Arrival in Malta

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I'd forgotten how nice it is to travel during the week, when the flights are half empty, and you can spread out. I think everyone on the long flight from Toronto to Frankfurt had at least two seats to spread out on!

It took planes, trains and automobiles to get here (a bus between terminals in Toronto and a train between gates in Frankfurt), but I'm here. The flight from Frankfurt to Malta was really cool, with glimpses of the Alps through the clouds, the Italian Coast, the blue waters of the Mediterranean, and beautiful Sicily below us.

It's almost like time has stopped here--it's hard to tell the difference between the newer buildings and the ones that are several hundred years old, because they are all made from the same limestone, and they are all painted/plastered the same.

The weather is fantastic--right around 20C I think, which is the way I like it.

It was about 1pm when I checked into my hotel in Valletta, and after a shower I explored the city. The entire city of Valletta is a UNESCO world heritage site, and it's very interesting, with narrow streets, beautiful buildings, and beautiful people. There are street cafes everywhere, but this is mainly a business centre, and around 4:30pm the 'mass exodus' starts.

I went into St. John's Co-Cathedral, which is an unassuming building from the outside, but the inside is incredibly ornate, with ceiling frescoes depicting the life of St. John, incredible marble everywhere (including the tombstones on the floor), and a couple of original paintings by Carravaggio.

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Photos

Harbour at Dusk
This is the view from my hotel room!

St. John's Co-Cathedral
Built in the 1570's for the Knight's of St John. A papal decree in 1816 made it equal in status to St Paul's Cathedral in Mdina (the seat of the Archbishop of Malta)so they are both co-cathedrals.