Malta
Saint John

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    • Day 2

      St Julian and Sliema

      February 6 in Malta ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      We enjoyed the large breakfast buffet at the hotel. It was a lovely sunny day but quite a brisk breeze, so you were hot in the sun but cold in the shade. Afterwards we explored the hotel grounds, going around the outdoor pool and down to the seaside terrace (closed in winter) before walking through to the Casino grounds and up close to the former palace. Lots of views out over the sea and along the built up coastline. We walked back down to St Georges Bay to see the beach in the daytime, and found a model shop for David which turned out to be only a toy store. We cut through Paceville again to reach the coast and started following it all the way along. First we went into the very prestigious Portomaso Marina, full of super yachts and lined with hotels and expensive looking condos and restaurants. We climbed back out of that and found our way down to Spinola Bay, where there were some colourful Maltese Luzzu fishing boats in the water and pulled up at the sides, plus lots of cafes and restaurants. We stopped into the Dubliner pub for a cup of tea and a sitdown, before continuing on our way past the Carmelinte Church and around the coastline into Balluta Bay. Another bit of sandy beach and more cafes and restaurants. Also here is the large Balluta Buildings apartment block, the best example of Art Nouveau architecture on the island but currently undergoing a massive renovation so mostly covered up. We could walk through the seaside Independence Gardens as we made our way up the side of the bay, with more sea views. We passed a medieval watchtower built in the days when Mdina was the capital, and continued along the coast. We were hungry so stopped into a seaside restaurant and had a table right on the edge of the terrace, where we enjoyed having a Kinnie (the local soft drink that tastes like orange marmalade with a bit of licorice in it) and a nice lunch. Heading onwards, we cut through some streets to arrive at Sliema Harbour where we were last year. We walked along a fair way to see the Parish Church of Sacro Cuor but it was closed. All the back streets around it were just lined with the old Maltese houses with their amazing covered balconies. With the help of Googlemaps, I worked us through the back streets back to Balluta Bay and then a more direct route back to our hotel. We stopped on the way to pick up some bottles of Aperol Spritz. Back at the hotel, we braved the outdoor pool (completely empty) as we had been told it was heated. Despite the strong breeze, it was in fact quite pleasant so we had a nice swim with it all to ourselves. Then we went back into the room and got ice from the machine for our Aperol Spritz and climbed into our private hot tub on the terrace for a very enjoyable soak. Eventually we headed out to a large supermarket we had spotted, and bought ourselves a tasty picnic supper to enjoy in the room.Read more

    • Day 3

      Der erste Einkauf

      March 7, 2019 in Malta ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

      Nach langem Ausschlafen war die erste Station für heute einkaufen. Stilecht sind wir 20 min zum Lidl gelaufen und haben uns für die nächsten 8 Tage eingedeckt! Preislich deutlich günstiger als in DE und es gibt fast alles in XL- Größe, wenn man möchte. Jetzt wird gegessen und dann gehts noch nach Valletta!Read more

    • Day 5

      Sunday 9 February - lazy day and rain

      February 9 in Malta ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

      Very lazy day today. Slept in a bit, then we headed down to the indoor pool for a bit of a swim. Back up to the room for a shower then down for a filling breakfast. When we got back to the room, we both felt sleepy after all the moving around the last few days, particularly me. So we went back to bed and I ended up sleeping three hours! So it was lunchtime before we headed out. We caught the bus from in front of the hotel down to Sliema, only to find that the ferry to Valletta was once again cancelled due to the poor weather and swells in the harbour. So we hopped on another bus around to Valletta bus terminal, but we had to stand and it was quite hot so David didn't like it. In Valletta, we went into town and eventually found the Eeetwell Cafe that we had enjoyed last year, and had a nice lunch at an inside table as it was spitting rain. After lunch, we wandered along through Valletta and went into a new attraction which is the church of St George, expensive and very ornate inside in a cold austere painting kind of way. Very grand inside, interesting to think that all the plainish limestone facades of churches we pass, may in fact be hiding this kind of ornately decorated interior. It was starting to rain as we came out, but not too bad and we had our raincoats and umbrellas. We headed downhill as far as the fort, then turned to work our way back up to the Lower Barraka Gardens, when the heavens just opened and it started throwing it down. And because it is a stone city, the roads turned into rivers and the gutters were spewing out waterfalls out over the pavement. We battled our way along for a little while until it got even worse and there were literally three or more inches of water in the road, so I ran over to shelter under a restaurant canopy. Both our feet got soaked, which was uncomfortable but it wasn
      t cold as it was still 16C or so. Just across the road was a bus stop with people waiting, so I got our bus card ready just in case. Luckily a bus came along and we were able to get on (standing room only) and ride it up to the Valletta bus terminal. From there we were able to get a bus back to near the hotel, by which time the rain had died off. We stopped at Arkadia supermarket again to get a snack dinner, as we had had a pretty big lunch. Back at the hotel, we climbed back into our private hot tub with a cup of tea - we really love it now. The cold weather almost makes it more decadent, to loll in the 37C water amidst the bubbles out on our terrace. Afterwards I washed my hair and David went down to the well equpped gym for a run on the treadmill. I talked to John on Discord for about 45 minutes, mostly about the situation with relocating the grandparents, until David came back and then we had our supper. Quiet evening in with knitting, cross stitch, and watching Youtube on my Amazon Firestick that I brought with us.
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    • Day 6

