I caught the bus into the capital - Valetta. Was pretty cool, a lot of big fortresses from the many invasions that they have been through. Valetta is based between two harbours with Forts at all the entrances. One of the best things here are Caravaggio paintings still hung in the Cathedral they were painted for in the early 1600's when he was fleeing from Rome. They look so much better here than the ones hung in galleries. [View Full Entry]

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Walked round St Thomas's Bay and over the cliffs and round the coast to Marsaxlokk the next town/village over. This is also just a major fishing village so I had a nice dinner of fresh fish after my 2 hour trek to get there. And before it had completely sunk in that I had to walk 2 hours to get back home again. [View Full Entry]

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As today was my last day in Malta, and I'd seen everything I wanted to see, I did my shopping today, which was an experience in itself. For the last two weeks, I've been looking at what there is, and comparing prices, so I could get the best stuff today. I'd decided on two places to do my shopping: Ta Qali Craft Village and the Marsaxlokk market. Souvenirs in Malta fall into one of two categories: beautiful hand-made objects, or tacky souvenirs from the souvenir factory that provides cheap souvenirs to everyone in the world. I've seen some strange souvenirs here--strange [View Full Entry]

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Got up at 4.30am to get to the airport. Ended up walking to Victoria station to get the train to Gatwick as the buses only go every 30 mins and the walk took just over 20 mins. Will write more about Malta later. [View Full Entry]

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Today was a public holiday, which means many things, including tourists sites, are closed. This morning I decided I didn't feel like rushing to get the 'fantastic' breakfast at the hotel, so I made my way over to Sliema and had a proper breakfast at a cafe there on the waterfront before doing a harbour cruise around the two harbours that are on either side of Valletta. It was incredible to see the forts and walls surrounding the Grand Harbour. After the sunny cruise and an ice cream cone, I caught the ten minute ferry back to Valletta from Sliema. I [View Full Entry]

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Today was a busy day. After breakfast at my hotel, consisting of two buns with jam and butter, a piece of Laughing Cow Cheese and tea made with chlorinated tap water (the free breakfast at my hotel), I caught the bus out to the Blue Grotto. It's a place to get a twenty minute boat ride to see some caves with really blue water. Not as impressive as the caves and waters of Comino, but still pretty cool. The only bad thing was the leader of the tour group who was trying to have his tour people fill up all the [View Full Entry]

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After the long day in Sicily, I decided to have a relaxing day--I slept a bit longer than usual, went for breakfast at an outdoor cafe, and wandered the streets of Valletta for a bit. There were two massive cruise ships in the harbour yesterday, and Valletta was crazy with people. When I'd had enough, I took the bus to Mosta, to see the Mosta Dome. The dome has the third largest diameter in Europe. The inside is incredibly beautiful, and seeing it was a bit surreal, because the only sound (other than the shuffling feet of tourists) was the murmer [View Full Entry]

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Well, my time in Gozo is done, and I am back in Valletta. It feels like being in a different country--the two islands are so different. It was hard leaving Gozo this morning, because I really liked it there, but now that I am settled back in in Valletta, it's all good. I spent the last three days exploring Gozo using their somewhat crazy public transit system. The buses were all bought from England, usually after the English decided they were no good anymore. The roads are terrible, but at least the island is small. The day after the boat trip [View Full Entry]

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The boat trip was amazing--I have the sunburn to prove it. We left Marsalforn around 10am and were driven to Mgarr Harbour where we boarded the Midas II. There were about nine people on the boat, plus the captain, his 'first mate' and the 'first mate's' girlfriend (It was like the scene from "A Room With A View" when the Italian driver brings his lover along for the tour). The boat went over to the north side of Comino, where we stopped for a walk near the Comino Police Station, a 500 year old church, and an equally old tree. [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday I made myself familiar with the public buses of Malta. Some of them are really old, but they have their charm, and the bus system is pretty efficient. The first stop was Dingli, for a bit of a walk along the cliffs. It felt like it was going to rain, but it didn't. It was very windy though. The next stop was the ancient walled city of Mdina, with narrow roads. Mdina was the original capital of Malta, before the Knights of St. John arrived. I had a really nice lunch at a restaurant on the top of the walls [View Full Entry]

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