Aye, that's us: March 2001, Malta

Morag's diary - abridged

Day 1, Tue 20 March - Edinburgh to Malta

Great to have a few days to get organised before heading off on a Tuesday for our holiday.  Our holiday was two weeks in Malta organised through a tour company (JMC). Our flight was at 5:30pm so we set off to Glasgow about 12ish, parked at an off-airport site and mini-bussed to the airport. 

Our JMC charter flight was full but we got seats at the emergency exit so it was quite roomy for us.  Got fed but had to pay for headphones for the movie (Billy Elliot).  The flight was 3.5 hours, Malta is an hour ahead of the UK.  Our bus dropped us off at the hotel a bit after 10pm.

Our hotel is Hotel Preluna, on the waterfront at Sliema (pron Sleema).  No balcony in the room, our window looks out to another high-rise, so we'll chase up a room with a balcony tomorrow.

Here are some Malta photos. Click on any photo to see the full-size version in our "photobox" on-line gallery. The gallery will open in a new window, there you will see all the thumbnails, click on any of them to see a bigger version. Sorry about the advertisements, just ignore them (hey, free webspace is free webspace).

Gardens in Sliema promenade

Sliema promenade

Looking to StJulien

Sliema back streets

Day 2, Wed 22 March

We've planned a sleep-in but didn't want to miss brekky, so set the alarm - for 8:30.  It's a big hotel type brekky, buffet with cereals, diy toast, etc.

Looks like being a glorious day, so we'll just have a wander round the local area and get our bearings, and look for a bank to get some Maltese Lira.  We wandered out to the front of the hotel and along the waterfront toward St Juliens Bay.  Watched some sun-lovers heading down onto the rocks for some frying - no sign of any sand, just a mass of rock.

No sign of any banks on the waterfront, so headed into the back streets.  After a fairly interesting (but getting hot) we came back round to the hotel from the other side and there's a bank right at the bottom of the hotel - sods law!

Also found a supermarket and headed straight for the cold water - 2L90c for two small bottles - ripped off.  (Later found that the non-chilled is 30c for a huge bottle).   Exchange rates - 1L = £1.50 = Aus£4.50.

Had lunch - Spag Carbonara for Mal and a Ftira for Morag (local version of a toastie with tomatoes, capers and tuna) at a place overlooking the waterfront.  Cost with cokes 3L25c.

After lunch we had a walk along the waterfront in the opposite direction, but the nice promenade was soon replaced by a narrow, crumbling footpath.  So we headed inland over the hill to the other side of the wee Sliema peninsula to the Tignes Shore.  This area has a lot more shops and also has the ferry to Valletta, so we checked the timetables for tomorrow. 

It was getting pretty hot by now (by our standards) so we headed back to our room for a snooze.  At 4pm there was our "JMC introductory meeting" with the (English) rep.  She will help us to upgrade our room but there are no rooms with balconies available yet.

In the evening we headed over to the Tignes Shore in search of dinner.  Found a nice wee place just back from the waterfront.  Our host was a jolly wee fellow, we started with spicy Maltese sausage and vege pate (Mal), then I had rebbit stew (local specialty) while Mal had lamb-chops in gravy.  Basic but very edible fare.  To finish I had strawbs and ice-cream, while Mal had the local cheese (v. nice sharp sheep's cheese).

Valletta market

Valletta backstreet

Valletta backstreet

Valletta backstreet

Valletta balcony

Valletta harbour

Valletta harbour

Valletta harbour

Not so posh apartments

Day 3, Thu 22 March

Alarm at 8am and down for brekky planning to see the JMC rep about a room upgrade.  There will be a "room with a view" available on Sunday for 6L extra per night.

After brekky we headed to the bus-stop across the road planning to get the bus to Valletta, but every bus was jam-packed.  So we walked over to Tignes Shore planning to catch the ferry.  But there was a bus waiting there so we hopped on and it cost 15c each to get to Valletta, or to put it another way, 15c each to have every bone in our body rattled.

Once we arrived we followed a walk-route in our guide book, off the main Republic St, past the remains of the opera house (bombed in WW2) to St Johns Co-Cathedral.  This is a large church covered in stone-carvings and with a couple of Carravaggio's in the museum.