      The Three Cities

      Yesterday in Malta ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

      Up at a decent hour, breakfast and walked down to the main bus stop in town to catch a bus to Valletta, as I had seen on Facebook that the Sliema ferries were suspended yet again. Weather still unsettled today but we had several spells of warm sunshine which was nice, but strong breezes and intermittent spitty showers. Unfortunately we had to stand on the bus all the way and it was hot so David very unhappy. We decided to forgo the next bus and take the Three Cities ferry instead which was running in the morning (was suspended later on). We walked down from Floriana, enjoying the views and the sunshine, to the ferry stop and right away got onto the short ferry ride across to the Three Cities. One of the sunny spells, so we sat on top and enjoyed the views over the peninsulas and back to Valletta. In Birgu, we had a cup of tea and coffee while I perused the notes I had brought. Then we headed to the right into Senglea, the fortified middle peninsula. We walked up through the fortifications and in through the massive St Anne's gate, enjoying the views over the marina and the fort in Vittoriaosa. To the right was the ornate parish church, we poked our heads in but a service was in progress. Following the advice I had printed off, we headed over to the left side of the peninsula where you can walk along the fire step of the ancient walls, looking down on the modern dockyards. We walked along, enjoying the views both over the water, and to Valletta, and up the staired side streets leading steeply up into Senglea - lined with the iconic Maltese balconies. At the tip was the Garjola Gardens, with amazing views to three sides over the harbour, Valletta, and Birgu, lit up in the intermittent sun. We walked back along the other side of the peninsula, down through a sally gate onto a battery terrace, and then found an unassuming flight of stairs which David realised was the entry to the descending arcade of old houses you can see from the ferry. We followed that down, with views over the marina and Birgu through the arches, until we got down to sea level and the marina. It was a bit early for lunch but bird in the hand so we had a sushi platter at one of the harbour restaurants. From there, we walked up into Conspicua, the third city which sits between Birgu and Senglea, at the bottom of Senglea harbour. We climbed up a sweeping double staircase to the church of the Immaculate Conception, very impressive but no apparent way in, then entered the picturesque labyrinth of winding streets, staircases and alleys of Conspicua. Didn't see another tourist for most of it, no tourist shops or anything, but so many photogenic views.
      We went all the way up to the top of the town where we found absolutely massive fortifications protecting the land side of the city, that aren't even mentioned in anything I saw online. We walked through a housing area between the walls that looked like a former barracks, and outside the walls to walk along the towering fortifications. Re-entering the city, we started finding our way down again, down little alleys that were sometimes dead ends, down staircases with handrails, and narrow streets overhung with the Maltese balconies. We came out at marina level very near the ferry so went to join the small crowd waiting for the next departure. I was scrolling through facebook while wondering that there appeared to be no staff on the silent waiting ferry, when I came across the announcement that the ferry was once again suspended. Googlemaps to the rescue, we got a bus from down the road up into Paola (where we visited the Tarxien temples last year) and had time for a quick walk to the public toilets. Then caught another bus all the way back to St Julians, thankfully with seating this time. It was getting windier and spitting rain, so we went into a posh cafe for some hot drinks and decadent treats (macaroon for me) then wandered through the shops of the architect designed mall. The lowest level is bizarrely an underground gokart track and you could see the gokarts going around through glass panels let into the floor above. We went to find a GF pizzeria I had read about, for later, then made out way back to our hotel. We both flaked out for a while then I left David napping while I went down for a swim in the indoor pool. When I came back up, we both went into the hot tube again, me with an Aperol spritz from our supermarket purchases. Really loving the hot tub, even though it's cool and windy out, the warm bubbling water is so relaxing. For supper we headed back to the pizzeria where I had quite a good GF crust, why can't they do it in the UK? Another evening with the Fire Stick, I found a travel documentary with Bettany Hughes coming to Malta so we watched that and mocked some of the unnecessary drama like using a handheld lantern in the Hypogeum.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Saint John, San Ġwann

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