Blogs from Malta, Europe - page 11

I'm sitting in our cheap hotel apartment (room 101 -yikes!), overlooking the pool with high fencing that is totally failing to obscure the crane to the left and building works behind it. Not that it matters to Glyn and me as we are usually out during the day. However, it did amuse me to see all the tourists grilling themselves earlier by the pool in what is a rather ugly setting complete with building noise and dust. Each to their own I guess. The seashore is about a minute's walk away with plenty of room to get over cooked there instead. As always when Glyn and I go away, the day started early and so we left at 2.30am to catch our 6.00am flight from Birmingham. We boarded the Ryanair craft all full of hope and ... read more

Geo: 35.91, 14.52I awake before the alarms sound this morning. It's a little before 7am and it's already light out. I peer through the curtains and can see we are already entering the Grand Harbour of Valletta. I dress and step out onto the balcony to watch as Reflection spins 180 degrees so that she can moor just in front of another cruise ship. Mein Schiff 2, a German cruise liner (formerly celebrity galaxy or one of that class). We are followed in by Oceana's Riviera which moors on the opposite side of the harbour in Vittorriosa.We quickly shower and head up to oceanview for breakfast. Our tour today is at 9am but we need to meet outside the port gates 15mins prior to this. Ever punctual we are waiting 30mins before. We needn't have rushed. ... read more

Geo: 35.91, 14.52 Andrea and Garry and ourselves did the same excursion - called 3 cities and a boat ride. Was a good slow start to the day with the boat not docking until 10am so our excursion didn't start until 10.30am. So enjoyed a leisurely brekkie in the nice breakfast room rather than all elbows out in the trough ( buffet). Malta is gorgeous all the buildings made of large yellowy coloured stone, very picturesque. Our first stop was a lovely little fishing village with market stalls, with pretty handmade lacework and textiles, sweets, knick knacks, jewellery, magnets etc. we had half an hour to browse, first sweet stall immediately put me off as the gentleman very kindly gave me a sweet, fortunately before I ate it I worked out it was a prune wrapped ... read more

Malta is positively heaving with tourists during the summer months, but still a surprisingly popular destination in winter. The islands of the archipelago are rich in the history and unique culture of the Maltese; what a thrill to be finally able to visit! From Barcelona bargain hunters can snap up a cheap fare to Malta with a stopover in Rome, my visit to the Basque region of Spain providing the catalyst for this exciting new travel destination. Due to it's strategic location Malta has long been attractive to foreign powers as a naval base, with the islands having lived under many different rulers down through the millennia. Featuring a temperate climate, Malta can be the perfect getaway from harsh northern hemisphere winters, and I'm glad to be able to base myself in the resort town of ... read more

Before heading off to South America, Nemo and I went to visit mum in France and dad in Malta. we had a jolly good time!!... read more