After the church we checked out the remains of the street market before heading down some steep streets in search of lunch, which we had at "Sicilia" overlooking a corner of the harbour.  We both had Calamaris and coke.

After lunch it was back up hill to the "Upper Barrakka Gardens" which have great views over the harbour and the "three cities".

Finally got driven away from there by some noisy Italian teenagers so headed for a walk around the fort.  Valletta was settled by the Knights of St John after they were driven from Rhodes, so it was heavily fortified.  They were also clever enough to build high buildings with narrow streets, this gives plenty of shade from the hot sun and creates cool breezes through the narrow streets.

This doesn't help when you're walking round the fort so after w while we surrendered to the heat and headed down to the ferry terminal to get to Tignes Shore. Hit the supermarket on the way back for more bottled water, amazed at the range of Aust. Womens Weekly mags available.

After a nap and nice bath each we headed into the back streets behind the hotel to look for dinner and found an Italian restaurant (Vino Veritas).  I started with "Pulpo" (baby octopus) while Mal had the local Salami, then spaghetti with clams for me and ravioli stuffed with artichokes for Mal.  All washed down with a local red, for the sum of 16L.

Arrived back at the hotel and told that there's a room with a balcony available tomorrow, so will see about changing then. 

Garden at Grand Master's Palace

Local transport

Local transport

Guards at Grand Master's Palace

Clocktower at Grand Master's Palace

Local transport

What a beauty!

Day 4, Fri 23 March

Changed rooms in the morning, now have a nice balcony overlooking the waterfront. Another hot day, headed over to Valletta to check out the war-museum.

We're looking for info about the grandfather of her neighbours from Tas., seems he was a noted pilot in Malta during WW2.  Couldn't find anything about him but had an interesting time in the museum anyway.  Did see the George Cross awarded to the whole island after the war.

After that we headed to the Archaeological Museum, not a lot of it was open but what we did see was interesting.  Then headed into a central square for lunch, plenty of big umbrellas over the tables to shade us from the sun.  Had a pizza and pepsi lunch before heading to the Grand Master's Palace.

This was originally the headquarters of the Knights of St John, but is now the parliament and residence of the President of Malta.  Lovely shady garden surrounded by state rooms and armoury (full of armour, swords, cannons etc).

About 4pm we were finished so headed back to the ferry terminal, much cooler and more comfy than the bus to Sliema.  After a bit of looking round the (air-conditioned) shops and our first sit out on the shady balcony we only had time for a short siesta before dinner.   Found a wee local joint (Blondino) near the hotel, Mal had lamb shanks followed by tiramisu and coffee, I had the fishy mixed grill, both excellnt meals and washed down with a local Cab Sav  of 96 vintage.  All for 16L.  Followed that with a brief wander along the promenade then home.

A note about local transport, the busses are all 1960's Leylands, still going strong.  Real bone-shakers, some in better condition than others.  Some have air-conditioning in the form of not having a front-door.

Marsaxlokk church

Marsaxlokk harbour

Waiting for....?

Typical fishing boat

Marsaxlokk harbour

Marsaxlokk harbour

Marsaxlokk harbour

Marsaxlokk harbour

Typical fishing boat

Typical fisherman

Now what was I doing ?

Day 5, Sat 24 March

First night with the balcony room, the downside is that the morning sun hits the window and it's really hot by the time we're getting up.  Had planned to catch the local rep. and book a couple of tours but couldn;t find her.  So headed for a day-trip down the south-east of the island to a wee fishing village - Marsaxlokk (pron. Marsashlokk).

Had to walk over to Tignes Shore and managed to get a bus - Mal had to stand (well stoop actually) for a while until we got past Valletta and a few people hopped off.  The bus was still pretty full when we got to Marsaxlokk by 11am.

It was also pretty hot, 30c, so we headed for a shady seat at the water-front.  Lots of very colourful fishing boats - Luzzu - most with a painted "eye of Horus" to ward off bad luck.  After a cold drink we headed off for a wander around the harbour and purchased a few items at the local market.

A bicycle race came through the town, the way they set up water-bottles and marshalled the area we thought it was going to be pros, but then they arrived, a collection of kids and teenagers on mountain bikes and the like.  Some of them obviously not keen on cycling in the heat!

