Day 11 Our first day on Malta - Valletta

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This is our first full day on Malta and we are going to Valletta, the capital city. Valletta is built on a peninsula with the Grand Harbour on one side and Marsamxett Harbour on the other. There are couple of parallel streets down the middle of the peninsula and all the right angle streets head off steeply down to the harbour, or in Valletta’s case, the fortified battlement walls. The panoramic view above is off The Grand Harbour and is approximately a 200 degrees view.

We started off by walking up the hill from our villa at Mellieha. It takes about ten minutes and it’s uphill all the way. There are very frequent buses to Valletta from here and we bought a 7 day pass for €13.98 each. This is a good value ticket as it allows us to get unlimited travel on the buses for that period. The trip from here takes about 40 minutes and most of the buses are relics of the fifties and sixties. I hate to think how many miles they must have travelled in that time.

We arrived at the Valletta bus terminus which is on a roundabout just outside the city gates. There is a huge fountain in centre called The Triton Fountain. Behind this is the Phoenicia Hotel, a very upmarket hotel that has been here for many years.

We entered through the city gate, which was rebuilt during the 1970s to a modern design. A lot of Maltese do not like this new gate and there is work underway to replace it. Just inside the city gates are the ruins of the Royal Opera House which was destroyed by the Luftwaffe in 1942. Sixty eight years is a long time to have a hole in the ground, but plans are underway to rebuild. One idea is an open roofed structure but there are a lot of people who want it restored to its original glory.

We then walked down Republic Street, formerly known as Kingsway, admiring the many buildings along the way. Many of these buildings date back to the 16th and 17th centuries when the Knights of Malta established the city as their new fortress. We walked about half way along the street to the Grandmasters Palace, which is now the Parliament Building before turning up one of the many side streets off Republic Street. We plan to visit the Palace on another trip to Valletta.

We then walked along Merchants Street where we were there just before the street traders were packing up for their siesta. It was here that we had our first pastizzi for the holiday. Yum......cheesecakes. We also bought a few things from the markets before going further up the street.

We then went down Santa Lucia Street which is full of jewellers shops. Most of them were closed by then so we were unable to look inside. Most shops in Malta, with the prime exception of international chain stores, still close from 1 pm to 4 pm each day and then re-open until 7 pm.

We just kept walking to the end of the street, down a steep hill, and ended up at Marsamxett Harbour with a view across to Sliema and Manoel Island. We a good stroll around here and found a ferry company that does tours of the two harbours. It only costs €16 for nearly two hours, so we plan to do that later on the holiday.

We then walked up San Gwann (John) Street, which is where Gina fell up a step and broke her nail. Actually, it was really bad as the nail lifted and it bled under the nail. Very painful. We ended up at cafe in St John’s Square where we had bite to eat. Gina had bruschetta and I had a banoffee pie. Very, very nice too.

After having fed ourselves, we headed off to St John’s Co Cathedral for a spot of religion. All up today, we went into three churches and the exterior of these places of worship belies what hides behind those doors.

The interior of St John’s is a classic example of baroque art and is just amazing. The artwork on the ceilings and the carvings are indescribable. We just hope that some of our photos give this place the justice it deserves. We wandered around the cathedral for about 90 minutes before heading into the museum to see some of the most beautiful tapestries and artwork in the oratory.

Regrettably, we were unable to take photos in the museum and oratory as it is not allowed. Some of the paintings are absolutely sensational including The Beheading of St John by Caravaggio and St George and the Dragon by Pretti.

So much art, but time to move on. We left the cathedral and headed back up Merchants Street towards the city entrance. We were heading to Upper Barrakka Gardens, which were originally built as indoor gardens for the Italian Knights. The columns are mostly still there, however there is no longer a roof. These gardens overlook the magnificent Grand Harbour, one of the world’s deepest natural harbours. The gardens have paths through them and are really well maintained but it is the view of the harbour that is the main attraction.

Just outside the gardens is the Auberge (Inn) de Castille which was built close to the battlements. These auberges were built for Knights who did not have their own residences on Malta or for visiting guests. The original building dates from 1574 but the facade was changed in the 18th century to suit the flamboyant style of one of the Grand Masters. It is currently used as the offices for the Prime Minister of Malta.

We then walked along the city wall before descending back down to Republic Street next to the ruins of the Royal Opera House.

We needed more punishment so we headed back down Republic Street. On the way, we came across a wedding that had just taken place in St Barbara’s church. We had taken external photos earlier and now took advantage of the open doors to take internal shots.

Further down the road, St Francis of Assisi Church was now open and we called in there. The interior just took your breath away. Just amazing ornate design.

This has turned out to be an extremely tiring day and we have completed an awful lot of walking. We then headed back to the bus terminus to go back to Mellieha.

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Comments

[anonymous]

Fantastic Photo Dad :D :D