ARCHITECTURE + AIRBORNE European Travels: MALTA

Oct 2014 - A beach trip was needed, so off to Malta we went. PJ and I were going to go with another couple, but due to a no notice deployment to Africa we ended up going with half of the couple, Michelle, and their son Dominic.

It was a 4-day weekend and we arrived on a beautiful, sunny, warm day. According to our cab driver, it was a typical "winter" day for them *sigh*. We headed to our AirBnB rental in St. Julians called Seaspray large 3 bedroom Apartment. It was huge! The listing said it would fit 12 guests and it would very easily do that. The price was great and it was in a good location for a first time visit. I think if I were to go back I would rent a condo or house outside of the city with a view, and then just rent a car to get around, but this was great.

View from our rental

A few things: Malta does not use a typical European outlet. It uses outlets like in the UK. Also, they drive on the left side of the road, not the right, and the official languages are both Maltese and English [although a lot of people speak Italian as well]. I suppose I should have done more homework on that before traveling, but it worked out.

The history of Malta dates back quite a while. The island was conquered by Arabs, then became an extension of Sicily. It was then given to the Sovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem [aka the Knights who gave Malta the 8 sided Maltese Cross as a national symbol]. In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte [I am slowly learning that he has apparently been EVERYWHERE!] took over, however, that was short lived due to the English stepping in to and helping the Maltese. The British ruled Malta until 1964. Malta then became independent, but they used the British administration, education and legislation systems.

The start of this trip happened on the plane ride when a fallacy that PJ has always stated as truth was disproved! Air Malta provides sandwiches during the flight. The type of sandwich was not written on the wrapper, but the meat looked like pulled buffalo chicken so we decided to eat it. After my first bite I realized that it was not chicken, but TUNA [actually pretty good and it didn't have a smell]. PJ claims that he HATES tuna! So I continued to watch him eat his sandwich until the very last bite, where I asked him how he like it. He said "it's pretty good" as he ate the last corner of the triangle. At that point I informed him of his new found enjoyment of tuna. He wasn't amused. This was not a 1 time deal. I will get to that later.

Our arrival day was spent walking around St. Julians. There are 3 cities all pretty close to one another; St. Julians, which has more nightlife, Sliema, and Valletta, the capital. We spent the afternoon walking around St. Julians Bay, grabbing some food and having a drink. This is where PJ's second tuna encounter occurred. We were at a restaurant and they brought us some appetizers. We blindly started to eat some of the spreads that they brought out and thought they were all very good. PJ liked one quite a bit and asked the waiter what it was. It was TUNA!

The next day was filled with activity. PJ and I have never done a hop-on-hop-off bus tour. I probably would not do it again in Malta because the bus is going all over the island and it would just be faster to rent a car and see more places. We did the South/Red tour, however, to fully experience everything one would need more than 1 day, and it is important to note that the Hypogeum in Hal-Saflieni must be booked months in advance. It was a pretty drive and we were able to see many areas that otherwise we would not have been able to see.

My favorite stop along the route was the Marsaxlokk fishing village. The village is very beautiful and the fishing boats [Luzzu's] are vibrant and colorful. The Luzzu's typically include a mythical eye painted on both sides of the prow. It is believed that the eye will protect both the fisherman and his family from evil. Many of the restaurant owners use the fishing boats to catch the fish that they serve in their restaurants. The food was extremely fresh and delicious. A common fish is the lampuki which is mainly caught between August and December and was perfect for our October trip!

We also stopped at a Blue grotto. In my opinion, it wasn't worth the money. We went on a boat cruise the next day that visited much nicer grottoes.

Our 3rd day in Malta was filled with a boat tour by Triton. It was only 15 Euro a person and was fantastic. Out of all of the places I have been, I would say the lagoons of Malta are the most beautiful. The blues and greens are so vibrant and the water is crystal clear. The boat sailed around the main island, and then up to Comino, where we had several hours to relax in the sun. We started our sail from St. Paul's Bay and around the island where St. Paul was shipwrecked way back in 60 A.D. We then traveled through Melliena Bay to Crystal Lagoon. We were able to swim in the lagoon and through the caves, one of which was used in the filming of "The Count of Monte Cristo"

We then headed to the Blue Lagoon where we had 4 hours of sun time! We rented some chairs [although we were on the slope so it was a strange angle], and relaxed. There was a small sandy area which slopped into the warm water. The area also has a lot of food trucks with many tasty items. PJ and I swam across to the small island of Kemmunett. It is strange swimming in such clear water because it always looks like you can touch the bottom, even when it is 14 meters [46 feet-ish] deep!