By now it was time for lunch and there are a few shady restaurant tables on the waterfront.  Cokes, calamaris and a mixed fish grill, all for just over 3L.  The tuna steaks in the mixed grill were only a couple of inches across - babies!

About 2pm we headed for the bus back - the first one that came was going to Valletta so we hopped on that - then wandered over to the ferry terminal.  This way we can visit the super on the way back to the hotel for more water supplies.

After a relaxing sit on the balcony we headed round to St Juliens for a Lebanese dinner at "Fayrouz".  Typical Lebanese stuff, dips and kebabs then a half-hour stroll back to the hotel.

Our balcony

Our balcony

View from our balcony

View to Valletta from our balcony

Picnic on the "beach"

Our hotel at Sliema

Day 6, Sun 25 March

Even the locals are complaining about the heat - hottest March since 1952, getting up to 30c each day.  And we lost an hour overnight with the start of "summertime" so we plan an easy day.  Booked a day-tour to Gozo for tomorrow.

Went for a long-ish stroll past St Juliens and around to "Paceville" which is the area for nightclubs.  Glad we're not staying round there.  Really stinkin' hot so caught a bus back for lunch at the bistro in the hotel.  Had a nice fish pie (lampuki pie) each.

Spent the afternoon on the balcony then round to Vino Veritas for Italian food.

Day 7, Mon 26 March

Alarm set for 7am as the bus for the Gozo tour leaves at 8:15.  First part of the trip took us through some of the beachy resorts, glad we're not staying at these as they are too remote from anywhere else. It took us about an hour to get to the ferry terminal.

The ferry took us past a place called Comino Island - a low barren place that looks like every plant has been burned away by the sun.

Our bus trip takes us first to Dwerja Bay to see "Fungus Rock" (the fungus has medicinal properties), then the Azure Window (an archway of rock jutting out into the sea), and the "inland sea" (a fairly unattractive pool about a hundred yards from the sea, kept topped up by an undeground inlet).

From there it was off to Ta'Pinu Church, in the middle of nowhere but famous because a young girl heard a voice from behind the painting of Christ, then miracles began to happen.  Now you can pray here for any kind of miracle (eg a pay-rise), and there's a room full of crutches and bandages discarded after visiting the church.

Next it was off to a village called Fontana where we could see lace being made in the traditional way (a big tradition here), which we could purchase at a 15% discount!  We could also purchase locally made gold/silver jewellery and local wine.  More interestingly, the town still has the local hand-laundry built around a natural font, with a poor old lady washing some clothes there for the benefit of us tourists.

Then it was off to Marsalforn Bay for lunch, a disappointing affair designed for British tourists - hot soup, then roast beef - in 30c heat.

After a brief wander around the village we headed to Victoria, the capital of Gozo.  We skipped the included audio/visual experience and wandered up the hill tot he church and the citadel.  This church has a flat roof while all the other have domes, so they painted a dome inside the ceiling - looks very realistic from just inside the door, but very odd from anywhere else.

There were good views of the very dry countryside from the citadel, built by the Arabs when they briefly had control of Malta in the 1600s.  After that we headed back toward the ferry, with one more stop for a history of Malta audio/visual with another chance to buy lace/jewellery.

After all those buying opportunities we came back with only a lace bookmark (from a lady tatting in Marsalform Bay (see photo) and a wee thing to put over the top of a jug.

The bus tour was an easy way to see all over Gozo in one day, but also reminded us of why we rarely do organised tours.  Got back about 6pm and after a nice soak in the bathtub we headed out to a local joint for octopus salad and ham'n'cheese omelette (me) and pasta'n'veal with artichokes for Mal, and a bottle of local rose. 

Then back to the room to watch a program about the Oscars (Gladiator was filmed in Malta).

Gozo - azure window

Gozo - azure window

Tatting at Gozo

Citadel at Victoria

Balcony in Victoria

Guess who...

Ta'Pinu church

Victoria

Gozo balconies - Marsalform

Victoria

Day 8, Tue 27 March

Mal here. This is a rest-day, well it will be once we get the laundry out of the way.  So the alarm is set for 9am, that's right 9am - and it woke one of us up!

