Reset search
Malta
Satellite

Malta
Il-Birgu

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.

Top 10 Travel Destinations Il-Birgu

Show all

17 travelers at this place

  • Peter SprotMalta via The Balkans
    Day28

    Etna and the ferry to Malta

     June 8, 2019 in Malta ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    I waited until almost 3pm before setting off from that idilic farmhouse in the hills just outside Spadafora Sicily. It was very hot so I abandoned my plan of a stroll round Noto and opted instead for a ride up mount Etna which I thought might be cooler. And what a ride it turned out to be. Everything was going just great until I reached the base then my sat nav decided it was time for another adventure so it took me up a road which became narrower and strewn with dumped rubbish until my way was blocked by two burnt out cars so I turned around and asked the sat nav to behave so it then took me for 45 minutes up one of the best roads of the trip. Perfect road surface with a mixture of fast and slow sweeping bends and many hairpins. The road had in several places been cut through the lava and not long ago. It was about 4.30 as I started the assent and the road was completely empty. Just me, it was incredible. At the top the tourists had all gone and everything was closed except the cafe bar where I met some Italian bikers who were not very chatty so I left them alone and just had a quick latte coffee and set off for another uninterrupted ride back down.
    I stopped for fuel just after 6.30 and didn't have time to waste to get to the ferry for 8.30 one motorway toll had a cue over a kilometre long so I turned into an Italian bikers and jumped it. The fee was 1.20 euros, hardly worth collecting.
    I boarded the new ferry to Malta at 8.20. it is called Saint John Paul ll Google it, it is not cheap but quite impressive. It was very full with no room for any more bikes or cars when we sailed.
    I love arriving in Malta so the drive at midnight from the port to the house was great. I couldn't settle once I arrived so I did all my clothes washing and had something to eat thanks to Laurie for getting me some milk and bread.
    It's funny how I don't get hungry when I'm on the bike. There have been several days when I have had only one meal.
    So now I relax for a while. I hear there is a classic car show in Valletta tomorrow and I'm just about to go and buy a ticket for a concert next Friday which features the man who sang the part of Freddy Mercury in the film Bohemian Rhapsody. He is singing at Fort At Angelo which is a five minute walk from the house.
    I will make an occasional post while here but not so frequent as while traveling.
    When I do travel back to the UK I'm thinking of going via Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, rather than ride up Italy. Stay tuned.    Read more

    1111+4
    Map
  • Peter SprotMalta via The Balkans
    Day29

    Valletta and the car show

     June 9, 2019 in Malta ⋅ ☀️ 37 °C

    Malta is experiencing a heat wave. 34c today dropping tomorrow.
    I love the ferry ride to Valletta. I have a card like the London Oyster card which I use to travel on the bus or the ferry or to rent a electric assist bicycle. As I'm over 60 traveling this way is very cheap.
    As you see in one of the photos the American university of Malta is now up and running in Cospicua.
    I went to see the classic car show in Valletta opposite parliament buildings. The standard was as expected very high.
    Not many tourists today, only one cruise ship so it was nice to walk around despite the heat.
    I read in today's paper Ryanair are starting a new airline based in Malta called Malta Air. Ten new planes and 60 destinations.
    Malta just gets better and better, every time I come there are improvements.    Read more

    1
    11+5
    Map
  • Peter Sprot1946 MGTC to Malta
    Day15

    We have arrived

     May 25, 2017 in Malta ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    It has taken two very enjoyable weeks. The only problem with the car was two punctures.
    Now we will relax for a few days. Wash all the clothes and order the new tubes for the car.
    It feels good to have arrived.
    I checked the mileage. We have traveled a little over 2200 miles or 3500 kilometres. I've used about 2.5 litres of oil and 1.5 litres of water and lots of petrol which varied from €1.46 to 1.75 per litre.
    Mostly our speed was about 55 miles per hour except in the many hilly areas. Faster than this and the thin cross ply tyres made the steering uncomfortable and it was harder to see the pot holes and undulating surface coming.

