I’m very excited to get the chance to come to Malta, this time tagging along with my little bro, his partner and my gorgeous two and a half year old niece Anya. Last time I was here was in 2019 in Sliema and this time we’re in Marsaskala which is south of Valletta (Sliema is north of Valletta), and only about 20 minutes away (it’s a small island!)
I arrive after midnight on Friday night after the 3 and a half hour flight from Dublin on Ryanair. Con and Maja are already here so a glass of wine awaits!! We’re staying in a very cool 3 bedroom house over three floors plus a rooftop terrace. It’s very spacious! Looking forward to seeing the surroundings in the morning.
Saturday morning is bright and clear if a little overcast but I’m loving the view from my bedroom.
I make a cup of tea and head up to the terrace and get a good look around. It’s very nice.
The house:
Once everyone is up Con makes us a delicious croque monsiour for breakfast and we are treated to the alphabet and other songs from Anya.
We adjourn to the terrace for more tea and a little disco. The views really are beautiful up here.
At our leisure we get ourselves organised for a day out. We grab a Bolt (most popular taxi app on the island and very available and affordable) and head off to explore Mdina. The sun has arrived so sunglasses are needed!
I’ve been here before, in fact possibly two other times. The first time was on a Mediterranean cruise when I was 21 (ish)….. I honestly don’t remember much as that was so long ago and the more recent visit in 2019 was a whistle stop run through the streets and an attempt to get a great photo (documented in a previous blog). I do love approaching a walled town…..
We arrive at Mdina Gate which is the main gate into the fortified city of Mdina. It was built in the Baroque style in 1724.
Mdina, or Città Notabile/Vecchia as it was later known, was the ancient capital of Malta before the arrival of the Knights of the Order of St John in 1530. Its fortifications, as they stand today, are the product of the many interventions and additions made by the Knights as they sought to transform the old fortified city into a gunpowder fortress. (No I didn’t get that from Wikipedia, I wrote it myself! 🤪)
It’s a small area so we cover it in a short space of time but it’s nice to wind through the narrow streets and enjoy the sunshine.
Anya is so good. She loves exploring the little streets.
Just like her aunty Elaine she’s wondering what’s behind the green door.
We walk around the walled city, looking back for some nice views
I do love me some good looking walls….
We continue to Rabat which is just across from Mdina. There’s a square facing the cathedral where we get our bearings and make a plan.
We decide it’s time for a drink and try the local soft drink – kinnie! It’s like a mix of Coca Cola and Irn Bru!
I check out this saint whos statue from a distance looks a little like St Patrick but is in fact St Cathaldus – I’d never heard of him. Apparently, he was a seventh century Irish Bishop from Lismore in County Waterford. On his way home from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem his ship was wrecked off the Italian coast, and he eventually made his way to Malta.
I check out the tiny church and for a donation you can go downstairs to visit the crypt…. Worth a €2 look!
Crypts and catacombs are very popular here in Malta, in fact I think they have a record number of them in the local vicinity. Maja and I check out St Paul’s Catacombs – the most vast complex of them all. There’s a modern building where we buy our tickets and check out a bit of a museum. It’s all very interesting and we learn all sorts of different things like the funeral processions were more like a parade and had mimes and all sorts of characters involved. We also saw the skeleton of an infant…
The catacombs are essentially a lot of underground graves that form part of a huge cemetery. We fully explore a large underground network of tunnels and chambers.
Then we think we’re done and let Con know we’re on our way back only to realise there’s another huge section across the road – St Agatha’s! There are loads of smaller catacombs here, we won’t manage to see them all. Maja noticed some of them are marked as “must see” so we try to see as many of them as we can. There’s also a bit of foraging in the trees going on.
Eventually we head back to the square and to Con and Anya.
It’s time for a snack and that can only mean one thing…. pastizzi. Even Anya tries them. We get a selection of ricotta, chicken and the traditional peas. All very nice.
This is the same place we got them from when I was here with the Aussie gang … allegedly the best place for them.
We head home for a nap… and I’m not just talking about Anya and then go local for some fish… it’s a late dinner and it’s light so absolutely perfect. The view at night is lovely.
Next morning after another delicious brekkie from Con we wrap up and head to one of the three cities – Vittoriosa.
