Oct 19 – Valetta, Malta

Malra

Weather – 23º, very windy, a few

Maltese orzata

sprinkles

Steps – 11,200

Malta, an island (pop.588,000) is world’s 10^th smallest country by area and is in the Mediterranean Sea to the south of the foot of Italy’s boot. It is very congested traffic-wise – it reminded me a lot of Mayotte, more and more cars and a finite amount of space. It is also very hilly, so traffic is up and down the hairpin turns – no one drives a pickup. Malta is actually the name of one the 2 main islands – Gozo being the other, which we will visit in a couple of weeks when we

St Christopher

are back for the day on the cruise. Valetta is the capital city where the cruise terminal is, the Westin is in St Julien about a 15–30-minute drive depending on traffic. Maltese and English are official languages.

We experienced the 30 min drive on the way from St Julian to Valetta, we knew it was going to take a while and accounted for that. We were to meet our walking/food tour at 10, so pre-booked an Uber for 9:00 (€14). We’ll be back

Triton fountain - main meeting spot

tomorrow – the cruise terminal is in Valetta.

We spent the half hour before the tour wandering the old town of Valetta and enjoying a cappuccino.

There were 18 of un on the tour which would typically be a nice number, but given the tiny places we were visiting, was a bit large. About a third of the tour was Canadians.

We of course eavesdropped on one woman from BC talking to a British couple before the tour – telling them all about Alberta’s referendum, with less than 100% accuracy. She seemed like a bit of a know-it-all at the time, but by the end of the tour…WOWZA. She loved sharing with Matthew our guide many, many bits of

waiting for the sandwich

her wisdom. This wasn’t all that obtrusive to the rest of us, but there is always one on a tour!

chocolate tasting

For 3.5 hours we wandered the old city of Valetta (including one stop at the bus station outside the city walls) listening to Matthew telling us the history of Malta and describing the foods we were trying. The highlights were Pastizzi – a flaky pastry filled with ricotta or mushy peas (we both tried the ricotta), pulled rabbit, and cisk beer.

We also tried:

-        Maltese chocolate (goat cheese flavour was the most interesting – the goat cheese was very obvious; I really liked it),

-        Maltese coffee (coffee with strong clove flavour)

-        Orzata – an almond flavoured drink

      Nougat

-        Bigilla (garlicy bean dip served with crackers)

-       

WWII Victory Kitchen

Ftira, a sandwich made on dense chevy bread – filled with kunserva (a sweet, sun-dried Maltese tomato paste).

We also learned about Malta’s Victory Kitchens from WWII. To combat hunger and lack of food, Maltese citizens were encouraged to only take half of their food rations in exchange for one hot cooked meal each day.

After the tour we hopped in an Uber for a 15 min ride back.

Back at the hotel we got a spritz for the pool/sea area to drink overlooking the sea. The sea area is fantastic. There is no beach, but the lounge chairs that

random Maltese street

would normally be set up at the beach are set up around a stone ledge where the waved crashed flooding the deck – very cool.

Dinner was a few appetizers at the hotel lobby bar.

We were in Valetta about 15 years ago on a cruise stop and I don’t remember it being nearly as busy as it was today. I remember a sleepy place with a few tourists. Today was thronging with people.

hotel sea deck