After brekky we sorted the laundry and Morag went shopping while I sat in the laundrette with the clothes going round-and-round.  The women in the laundrette couldn't believe a man was would know how to do laundry-type stuff so kept helping me - opening the lid to the washing-machine, opening the door to the dryer, things a man obviously wouldn't know how to do.

Morag's shopping trip only resulted in purchase of one piece of cotton fabric, lunch was more successful, fish pies and salad in the hotel bistro.

The afternoon was spent on the balcony, slow and easy: postcards, diary and siestas.  For dinner we went to a place with traditional local food, with mayonaisse! Mo had a tuna salad (after scraping the mayo off) followed by a grilled bream, I had local cheese salad and grilled swordfish, and shared a local Sauvignon Blanc - 20L all up.

Weather forecast looking better - low 20's.

Day 9, Wed 28 March

Morag back again.  Early alarm this morning as we plan a long day on local transport.  We're over the road for the 8:30 bus to Mdina, which is on time and not full, so we're both able to sit.

The bus goes along the coast at first then cuts west after Paceville, rattling through a couple of villages before zipping through Mosta with the big domed church.  Finally arrived at Mdina, fighting our way through the pony-trap drivers looking for business and through the town gates.

No cars in Mdina (except residents) which explains the pony-traps.  So it's a nice town to wander about in, massive high walls and narrow shady streets.  Originally built by the Romans about 1000bc, it's known as the "Silent City" - which it isn't really cause there's pony hooves clattering around everywhere.   

From the citadel walls you can see the coast at Valletta, supposedly on a clear day you can see Mt Etna (225km away) but being so hot it wasn't clear.  After completing the circuit of the town we walked over to nearby Rabat to see StAgatha's Catacombs.  The next tour was in 20 mins so we spent an interesting time in a wee museum upstairs, full of mineral samples and other bits and pieces from around the world - didgeridoo, stuffed crocodile, and local Roman artifacts.

The catacombs are huge, supposedly it would take 2.5 hours to explore it all.  We saw a couple of burial places cut out fo the rock - still with bones and a tiny 15th c. chapel with some brilliant murals before heading back into the sunlight. 

Right, time for lunch, back to Mdina, to Trattoria 1530AD under some nice umbrellas outdoors.  Prices were cheap so we expected smallish portions, ordered bruschetta and ftira to start then a risotto each, portions were not small so we were well stuffed after that - cost 6L.

Back on the bus to Mosta arriving at the church there at 2pm - getting hot now.  Trouble is that the church is closed 12-3, and nothing else to do there, so headed home for a siesta.  Went to a nearby place for dinner - Scruples - I had grilled swordfish and Mal had lamb chops, half a carafe of local wine between us, 10L.  We were a bit unsure about the restaurant as it looked a bit touristy, but the food was excellent.

Mdina

Mdina

Mdina backstreets

Mdina backstreets

Mosta from Mdina

Mdina church dome

Mdina tower

Mosta church tower

Church at Mosta

Day 10, Thu 29 March

Another early alarm this morning so that we can get the early bus back to Mosta, after which we plan to find a town called Iklin where there is supposed to be a great fabric shop - JB Stores.

We must have arrived at Mosta at peak tour bus tiem as the place was packed to the gills.  Apart from being a very impressive huge dome over an elaborately decorated church, the dome's other claim to fame is that during WW2 a German bomber dropped a couple of bombs on the roof.  One bounced off without exploding, the other came through the roof and bounced along the aisle - during the middle of a service.

It's quite amusing to imagine the worshippers faces as this bomb bounces along the floor, but the locals regard this as a miracle (and who can argue).  SO the bomb is kept is a small room out the back of the church, we couldn't get much of a look at it because some ignorant German tour guide had set up camp in front of it while he told his victims all the details.  The place is well worth a visit though.

After that we hit the bus to Iklin - first bus was full so we waited for the next bus.  Sat down at the front only to hear the cry "Morag" - down the back of the bus ere two lasses from my work!  Left Mal at the front of the bus while I went and chatted with Maureen and Ann, they are staying at one of the beachy resorts - Quaura - and not enjoying it as there's nothing to do in the evenings.  They were headed to Valletta so we waved them farewell when we got off at Iklin.

