Malta's 100 Best...
 

The posts in the past few days or so about Malta (and the grey days of February) have gotten me thinking about it, so to start the list:
1. Blue and gold: the skies, the water, the sun and the buildings
2. The Hypogeum: awe inspiring and underground, with curving walls and ochre swirls of 4,000 years ago
3. Valletta's tawny Crusader era fortifications
4. Wafts of thyme scented air on Gozo
5. The fishing boats of Marsaxxlok
6. Great and unique buses!
7. A fascinating talk and a local soft drink with Mr. H_C_, the chess Grand Master
8. Quirky and lovely Hotel Castille, with the Prime Minister right across the way
9. Mdina glass
10. Lasagne at the Labour Party Club on Republik Street

I could go on and on, but I'll leave it up to you for a while...

11. Sitting at the rooftop restaurant at Hotel Castille and watching fireworks in the distance at a dozen different villages all celebrating their patron saints.

12. Snorkeling in the crystal clear waters off the back of an old ship on a day cruise around the islands.

13. The unbelievable busses that go everywhere, but only by passing through Valetta. And our 5 day pass cost about $8.

14. Eating rabbit Maltese style.

15. That enchanting little theatre that was restored a few years ago.

16. The ruins of the old opera house which remain in the center of town as a reminder of war.

17. The huge fortress which served as the Turkish prison in Midnight Express.

18. The blue grottos of Comino, the smallest of the three islands.

19. The fascinating towns, Rabat and Mdina among them.

20. The "beheading of John the Baptist", Caravaggio's largest and only signed piece.

LOTS of rabbit and spaghetti...

1. the green golden light at about 4pm over the harbor between Sliema and Valletta.

2. the magic of Mdina

3. ftira

4. the angelus bells at noon from the cathedral on the square at Mdina

That popular snack, name was something like "hobz biz zejt" (something like that). Garlic bread with sun dried tomatoes and all kids of other things on top of it.

Hypogeum

People who walk with you even kilometres when they realize that you are lost.

Not sure where the numbering has got to, but here goes:

25 - Mosta Dome

26 - St Agatha's Catacomb's

27 - A leisurely day-long boat trip around Malta and Comino including snorkelling at Blue Lagoon

28 - A not-so leisurely day-trip to Sicily (Mount Etna and Taormina)

29 - Church of Ta'Pinu on Gozo

30 - A definite mention must go to St John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta.

Well, a few more to keep us going...

31. Sunset off the cliffs of Dingli
32. Intricate and beautiful handmade lace
33. Mnajdra Temple...and singing in the rain at the bus stop afterwards!
34. The underground WWII planning rooms/museum; Malta was the center of the RAF during WWII
35. The silver ship in St. Paul's church
36. Mdina's tiny medieval streets and horses and carriages
37. Boat ride through the "Window" and the azure water
38. Crusader tombstones on the church floor
39. Personal tour through Valletta's Archaelogy Museum ,and in there...
40. The "Sleeping Woman" statuette

41. St. Elmo's Fort and its...
42. Colourful military reenactment! (love those costumes)
43. Niches with saints and Madonnas watching over the streets
44. The Upper Barracca Gardens in Valletta
45. Lascaris War Rooms: WWII found Malta as the HQ of the RAF
46. Wandering the remains of Tarxien Temple (see where the animals were tethered before the sacrifices...)
47. Agape tables in St. Paul's catacombs, Rabat
48. Jars of caper spread from Caffe Cordina
49. Ggantija on Gozo; up close and personal with the huge stones
50. Cooked to order "bacon butty" in a friendly Rabat pub (with the proprietress bemoaning to a fun-loving Irish quartet the changes that EU was bringing)

Okay, who's up next? We're halfway there!

51. Aviation Museum and a personal tour with a gentleman who was a WWII pilot and watching the restoration of a Hawker Hurricane.
52. Marsaxxlok market on Sunday
53. Manoel Theatre
54. Sipping a cafe latte at Caffe Cordina in Valletta
55. Marian Sanctuary
56. Palazzo Parasio
57. Archeological Museum
58. Driving on Malta's back roads with no signs
59. Mdina
60. Filigree jewelry

61. Enjoying pastizzi on the terrace of the Caffe Cordina
62. The Kempinski San Lawrenz - pricey but heavenly!
63. Paddling around in the aquamarine water off the rocky beach at Marsalforn
64. The homemade ravioli at the Rangers Pub in Gharb
65. The Gharb festa - the smaller the town, the bigger the party!
66. The people of Malta - great stories and sunny approach to life

Bringing this back up in the hope that there will be some more additions, as Malta is being discussed in other thread(s) right now...

Plus I'm in the midst of doing spring cleaning and the thoughts of wandering and resting in Malta are quite appealing!

The memories of Malta:

The taxi driver who dropped us off at the hotel, wished us so sincerely that we have a nice holiday & whom we had to practically chase to give him a tip as it would have been alright if we didn't.

The restaurants, beauty of the scenery, excellent local wine & most important the people. It has been a while, but judging from the posts here, it has not changed. They say you should not re-visit because it will not be the same, but 2 places I want to seen again are Malta & the Azores.

Also, the "silent" part, with the shutters closed in the afternoon. Is anybody there? This is a lovely place, probably appreciated by those who have seen the "tourist" places.

Perhaps next year.

And how can I do/experience all these lovely things in the seven hours I have in port that day???!!! (Yes, the dreaded cruise ship...)

What to pick of all that? I think the Mosta Dome is a Must See. What else?

Thanks,
Kristi

ttt

I'm interested in more info on Malta.

Well, in the "picture is worth a thousand words" category, you could click here:
http://community.webshots.com/user/missalg
for some photos!

Malta is just steeped in history and seems like a page out of another time.

Thanks Amy....... great pics!

bkmking

Keeping it all together, here's a direct link to the Malta album mentioned above; those colors make it a photographer's paradise!

http://travel.webshots.com/album/115...t?vhost=travel

bookmarking - thanks!

#67 First sip of a tall glass of the local brew, Cisk beer. Ask for a ‘pint’! Savouring a bottle of the local Marsovin red over a super-fresh pasta marina with barnacles on the mussels.

#68 sunrise over Grand Harbour

#69 watching locals feed and care for the stray cats in their communal area; fresh water in various containers along most of Valletta’s streets, and food carefully placed on newspaper or cardboard, and removed when the cats are replete. Some locals are even more caring, and take the cats to a vet to be neutered, checked over, and then released in their familiar territory.

#70 sunset over Marsamxett harbour, later to be eclipsed by a sunset over the sea at the ancient temple site at Hagar Qim

#77 Upper Barrakka Gardens followed by a cold Cisk at nearby ‘deux Baronnes’ open air cafe boasting ‘the best view in Valletta’ and being mesmerised by the magnificent view over Grand Harbour all the way to the sea. Magic.

#78 the over-abundant and drooping curves of the 7,000 year old statue, ‘The Venus of Malta’ found at the Hagar Qim temple site, and on display at the Museum of Archaeology in Valletta. By those standards, we are all Venus or Adonis!

#79 watching a group of bellringers in the belltower of St Spiritus in Rabat, ringing out a fifteen minute joyous cacophony on a Sunday afternoon.