Today's port of call was Valletta, Malta, a very small country we thought we would never get to see. However, we have been lucky to stop here more than a few times. Malta consists of three tiny islands that are situated south of Sicily, Italy. The population is 415,200 people that speak Maltese, English, and some Italian. This small country is rich with history and culture and is also known for their sandy summertime beaches. Their main cities are famous for grand churches, beautiful palaces, and the honey-colored limestone fortifications. There are as many museums as there are churches.
Valletta was named the European Capital of Culture in 2018. Every street leads to the sea within the walled city, and it is loaded with 16th and 17th century townhouses with traditional balconies. Restaurants abound and their night life is booming. Even more so since we were here many years ago.
Their food is unique with a treat called "pastizzis" , which is a flaky pastry filled with ricotta cheese or mushy peas. Most bars serve them. Another favorite is called bragioli or beef olives which is a thin slice of beef wrapped around a bread crumb stuffing with chopped bacon, boiled egg and parsley, then braised in a wine sauce. Fenek is a rabbit stew served with spaghetti or baked in a pie. Ftira is a pita-type bread stuffed with tomatoes, olives, capers and anchovies. Kinnie is the local soft drink with bitter orange and herbs.
There were a few HAL tours here today beginning with Malta's mysterious megaliths for 3 ½ hours for $95, or a 4-hour tour that explored the legacy of the knights for $95. A taste of Malta included wine tasting and a glass-blowing factory for 4 hours and $100. The only tour that included lunch was the best of Malta's treasures for 8 hours and $180. Our travel agency also had a complimentary excursion that took their guests on a 5-hour drive around the island, which we heard later on was more of a scenic tour of the beautiful island.
The Zuiderdam arrived at the sunny port of Valletta, Malta before 12 noon. The bow was opened for the sail into the Grand Harbor. And a nice surprise was that the waiters were serving "Valletta" rolls also known as Panama Rolls. Even though we had already eaten breakfast, there was always room for one of those tasty pastries. Kimberly was giving a commentary that was supposed to be heard in the Crow's Nest as well as all outside decks, but we could barely hear her talking. It was so nice to see the sun finally, although it would not last all day. By 4pm, the overcast returned and the blue skies were gone. The ship was docked at the Cruise Liner Terminal at Pinto Wharf and cleared by the local authorities by 11:45am. Two gangways were set up and the tour people were off and running. We also noticed that some new crew members had arrived to join the ship. Undoubtedly, some of our crew were leaving.
All aboard today was late at 10:30pm, so we did not have to rush to get back. Passing through the terminal around 12:30pm, we came out to an information booth where we picked up a detailed city and island map. These are such a big help compared to the ship's maps which are not always correct. We remembered there was an elevator lift to access the Upper Barrakka Gardens, where the military lookout and canons are situated. But we decided to make our way up to the top by walking the nearby road that zig-zagged to the top. The scenery from this series of parks and gardens is spectacular and worth the hike.
On the way to this road uphill, we passed a series of taxis with drivers trying to sell their cheap tours. But the best had to be the horse cab carriages that were giving rides to several places uphill. These horses were on the smaller size, and had one driver and room for two people. There were no prices posted so we guess you had to negotiate with the drivers. Also available were three different types of Ho-Ho buses on this street near the pier gate. One such double-decker coach was Tourist Dream Malta, and the price was 20 Euro for a one whole day ticket. They did a 45 minute loop where the folks could get off and on at 14 different stops. From what we heard later in the day, their times were really approximate and some of our buddies were not too happy with the long wait time to re-board. And we have to add that there were 12 languages used with special headsets for your choice of language.
Once at the top of the bluff, we went right to the Saluting Battery and Lascaris War Rooms. Being that today was a Sunday, we spotted a sign stating that the canons facing the harbor below did not operate on Sundays. It figures…. No wonder we did not see or hear them on our way into the harbor. We found that we were at Castillo Square, surrounded by massive old colonial buildings with several streets coming off into the square. There were some large maps posted, so we tried to figure out the best way into the old city. We found that we were on Merchant Street and by turning left, we located the main pedestrian mall street of Republic. Now we knew where we were, more or less, and located the Hard Rock Café Shop, a small store where they sold their merchandise. One thing we find strange is that most all of their shops don't see fit to carry the most common sizes of t-shirts. Most everything they had were extra small and extra-extra-large. We did manage to find two Malta t-shirts in the correct sizes, but not the city T one of us likes the best. Maybe they will have it in the café by the ship.
We strolled past most of the iconic churches, museums, theatres, and dozens of eateries and small boutique shops. By one of the massive cathedrals, we saw a row of souvenir tables set up with the usual trinkets of magnets, keyrings, bottle openers, ceramics, and costume jewelry. One of the tables had the most unique souvenirs made with one half of a walnut shell. The empty walnut shells had tiny wood-carved houses with ornate balconies or figurines of saints inside the shell. Some were fashioned into magnets and others were glued on pedestals of wood. The magnets were 8 Euro – reasonable considering the work that went into making them.
The crowd of tourists and locals had begun to get really busy. We spotted several walking tour groups, some of which were HAL tours. The sidewalk cafes were filling rapidly and the shops were over-flowing with families and kids . We figured it was time to make our way back to the pier and lunch. It was so easy to get turned around in this maze of streets, that one of us would have headed the wrong way and gotten lost. There were streets signs, but they did not necessarily head you in the right direction.
Reading the map and following the better sense of direction one of us had, we did follow our path we had taken getting here. This time instead of walking back downhill (harder on the knees), we took the lift back down to the pier area for 1 Euro each. Actually, the ticket was good for a round trip, which is good to remember. Believe us, it was well worth the price.
We headed directly to the Hard Rock Café right across the canal from the ship and our room. The actual restaurant was not a huge one, but they have added a covered outdoor dining area, which doubled the capacity of the café. Taking a table for two on the inside, we realized that it was 5 minutes before Happy Hour where the beers were half off. So our wise waiter suggested that we take our time with the menu, and he would come back after 3pm. That worked for us, so when he returned, he advised us that some of the appetizers were also half off. That made our order easy – one large nacho appetizer with chicken and extra guacamole with two pints of Cisk draft beers. Perfect, we enjoyed the food as well as relaxing for over an hour. The café had filled to capacity by the time we left after 4pm. And by the way, there were no large t-shirts at all here.
Going through the terminal, we entered a small shop where we saw a bag of Maltese biscuits or cookies. We had to purchase a bag because they looked so good. And they were when we tried a few back in our room. By now the sun had peeked out of the fog-like overcast, and we did have a chance to sit on the veranda. Docking portside, we had a perfect view of the activity below and across from us. Of course, many photos had to be processed, so that took the rest of the afternoon to put a small dent in it.
Dinnertime found us ordering the chicken tenders (so good with honey mustard sauce) and Caesar salads. Mains were one veal meatball dish with fettucine substituted for the polenta. The other entrée was the tri-tip dinner with no creamed spinach please. Desserts were one scoop of mint chip and a chocolate crust strawberry tart with huge blackberries.
There was a comedian on stage tonight by the name of Tom McTigue with a show appropriate for all ages. After a day of hiking, we were ready to turn in right after dinner.
We really will enjoy two days at sea now before we have port after port stops. The Zuiderdam silently slipped out of the harbor by 11pm, heading for the country of Egypt. The photographer among us donned his arctic coat and braved the cold wind to get some fantastic pictures of the lights of the city as we left the ancient city behind.
Bill & Mary Ann