JB Stores had lots of fabrics but not the kind of kiddie stuff I was after, but I got a few bits.  Then we jumped on a bus for Valletta and had a wee look around the market at Merchant St when it started to rain!  Most surprised!

So headed back to Sliema on the ferry and had a bite there - Spanish omelette each, before hitting the siesta button.  Dinner was at a place called Zeppis round at Balluta Bay (on the way to St Juliens), just bruschetta and pizzas each - just under 9L.

Day 11, Fri 30 March

Another early start this morning as we plan to spend the day doing a walk over on Gozo.  Ummed and ahhed about the weather and should we pack our gore-tex jackets?  Finally decided we'd better.

Caught the 8:45 bus to the ferry.  Quite an old bus but in tip-top knick and clean as a whistle.  Seems like each driver has his own bus and some look after them better than  others.  Still a bone-shaking ride though.

It started to rain as we got on the 9:45am ferry (which was packed) and still raining when we got to Gozo.  We had planned a walk detailed in our guide book and it started just behind the tourist office, a bit hard to find the right path at first as there were little paths everywhere - got the right path eventually though.  The other tricky bit was that there was a thin layer of mud everywhere - the rain had soaked the top quarter inch of the soil.  This thin layer of mud attached itself to our boots so we were stopping every 5 minutes to scrape an inch-thick layer of mud off our boots.

Just as well we'd packed our water-proofs as it drizzled rain for the first hour-and-a-half.  The scenery at first was coastal, we were walking along the top of a 20 or 30 foot cliff.    Further up the hill was an old fort that we passed - Fort Chambray - built in the 1700s and now a small town within the fort.  We walked on, passing loads of signs of the bizarre national sport - blasting small birds out of the sky with shotguns.  Everywhere there were small "hides" where the macho men with the shotguns waited for small birds to fly by so they could blast them.  Very difficult to understand what pleasure someone could get from this.

Further along was an inlet called "Mgarr Ix-Xini" which is like a small fjord - very picturesque (see first photo).  Some people had just finished scuba-diving in the little harbour - we went only so far as to dip the soles of our boots in an effort to clear away the remaining mud.  The sun came out as we plodded up the hill ont he other side, from here we had a great view of the inlet with the fertile valley behind it. 

We soon came to the town of Sannat, supposedly renowned for it's ornately carved balconies, some were OK but some houses were way over the top with ornate stairways and balconies.  Bought a couple of bananas here to keep our energy up as we walked along the road to Victoria.  Here we were able to get some nice sandwiches with tomatoe paste, some olive oil, tuna, olives, cheese - they were yum.  Got to the local bus station just as a bus was due to head off to the ferry port.  This time there was plenty of space and we were back on the same immaculate bus at the other side for our trip back to Sliema.  

Before getting in the bath-tub ourselves we had to spend about half-an-hour scrubbing clean our boots with some brushes we'd bought.  Then after a hot bath each we didn't feel like going too far for dinner so it was back to Blondinos nearby.  We've dubbed it Fawlty Towers as the hwaiter looks a bit like Basil, but the food (and service) is good.  Started with octopus salad and Risotto Marinara for Mal, then pork fillet with creamy mushroom sauce for me and lamb shanks (again) for Mal, all washed down with a local Merlot and a huge bottle of water.

Walk on Gozo

Victoria

From the ferry - Comino

Our transport

Day 12, Sat 31 March

Had a bit of a sleep-in this morning and down for brekky about 9am - ultra-busy in there this morning for some reason.  The best thing about these breakfasts is the opportunity to people watch.

It's Maltese "Freedom Day" today, celebrating independence from Britain.  It rained overnight and the forecast was for rain, but it turned into a nice sunny day, not too hot for a change.  We wandered over to catch the Valletta ferry about 10:30 and made our way up to the Upper Barakka Gardens to view the planned boat-races on the harbour.  Nothing happening so we headed down to the main street, no parades or anything.

We did discover a gem though, Cafe Cordini, a marvellous little cafe with beautiful decorated ceilings, and loads of yummy looking cakes.  The wonderful vaulted ceilings were decorated by a famous Maltese artist, but we can't remember his name.  Just had a coffee at this stage and then wandered down to a wee street overlooking the harbour, closer to the water than the gardens. 

