malta and maybe even spend a night or two.

There is lots to see and do on this tiny relaxed, Mediterranean island!

Back in town, we have a nice view of the harbor from the window of our apartment.

The Three Cities area is just across the harbor from Valletta – Vittoriosa (also called Birgu), Singlea, and Cospicua. In reality, they are just three small towns, each only a few hundred meters across.

The options for getting there from Valletta are bus, ferry, or water taxi – a small gondola with a motor called a dghajsa. We paid €2.00 each to make the crossing in the dghajsa with 4 other passengers from Greece. The “pilot” was careful to position us according to weight so that the load was equally distributed.

Once on the other side, we admired the beautiful and enormous yachts in the harbor.

The Malta at War Museum is not as sophisticated as the war museums we visited in Poland but the highlight is a tour of an actual World War II underground shelter. Because Three Cities is right next to the harbor, it was extensively bombed and these hand-dug tunnels held up to 500 people overnight. The ceiling is low and we were issued hardhats – likely less effective when worn backwards…

After our tour, we stopped by a quiet outdoor cafe for coffee and imqaert, a local specialty. Pastry filled with dates and then deep-fried.

A traditional street food in Malta is called Pastizzi – a savory puff pastry with various fillings – ricotta, mashed peas, or creamy chicken. In Malta, you’re never far from a pastizzeria. Below, Larry is trying one under the watchful eye of the vendor. These make for a quick, cheap, and filling lunch.

Back in Valletta, we walked to the ferry port to get a closer look at this large ship.

Larry talked to the security guy at the harbor and learned that the ship is an all-electric-powered ferry – the first that this security guy has ever seen. He checked the log and told us that it’s a new ferry, made in Scandinavia (possibly Norway) and just stopped in Malta to re-charge – destination unknown.

The sky is blue and the temps are up to 62 degrees. All is well!

It was a happy coincidence that the Baroque Festival was happening while we’re in town. Friday evening we went to our second concert of the Festival, this one at Teatru Manoel in Valletta. The grand theater, built in 1731, is beautiful and the performance by countertenor Raffaele Pe’ and his ensemble La Lira di Orfeo, exuberant!

We took the bus to Valletta this morning and learned along the way that streets were closed.  We had to exit the bus and walk the rest of the way. As we left the bus, helicopters were buzzing overhead, police were everywhere as were TV cameramen.  We couldn’t imagine what was happening and stopped to ask a policemen – it was the President of Malta’s Solidarity Fun Run!!  The event really jammed traffic but it seemed that everyone was having a great time!  Anyone could join in from those participating in the marathon to families with kids in strollers.  The photo below shows the first group of runners arriving in Valletta.

 Our destination was the Sunday market at Marsaxlokk, a small city on the Southern coast.  Buses to the market town were crowded beyond capacity and we finally gave up. Instead, we shared a taxi cab with a British couple from Liverpool.  They were happy pro-Brexit supporters looking forward to their freedom from the EU in just a few days time. Time will tell whether or not they’ll be happy with their decision. On the other hand, we met a man from the UK who is quite nervous about Brexit.

We were a bit disappointed with the market, though the seafood looked good.  

And these purple vegetables colorful – rutabagas????

There are architectural sites all around the island and Saturday we visited two. The most famous is the Hypogeum – an underground pre-historic burial chamber.  We were too late to get tickets for the actual site but we did see a well-done audiovisual presentation.  The entrance to the site is a simple storefront on a side street in the town of Paola.

We were able to tour the Tarxien Temples, about 10 minutes away – these were built between 3000 BC and 2500 BC.   Really amazing!

Lunch can be really inexpensive.  A empanada-shaped pastry with a creamy chicken and mushroom filling is delicious and only €1.70.   Here’s Larry enjoying one!

 The Triton Fountain in Valletta is a highlight – especially at night!

Cheers!

It’s been one week since we arrived and we’re still trying to get a feel for the culture here.

Here’s Larry’s take: “Malta is a little hard to describe. It has similarities to Italy and Greece, with some more exotic flourishes. It’s a lot like a Greek island, only with higher population density. As for the people, they are a bit like the Greeks, but seem more chipper. The Greeks often seemed a bit weary and dejected, as if they feel their better days are behind them. The Maltese seem more forward looking, as if they’re anticipating a brighter way ahead.”

The photo below of the Seaside Promenade shows how much development there has been along the waterfront.

Yet, some neighborhoods uphill from the water still look like this.

It will be interesting to see how things have developed within the next few years.

There is a yoga/fitness studio just 10 minutes away cleverly named FreeMyMe. I tried a noon-time yoga class – the studio was small and the class basic – not the most welcoming place we’ve been to.

Due to its rich cultural history, Malta has a diverse number of options for dining. We’ve eaten Maltese, Italian, Hungarian, and Turkish plus nearby, there is a tiny Bulgarian Market. There are many good take-out restaurants. We liked this one called Seasalt which has really delicious fresh fish sandwiches.

We also like a place called Posh Turkish for takeout (huge portions!) and one evening roast chicken and veggies from the deli section of a nearby supermarket. It’s nice to have both a microwave and an oven for preparing meals.

That’s today’s Malta update! All is well here! Hoping all is well in your world 🌎 too!

Cheers!

Our first stop was to see St. John’s Co-Cathedral – a Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. The interior was spectacular and the excellent audio guide provided with the cost of our entry fee explained many of the wonderful artworks and complex details of the various chapels.

