Thanksgiving in Malta 2023

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Trip start
November 22, 2023
Thanksgiving in Malta 2023 Traveler
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8 hours in Madrid (Pre-flight )
November 22, 2023 in Malta ⋅ 🌧 63 °F
We have wanted to visit Malta for ages and the stars aligned for a trip to celebrate Paul’s birthday and Thanksgiving this year. We have enjoyed taking the high speed train from Malaga to Madrid so we decided to build in 8 hours in the capitol city before our flight to Malta.
On a previous visit we didn’t have time to fully appreciate the Thyssen Art museum so this was our main focus. We ended up staying in the “La Letras” neighborhood https://www.spain.info/es/lugares-interes/barri… for its proximity to the museum and charm!
Before reaching the museum we stumbled across a tapas bar and were talked into the grilled octopus (which was delicious!) Hearing that it was Paul’s birthday, the owner treated us to a biscotti-style brownie with a candle for dessert!
The museum was wonderful, we’ve included some of our favorites in today’s photos.
After a great dinner at Bakan (Mexican) we enjoyed ‘vermouth on tap’ at Revoltoso Prado.
We are off to a great start!Read more
Traveler Our favorite… a Hopper called Hotel Room
11/23/23Reply
Traveler Love this Magrite that stresses the importance of the outdoors!
11/23/23Reply
Traveler Kandinsky
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Thanksgiving in Malta 2023 Traveler
Malta (Day 1)
November 23, 2023 in Malta ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F
After an uneventful flight, we picked up our rental car (a tad challenging—we haven’t driven on the left-hand side of the road since 2015 when we were in Scotland.) We then grabbed lunch, went food shopping, and met Alex!

The name Malta comes from the Phoenicians who christened the island “maleth” or ‘place of shelter’. We’re excited to explore this interesting island of ~520,000 people over the next 4 days.
The AirB&B we booked in Sliema has a panoramic sea view and the distant thunderstorms provided a fun light show as we toasted the birthday boy.
Alex is in charge of the birthday dinner reservation. I doubt we’ll find turkey and cranberry sauce here.

Stay tuned!Read more
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Thanksgiving in Malta 2023 Traveler
Valletta (Day 2)
November 24, 2023 in Malta ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
So no Turkey or cranberry sauce, but we had a very nice birthday dinner at Wigi’s Kitchen https://www.wigiskitchen.com/ last night!

Today we took a ferry to Valletta, Malta's capital. This is one of the world's smallest capital cities and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The steep streets of this historic district wind through the sandstone architecture with colorful balconies and 370 views of the harbor below.

Malta's history spans over 7000 years, starting with its Neolithic period when the mysterious temple builders constructed awe-inspiring megalithic temples, such as Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra (we’re hoping to visit those on Saturday, weather permitting!)
Over the years the islands of Malta were successively inhabited by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Knights of St. John, French, and British. The islands gained independence from Britain in 1964 and joined the European Union in 2004.
Each culture left its own mark which makes this such a layered and unusual place!

We kicked off our tour of Valetta at the Triton fountain. Next up was an audio tour of St. John's Co-Cathedral with its over-the-top baroque interior and two famous Caravaggios! After an early lunch at Trattoria Romano Zero Sei (and an escape from the rain) we walked to the National War Museum at Fort St Elmo. This multimedia-enhanced museum was a fun surprise.

We finished our ~15,000 step tour of Valletta in the Upper Barrakka Gardens which held a 4:00pm canon salute (done daily for tourists) and a beautiful sunset.

Alex was in charge of dinner again tonight, but this time it was hands on (see photo). And of course, it was delicious!Read more
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Mdina, temples, and Birgu (Day 3)
November 25, 2023 in Malta ⋅ 🌬 66 °F
Our first stop today was the Roman Domus (Roman townhouse) showcasing beautiful, well preserved mosaics floors. High winds made wandering around Mdina, a bit challenging. With its cobblestone streets and medieval architecture it’s easy to see why Mdina was used as a filming location for the Game of Thrones (King's Landing, first season). The iconic gate of Mdina (behind Alex and Paul in the second photo) featured prominently in early scenes. A favorite stop here was a handmade glass shop https://www.mdinaglass.com.mt/en/products/websh…

After lunch we headed back out into the blustery conditions and for Hagar Qim, a hilltop temple dating from 3200 BC. A near miss from a falling slate kicked off the visitor center portion of this well-trod tourist stop: a cash-only visitor desk (“sorry no credit cards, Internet down”), no 3-D movie today (“apologies—broken”), and a patchwork of other issues left us shaking our heads. Fortunately, the weathered and captivating stone apses made it all worthwhile!

Our next goal was to get out of the wind! We had wanted to squeeze in a visit to Birgu and we were glad we did as this was the most scenic (and clean) place we’ve visited so far! (Many interior parts of Malta are arid and feel completely abandoned.)
After a brief wander we found a cozy restaurant for cribbage, snacks and Maltese bruschetta (delicious!) The follow-up baked macaroni wasn’t so great (yesterday’s leftovers?) Alex treated us to gelato, it was a good day!
Hoping the wind dies down tomorrow so we can take the ferry to Gozo!Read more
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Thanksgiving in Malta 2023 Traveler
Gozo - (Last Day)
November 26, 2023 in Malta ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F
After a leisurely breakfast (in) we decided to brave the ferry to Gozo. Thankfully the wind was a non-event.

Gozo is a small island of ~25,000 people and known as Malta's tranquil counterpart.

Our first stop was Victoria, the capital city of Gozo. Victoria is set inland and boasts narrow winding streets, and traditional houses with Mediterranean balconies and other unique architectural styles. You could see that many would have been remarkable in their day (sadly, fifty percent have not been maintained).

The town's heart, and main tourist draw is the the Citadel, which stands like a fortified city atop the hill offering panoramic views.

In our experience, European travel ‘Stiles-fashion’ consists of layers: history then food—we did not go far off plan today! In perfect Stiles fashion, we had dessert first (chai lattes and a chocolate macaron!)
After working up an appetite stomping around the grounds of the Citadel, we wandered back to the same plaza for lunch at the excellent Roza (the mashed potatoes that came with Paul’s rabbit stew were so good he asked for the recipe. Of course the answer was “lots of butter”. I think there was also rosemary, parsley and a little sweet mustard in the mix.)

So food-history-food (see the pattern?)

Gozo is known for its dramatic coastline and we put Alex in charge of selecting the best place to view the cliffs. See the Senap Cliffs pics and video.

Once again we put Alex in charge of a late (light) dinner and he produced two absolutely delicious pizzas (from a nearby Italian restaurant). We have all the same ingredients here in Spain. Why can’t we find pizza this amazing at home?

Oh well, this is all part of travel!

11/28 Tuesday update: We’re all home safe after a very long travel day on Monday. Now it’s time to get into the Christmas spirit!Read more
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Day 9- 3/12
March 11, 2024 in Chile ⋅ 🌧 54 °F
We drove to the ferry and commenced our 26-hour trip through the fjords of a vast archipelago. It was drizzly most of the time so the islands around us were draped in clouds. We made five stops at remote towns that can only be reached by sea, some of less than 100 people, so the ferry was their lifeline. We ended up on the enormous island of Chiloé. We are lucky in that none of the rain has interfered with our itinerary!Read more
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Trip end
November 27, 2023

Thanksgiving in Malta 2023

8 hours in Madrid (Pre-flight )

Malta (Day 1)

Valletta (Day 2)

Mdina, temples, and Birgu (Day 3)

Gozo - (Last Day)

Day 9- 3/12