The first boat race was 6 foursomes in traditional boats, 2 sit rowing backward, the other two stand and row forward.  Since they can see where they're going you'd think they'd be able to avoid running into each other, but no, only 100 yards from the start one boat cut across another and they collided, both out of the race.  They were not happy!

As it turned out, this was the first of an afternoon of races.  We watched for a while but then got bored and wandered back up to Cafe Cordini for another coffee and got some snacks to take out - a peacake (yep, peas) and a ricotta pastry.  On the way back to the ferry we stumbled across "The Pub", where Oliver Reed had had his last pint before collapsing.

Had a last look at the races before catching the ferry home about 3:30.  Later we found out that the races were cancelled at about that time because of a tragedy.  Some bloke had parked his car at the waterfront with family inside, he'd left the engine running and the car in gear (?? don't ask us!) while popping into a shop to get some fags.  When he emerges from the shop guys are diving into the water to try to rescue his family from the car.  Unfortunately the 2-yo had drowned.

Dinner was another visit to Fayrouz - more dips and kababs, we were the only diners this time.

Cheats!

The Pub

Valletta backstreet

Valletta backstreet

Freedom day

Boat races

Boat races

Boat races

Boat races

Day 13, Sun 1 April

We had a 7:30 alarm for our 9-ish meet in the foyer for a bus-trip to the Blue Grotto (no public transport available).  After picking up loads of others at local Sliema hotels we were deposited at the Valletta flea-market for a while, full of old tat so we got some British newspapers and sat on the bus for a read.  Total waste of time, especially as the grotto is supposedly best before 11am.

Eventually we got going toward the blue grotto - so we thought, first we had to stop in the guides home-town so we could stop at his local church for him to give us a lecture on Maltese way-of-life.  We finally got to this grotto at noon, got tickets for the boat trip - not many people waiting so we got onto one of the wee fishing boats pretty quickly and joined the continuing circuit of boats going out and round to the grotto - actually grottos, a series of small caves over the water, the way the light shines on the crystal clear water with the sand at the bottom makes the water a deep blue colour.  Well it would have if we'd been there a few hours earlier, we could see a bit of the effect but not much.  Back to the bus and back to the hotel.  No more organised tours!

Time for lunch then, dropped into an Italian place near the hotel for ftiras and cakes.  Lounged for the afternoon, reading the papers and having a siesta.  Dinner was at Vino Veritas, I just had to have the pulpo and garlic salad while Mal had the local cheeses, then we had pasta (one carbonara and one with prawns) and of course the local La Vallette red.  All for 13L.

On the approach..

On the approach..

Blue grotto boat trip

Successfully into the boat..

Almost there..

You'll have to go and see for yourself..

Day 14, Mon 2 April

Our last full day so a sleep-in then brekky.  Thought we'd better do some last minute shopping over on the Tignes Shore.  I finally found a Maltese Cross charm for my bracelet but couldn't find any filigree that I liked (seems they are famous for it here). 

Went to the super for a few bits and pieces - they really have the most amazing range of WW cookbooks so I had to have one.  Spent the afternoon lazing on the balcony.  Decided we must try the local up-market restaurant - The Barracuda.  Also decided to have a long walk around the harbour beforehand and by the time we got the the restaurant at 7:30 they could only just fit us in.

It is the kind of place where you get personal service from your waiter and the food was fantastic, Mal had and avocado/orange concoction, then grilled swordfish, then coffee, while I had the prawn cocktail, then mixed seafood, then lemon cheesecake, before we had another promenade back to the hotel.  All up 30L.

Sent the final hour of the day packing.

No photos this day

Day 15, Tue 3 April

Thank goodness we're not flying to Newcastle, they were being picked up at 3am, we were to be collected at 11am for our 1:30pm flight.  Our bus finally arrived at 11:30 (getting edgy, us, never...).  We got to the airport about noon and onto the full flight with all our duty free.

Soon we were in our own car and driving through the sunshine, then hail and rain, home about 7pm, flat still in one piece. Will be nice to sleep in our own bed tonight and I have the day off tomorrow so we'll worry about the washing then.

Top of page

Copyright Malcolm Holt and Morag Medwin, 2002-2005

Webspace and domain name provided courtesy of WizardWebWorks.