    Our idea to not book accommodation in advance changed as we traveled because if we left it until about 5pm it was often too late and smaller places would not accept our booking so we started booking place at about 2pm when we knew where we could get to by the end of our day.    Read more

    Map
  • Peter Sprot1946 MGTC to Malta
    Day16

    Relaxing

     May 26, 2017 in Malta ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    The car has been parked at the front door of the house all day and it was photographed every ten minutes by passing tourists. I gave it a good clean and vacuumed the dust off the tonneau.
    We parked in the town square and watched at least six pairs of tourists photograph it as we ate our lunch.
    On Sunday we have been invited to a car club meeting at Mosta where we will meet the owner of one of the two Maltese MGTC's then we continue to golden bay for the classic bikes and cars.

    I ordered the new inner tubes this morning Friday and they will arrive on Monday which is very good service.
    I will get them fitted by the tyre fitter who has a Vincent black shadow and get the wheels balanced.

    There is a snap election here also next week and I am eligible to vote so I will give it a go. Politics here is taken very seriously with very high percentage who vote.
    I will continue to post occasionally while we are here.
    Here are some photos from today.
    One is of a big amphibious car and the next picture is the boat it came off. They are both at the yacht marina at the back of the house.
    I'm doing this blog while Mandy cooks swordfish steak we bought from a fisherman this morning.    Read more

    1+2
    Map
  • Peter Sprot1946 MGTC to Malta
    Day19

    Technical update

     May 29, 2017 in Malta ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    I ordered the tubes and rim tapes on Friday morning from Longstone tyres in England. They arrived at 10.30 this morning via DHL. Great service! I took the tubes to a Vincent owner who has a tyre shop not far from here and he replaced three tubes and balanced five wheels and wanted only €25 so I have him €30 and said the extra 5 is a deposit on his Black Shadow.
    I now have 2 new spare tubes and 5 good tubes on the car.
    I also opened the ignition points gap which had closed to six thou and went around the whole car checking the tightness of nuts and bolts. The car is ready for the trip home.    Read more

    1
    1
    Map
  • Hase und Ritter on tourMalta 2014
    Day7

    Grand Harbour

     October 4, 2014 in Malta ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Das Kreuzfahrtterminal ist heute leer, aber der Industriehafen im Grand Harbour ist sehr eindrucksvoll. Schon immer war Malta ein wichtiger Reparatur- und Wartungshafen. Und so gibt es heute noch eindrucksvolle riesige Trockendocks.
    Das Auge und Ohr von St. Michael war zu Kreuzritterzeiten ein Aussichtsposten, wer sich dem Hafen nähert. Ebenfalls sehenswert ist die Maltese Falcon, mit 88 Mio Euro, das teuerste Segelschiff der Welt.    Read more

    See translation
    Map
  • Peter Sprot1946 MGTC to Malta
    Day25

    Coming home

     June 4, 2017 in Malta ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Tomorrow morning we start the journey home from this beautiful island. Our ferry takes us back to Sicily where we will spend a few days exploring before getting a 20 hour ferry to Genoa.

    2
    Map
  • konqrunnerMallorca nach Kreta
    Day8

    Kreatives Duett

     September 20, 2019 in Malta ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    Ein Bekannter hatte uns schon „vorgewarnt“, dass das Housekeeping in der Regel Handtücher und Bettwäsche zu Figuren formt.

    Und, tatsächlich: von Herzen (am ersten Abend) über Boote, Rosen und Muscheln war schon Einiges dabei. Aber heute haben sich unsere beiden Stewards, Nielzon & Harry, selbst übertroffen: die Bettwäsche formt einen Kraken. Und die Augen? Die Kaffeekapseln, die wir jeden Tag bekommen. 😄Read more

    See translation
    Map
  • konqrunnerMallorca nach Kreta
    Day8

    Elefantenballett

     September 20, 2019 in Malta ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Was die anderen Kreuzfahrer heute Morgen konnten, holen wir heute Abend nach: unseren – im Vergleich zum Hafenbecken – riesigen „Pott“ beinahe auf der Stelle zu drehen, um den Hafen verlassen zu können.

    Punkt 17:00 Uhr erbebt das Schiff unter den anlaufenden Schiffsmaschinen und die Mein Schiff 5 beginnt ihre Pirouette.
    Und nur eine Viertelstunde später heißt es „Good bye, Malta“.    Read more

    See translation
    Map

You might also know this place by the following names:

Il-Birgu, Birgu

Join us:

FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

Sign up now

Photo @Max Sydow
  • 2021© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Imprint
  • English