A view of the Nave.

Here’s a closer look at a small sample of the detailed gold work.

And this closer look at the inlaid marble:

Carravaggio, a famous artist who worked in Malta was commissioned to paint works for the Cathedral. This one is titled ‘Beheading of St. John the Baptist’. For more info about Carravaggio in Malta, click here.

A visit to this Cathedral is highly recommended!

We also visited the National Museum of Archaeology. The collection includes prehistoric artifacts from the Maltese islands.

One is the Sleeping Lady artifact.

The corpulent statues (shown below) were unearthed from temple excavations. The current thinking (according to Wikipedia) is that they are from a cult that was tied to a fertility rite. We don’t expect to see such fine detail and sophistication in works this old!

Here’s the ‘Venus’ of Malta (below):

On the way back to the ferry for our return trip to from Valletta to Sliema, we saw this colorful hardware shop. A museum in itself!

Today is less breezy but still a bit chilly. We ended our busy day with a hearty meal at a nearby Hungarian Restaurant called Margaret Island.

We’re looking forward to a new day of adventure tomorrow!

For two weeks each January, Valletta hosts a Baroque Festival – concerts are programmed in an array of Baroque venues across Malta. It’s a unique festival as the music is performed in settings that it was originally composed for.

We chose two concerts to attend and bought tickets online before we left home. Monday we attended our first, a noon concert of Bach Transcriptions performed by a Japanese pianist, Kotaro Fukuma.

While he was performing, a Japanese artist, Miyuki Sugihara was quietly sketching and painting to create the watercolor image above!

After the concert we met Miyuki and her friend as we were all eating lunch at the same nearby restaurant. She kindly let us take a photo of her artwork! She is sketching to create images in various festival venues and plans to create a book of prints to commemorate the festival performances. It was a treat to meet her!

The concert was performed in a elegant room in San Anton Palace – home of the President of Malta. Beautiful public gardens surround the palace. Larry took this photo of a giant poinsettia – more tree-like than the Christmas plant we’re familiar with!

Larry also took a short video of a black swan primping her nest. We learned that it will take about six weeks for her eggs to hatch.

We’re enjoying wandering the streets to check out the unique architecture.

The weather is a bit chilly and the winds are brisk – so much so that the ferry between Sliema and Valletta isn’t running today. Swell! Luckily, this isn’t the only transport option as the bus runs between Sliema and Valletta as well.

Initially, we thought that the bus system was efficient but in reality, we are often flummoxed by the bus schedules and routes – many times taking twice as long to arrive at a destination than we think that it should.

We think that Malta could be an up-and-coming travel destination with so much to offer! It’s difficult to take a photo without getting a construction crane in the image so perhaps they are building hotels and residences to prepare for more residents and tourists.

We’re very happy here but also a bit weary as there is so much to do – today we are pacing ourselves to prepare for our next Maltese adventure!

We’ve spent the first few days here exploring our neighborhood and beyond. Our location in Sliema has worked out well. There are nearby bus and ferry stops, a grocery store, gelato shop, restaurants and even a yoga studio just ten minutes away.

Saturday we took a bus to Mdina (pronounced M – deena) about one hour (unless you miss the stop as we did and then it’s one hour and 30 minutes!) away. The cost is €1.20 on any bus for a 2 hour window. The bus is modern and efficient though the driver must have been a retired race car driver as he sped and lurched through the narrow roadways causing passengers to fly forward during frequent quick stops!

Mdina was Malta’s first capital city. The entire city is confined within fortified walls and had a population of around 400 people today.

One of the main attractions is St. Paul’s Cathedral shown below.

The interior is baroque in style and beautiful.

The Cathedral Museum next door was more interesting than expected with a large exhibition of woodcuts and etchings by Albrecht Durer plus a variety of other works and artifacts. I liked this painting titled ‘Greek Ladies’ by Antoine Favray, Malta (1789).

The Mdina city streets are narrow – many too narrow for cars – only a few residents’ cars, emergency vehicles, and wedding or funeral vehicles are allowed. That’s partly why it’s nicknamed ‘the Silent City’.

For lunch we tried the traditional Maltese platter for two – cheese, sausages, olives, capers, tuna dip, bean dip, water biscuits and sun-dried tomatoes. Just right for lunch!

We’ve carved out space at the kitchen table and we’re taking some time today to catch up on reading, correspondence, etc.

Here’s Larry busy at work.

The weather is pleasant – the temps nearly 60 degrees. We’ll rest a bit and explore more later – all is well in Malta!

Our flight schedules worked perfectly and we arrived at our apartment in Sliema, Malta Thursday afternoon with few delays.

We’re very happy with our temporary home away from home. The apartment has plenty of space and a kitchen with everything needed to prepare meals if we want. We visited the local supermarket to stock up on a few supplies.

A round trip ferry ride between our home base Sliema and the capital city Valletta costs only 90 cents and takes about 10 minutes.

Here we are on the breezy ferry trip to Valletta today.

We went to Valletta this afternoon to get on overview of the city – we’ll return to see more over the next few days. On this trip, saw lovely gardens,

A view of the harbor,

And tasted a delicious date-filled pastry.

Thanks to a few wrong turns, we’ve logged in 18,719 steps so far today.

We think there will be plenty to see and much history to learn so we’ll stay busy next couple of weeks.

The sun is setting..

and it’s time for our first Maltese cocktail!

Cheers!