The weather isn’t as good today, it’s very blustery so we decide we’ll go to the Inquisition museum. We learn all about the “holy” people who were the Inquisitors!
This is my favourite of them…
There’s some interesting and gruesome info. In its suppression of heresy in all its forms, the Inquisition prosecuted against: ABUSE OF SACRAMENTS; POSSESSION OF PROHIBITED BOOKS; INFRINGEMENT OF ABSTINENCE; BIGAMY; APOSTASY; MAGICAL ACTIVITIES AND SUPERSTITIOUS REMEDIES; HERETICAL OPINION; FALSE WITNESS; PROFANATION OF THE SACRED; BLASPHEMY; OBSTRUCTING THE TRIBUNAL – heavy stuff!! There’s all sorts of torture chambers and cells to check out.
Anya particularly likes the courtyard and decides to rearrange a few pots…
As we check the map and make a plan for what’s next, Anya takes care of some admin in the museum office!
We’ve seen enough and it’s time to brave the weather…
We head for the ferry to take us to Valletta.
Even though it’s a rainy day, the scenery from the ferry trip is impressive.
We arrive in Valletta and take the famous Barrakka lift from the ferry point up to the old city.
Once we’re up there it feels very familiar and I’m reminded of being here in 2019. In fact I’m pretty sure I took the same photos from the same spot!!
It’s time for lunch. There are so many places to choose from. We eventually settle on a covered in outdoor place serving really good Italian sandwiches.
The wind is whipping up as we eat our sandwich and have a beer.
Another ramble around the streets and it’s time to take more cover from the windy weather. We check out a tiny bar called Buddies.
There are some great tunes being played and we really enjoy relaxing for an hour or so. I’m on the British Bulmers (not Magners!) – very nice!
We head home, getting a different feel of the streets by night.
Back home we get some takeaway food relax for the rest of the evening.
The sun is shining so I head out for a run the next morning.
I run from our side of the water to the other side … the views are great and I’m happy it’s flat.
I pass these natural pools that are famous in Malta.
I continue to the abandoned hotel…
This was the Jerma Palace Hotel, a 4 star hotel, the biggest in South Malta and hugely popular in the 80’s and 90’s. Not so much anymore! At first look I thought I couldn’t get in but you can get access from the back where it looks out to sea.
Continuing on along the small streets hugging the coast I get to St Thomas Bay Sandy beach. It’s a tiny beach but there’s a few people braving a morning swim.
On the way back I go down low to the water… loving running by here
Back at the casa it’s another lovely brekkie on the balcony and a bit of a boogie to some tunes before we head out for the day! A dance after a cup of tea is a great way to start the day!!
Crazy faces in the back of the car as we head to Marsaxlokk, a really beautiful fishing village about ten minutes south of our place.
It’s a beautiful sunny day and it’s very picturesque along the waterfront.
Lots of things for Anya to check out and keep her busy….
And then there’s the stuff that keeps me busy… I have to admit these cannolis were nowhere near as good as the ones I had in Sicily… they actually tasted a bit stale 😱!
We explore the waterfront and check out some boats
And we love stopping for a coffee or kinnie and watching the world go by….
We take a short trip out on a boat and admire the views from the water.
It’s hard to hear the captain but he’s pointing to something in the water and is very keen for us to stand up and check it out… as we get closer we see the craziest thing (which is apparently famous here) – horses racing in the water!!!
There may be a captain on our private boat tour but there’s only one boss on this boat.
Nice views as we head back to land…
Back on land it’s time for lunch and after much review and discussion we chose what appears to be the best spot and have a seafood feast (some of which we have to take home with us) at La Nostra Padrona. Delish!!
We find a park, a cat hotel and some very pretty buildings at the end of the waterfront. Nice end to the day as the sun starts to go down .
It’s so nice to be able to relax back at the house for the evening. Some local wine, snacks or leftovers, sure what else would you need.
I head out next morning before we tidy up and leave for home. This time I stay on this side of the water and run out to a parkland and Zonqor tower
Time to clean up this lovely house that we really enjoyed for our little holiday.
Me and Anya hit the local playground and leave the clean up to Con and Maja!
Time to go home so one last car selfie in the Bolt with my best pal… a treasure of a holiday companion 😍
odohertyelaine 