Hurray! Another major leg of the tour has been booked today...and what a relief it is, since now I have one less week of daily plans to make!Mike says I'm the Planner, he's just the Financier. But he's also the Bookie, and so Mike booked the week-long Med cruise with MSC. I was a little apprehensive about this cruise at first because I didn't know much about some of the ports of call, and even though we would be spending three other weeks traveling at our whim, the thought of giving up places that I wanted to see (Tuscany!) for those I probably wouldn't otherwise visit, (Malta?) suddenly left me feeling...greedy! I took that as a sign and the perfect reason to book the cruise - at what other time would we consider Malta or Tunisia to be on our destination list? (it helps that I did a lot of research on Malta and Tunisia!)
So why not just book a Med cruise with all the ports of call we would want to visit? That's easy - Price. Kids 17 and under cruise FREE on MSC. That, and the itinerary fits perfectly into the plans. MSC also offers travelers the option of getting on the ship at different ports in the itinerary, which makes for more flexibility. So the Bookie/Financier found a cheap flight from Edinburgh to Pisa (Florence) and for $60.00/person we're not only to our embarkation port, but we're close enough to Italy's Cinque Terre to visit for three days before we cruise!
The last little bit of the frame will be figuring out how to get from Italy to Paris to catch our flight home on August 18. Most likely we'll take a train, winding our way through France, but now that the majority of the skeleton is in place, filling in the blanks feels like a cinch!
Valetta, Malta, Maltese Islands
An ancient city
Click for a live web cam shot of Valetta Grand Harbor
This is a nice little video describing Malta and the Valetta Water Front in particular
An ancient city
Click for a live web cam shot of Valetta Grand Harbor
This is a nice little video describing Malta and the Valetta Water Front in particular
I was in Malta for 2 weeks in 2007. It was amazing! Let me know if you have any questions - I got to see most of the country. That shot of Valetta was my desktop just before I left!
ReplyDeleteHi Anna, thanks for visiting our blog!
ReplyDeleteWe will be in port from 9 - 6, so our time is fairly limited - do you have any suggestions on places that are not-to-miss? What can we skip?
Did you do any diving while in Malta? My husband is certified and has always wanted to do a wreck dive.
Did you have a favorite beach (or swimming place)? We don't mind going out of the way a bit - it seems easy and cheap enough to get around the island, and would prefer beauty and tranquility over "the easiest" beach to get to.
Is there a cuisine we shouldn't miss while on the island?
Hope that's not too many questions - it's always good to get a perspective from someone who's been there already.
Thanks for your help!
I'd list prices, but back then they still had the Lira. Im not sure if they still use it, or just the Euro.
ReplyDeleteIn Valletta, I'd start at St. John's Co-Cathedral because it will get hot later in the day, and you'll avoid a line. The church is extravagantly beautiful and you get an audio tour (like a radio). St. Paul's Shipwreck church also in Valletta was beautiful but eerie.
Check out the main street, Republika.
At noon head to Upper Barracca Gardens still in Valletta. Great views of the Three Cities across the harbor and they do a salut with the canons. Tours at 11am and 12:15. Tours allow you to be down by the canons at the shooting time, but you can get a good view from the gardens above.
Most of the beaches are (smooth) limestone, but not sandy. Mellieha Bay is one of the few sandy beaches, but also out of the way. Sliema, the 'modern' town is the closest place to swim with rocky beaches. We swam a lot in the town we stayed in (MarsaSkala). It's calm there, but nothing special as far as the beach goes.
Try to take a bus at some point, or just check them out at the main terminal just outside the Valletta city walls.
We bought tickets to Hal-Saflieni Hypogeum in Paola but didn't get there in time due to bus issues on the first day. It's supposed to be one of the most extraordinary archaeological sites in the world. You must book this well in advance!!!
Malta at War Museum - You get to go underground into air raid shelters. Tour and then you can explore on your own. It's nearby in the 3 cities.
Cuisine - pastizzi or qassatat are good for a snack. Rabbit is a national dish. Also, surprisingly, the best pizza I've ever had!
Diving - we wanted to go but didn't have time to get licensed. There are so many shipwrecks and dive sites. The Visit Malta website has a great interactive map for everything, including dive sites.
The old capital, Mdina, is a nice calm quiet town. It's on a hill and you can get a view of the whole country.
Other things:
-if renting a car, Blue Grotto in the south for a little boat tour of caves. MarsaLoxx is a little fishing town with colourful boats.
-I think Comino and Gozo are probably too far away, especially if you factor in the ferry time (~30mins one way) Blue Lagoon is gorgeous for swimming, but probably not accessible in that time frame.
-I'd skip anything called 'The ___ Experience" like 'The Malta Experience" Im sure you'd learn a lot about the history in the video, but can do that online.
WOW, it's hard to narrow it down. There's so much, and I clearly enjoyed everything. You can't really go wrong. Just decide on the type of attractions you want to see and Im sure you'll enjoy it all.
Remember that it gets very very hot noon-4. We ended up relaxing by the water on the German Curtain side of Valletta (where the ferry comes in) for hours in the shade. Didn't swim there, just relaxed with out feet in the water.
Thanks for all of your GREAT advice, Anna! Your advice makes it easier to narrow down our information search.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard anything about the Upper Barracca Gardens and canon salutes. Anyplace that has a nice view is on our list - I like to appreciate the scenery with my camera. And how often can you witness a canon salute?
We like the idea of Mdina, a nice quiet town, with a view of the whole country...very cool!
Who knew that rabbit was the national dish? Sounds like a Travel Dare Pit-Stop to me! I'll have to look up what pastizzi or qassatat are...
Thanks again for your help!
The cannon salut is everyday at noon.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am in the process of posting my best pictures on my blog. Im adding them on the dates that the trip happened (2007) so maybe have a look at the pictures and if you want any more info about a certain place, let me know!
I just thought of a really good one - you must try Kinnie. It's pop made from bitter oranges and has an interesting taste. They drink it like we drink Pepsi.
ReplyDeleteKinnie sounds good! Do they call it pop, or fizzy water? I'm looking forward to trying that, and actually was just having a hankering for orange pop! And I am a die-hard Pepsi drinker!
ReplyDelete