Malta is a country I did not even know existed until I was living in Switzerland. Located 191 km south of Sicily, Malta is a tiny island in the middle of the Mediterranean. After spending a few days here, I’ve come to learn and appreciate just how special and important this small island is.
Every January and February, I start to get depressed. The lack of sunshine all winter negatively affects me, my body screaming for vitamin D. Tony and I agreed that we would take a small trip somewhere sunny to boost our moods. However, we didn’t want to break the bank. It was then we stumbled upon this little island of Malta.
Between flight and hotel, we spent less than 800 CHF. Visiting in the off season benefited our wallets. It is currently just cold enough to prevent swimming, but warm enough for a light jacket and dining outside. That is exactly what we were looking for.
With Tony’s parents watching our two children – Matilda and Clark the dog – we departed on Wednesday evening and arrived within a couple hours to our hotel. We booked at the Phoenicia, a gorgeous property right outside the entrance to Valletta. Driving through the city at night, we were in awe of the many architectural wonders we drove past. What was the story behind this place?
After settling in, we headed out for our favorite food – pizza. Malta is heavily influenced by both Italian and Arabic cultures, so finding yummy food isn’t hard. We ended up at Sotto, a delicious underground pizzeria. We sampled the local beer (Cisk) and I ordered a stuffed pizza. It was delicious and was a great way to kick off our visit.
We ended with a nightcap in our hotel’s bar, The Club Bar. The bar itself and the photographs were the originals from 1952, all inspired by the island’s colonial past.
The next day we ventured over to a different part of the island, St. Julian’s. We recommend downloading the taxi app, eCabs, because the taxis outside the hotel took advantage of our tourism naivety.
We started by walking up and down the water at Spinola Bay. The colorful boats that floated in the water made the scene so authentic. We also stumbled upon the Cat Village, a unique area maintained by the locals for the homeless cats. The restaurant Gululu was our main reason for heading this way, as we wanted to sample typical Maltese food. We ordered the mezza which was a true combo of Arabic and Italian food.
We then walked to St. George’s Bay which was much smaller than I expected. The path there also took us through some shady looking streets, full of strip clubs and dirty kebab restaurants. It made me glad we were staying in Valletta.
After a rest, we ended the evening at a cozy and adorable restaurant called Salvino’s. We enjoyed extremely friendly and customized service along with delicious pasta. It was a great end to the evening!
Friday we had scheduled a walking tour of Valletta with Valletta City Walking Tours. Our guide, Nadine, was so lovely and incredibly informative. The amount of history Malta holds blew our minds. Because of its location in the Mediterranean, this tiny island has been involved in most major historical events. This includes the Crusades and WW2.
Some of my favorite fun facts included the following:
- The 8-pointed cross found everywhere stems from the 1500s and the islands involvement in the crusades. It is the official cross of the Order of St. John and some historians relate the 8 points back to the 8 Beatitudes.
- The many covered balconies were made of wood as a means to show wealth and status. Wood is not a natural resource of the island, while stone is. The narrower balconies are older, as people could only stand in there. However, the intent was to stand and be seen by the people below so it worked in their favor.
- The door knobs are very elaborate and are either very welcoming, or designed in a scary manner to ward off evil spirits.
After our great tour, we grabbed a quick coffee and Lenten snack at the oldest cafe in Malta, Cafe Cordina. Our snack was actually vegan because it did not use the standard baking ingredients due to Lent. Called a Kwarezimal, it is a traditional Maltese Lenten sweet with hazelnut crumble base and spices, topped with honey and almonds. It was surprisingly delicious and came cut in the shape of the 8-pointed cross so important to Malta.
It was then off to St. John’s Co-Cathedral.
Built between 1572 and 1577, this church is in honor of John the Baptist. It is one of the few structures in Malta that was not destroyed by the WW2 bombing. The outside is very plain, but the inside is one of the most incredible examples of Baroque architecture in Europe. Upon entering, your eyes widen. Every inch of wall space is touched by elements of gold. It almost starts to play tricks on your eyes because it is so shiny, and I had trouble figuring out where to look first.
What I was most interested to see, however, was the Caravaggio painting of St. John’s execution. It is so large and lifelike, gory and sad. I sat there for 30 minutes just staring in awe at the scene in front of me.
After spending time at the church, we rested at our hotel. It was then back to our favorite pizza place, Sotto, for our last dinner on the island. We debated trying to find another restaurant to try, but why mess with a good thing? 🙂
Visiting Malta was such an unexpected treat for many reasons. Aside from the history, the people were friendly and all spoke fluent English. We learned of the island’s important role in history, and why the 8 point cross can be found everywhere (even in our Lenten treat from Caffe Cordina). We enjoyed sunshine and good food and drink, and most of all each other’s company. I look forward to when we can return again to this special island.
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