April 29-30, 2025:
We left Wilmington and flew to Atlanta where we boarded a 4:15 Delta flight to Rome, Italy. The plane was crowded and uncomfortable for the duration of the 9-hour flight. Very little sleep but, when reaching Rome at 9am, we were fully awake and anxious to locate our Malta flight. As luck would have it, it was the gate furthest from our arrival gate, however, we had ample time before the flight and being able to walk was actually quite pleasant. We boarded another large plane, crowded but a short hour plus flight. Our bags arrived promptly in Malta and a Tauck representative was just outside the arrival gate, directing us to our driver. A short 20 minutes later, we were at the Marriott, settling into a large room with a huge balcony, overlooking gorgeous St. Julian Bay. Delightful!
We attempted to nap but this wasn’t working out well so off we went to explore the surrounding area and identify a late lunch spot. Tower Road runs along the coast and has a wide walkway for pedestrians. We eventually found a castle-like restaurant on the water and determined this was going to be our recovery zone. A couple of Maltese specialty appetizers and rabbit to share, we sipped on Cisk, the local brew and planned our next steps.
This evening a final fireworks display was scheduled as part of a week long international competition. We are not fully aware of the history but thought we might try to make it until we started reminiscing about our Sydney, Australia New Year’s Eve fireworks extravaganza. Based on our low energy level and dread in trying to fight the crowds, we decided to forego the event and just be satisfied with being in this beautiful country. A stroll back to our hotel and fast asleep by 8pm.
May 1, 2025
Awoke to the sound of a crowing rooster to view the sunrise in our new location. The temperature and humidity are at a very pleasant, tolerable level. In fact, the morning was cool at 63 degrees but quickly warmed, especially in the direct sunlight.
We had a buffet breakfast, foregoing the mimosas and walked around the neighborhood. Across from the church was a stop for Malta Sight Seeing, the local hop on/hop off bus. As we were not going to hop off anywhere, we decided to purchase tickets for two days, giving us more information on this small country and introducing us to its delightful scenery.
The Red Route took us around Valletta and south, into areas further from the capital. It was hard not to “hop off” as many of the stops sounded interesting. We passed the Valletta Harbor, a UNESCO World Heritage Site noted as one of the few surviving walled cities. Further on was Fort St. Angelo guarding the Grand Harbor as it did during the Great Siege of 1565 and, more recently, the bombing by the Axis during WWII. The Hypogeum, an underground Neolithic complex dating from 2,500 BC, and the Tarxien Temples from 2,000 BC were on the route as well. Fishing villages, defensive towers and the popular Blue Grotto gave us lasting memories of Malta’s beautiful countryside.
After being on the bus for 3 hours, it was back to the beginning of the route. What an interesting ride. We walked to Gululu for a very late lunch and discussed plans for the next day. We agreed we would do laundry and then join the Maltese Sight Seeing Bus to ride around the Blue Route, taking us to the northern areas of Malta.
May 2, 2025
Tom packed our 2-days worth of laundry into a small backpack, a feat he had learned to successfully perform during our many cruises. The Portugue Landry was a 10 minute walk and, after yesterday’s reconnaissance to scope out the location, Mary Margaret was set with the AirWallet app, downloaded and loaded with money. It was a small laundromat but we were able to accomplish the task in less than 2 hours. A massive supermarket was just up the street and time was spent wandering up and down the isles, finally purchasing a very large reusable bag to handle the clean and folded laundry. Back to the hotel to pick up our Tauck packet and off to breakfast. It had been a full day already!
Out the door and off to travel on the Blue Line to discover interesting sites in the north. We left the coastal resort of Sliema, where the hotel is located, and traveled past a yacht marina, the San Anton Garden and onward to Ta’Qali Crafts Village. Unfortunately, no time to shop but we were sure there would be plenty of retail opportunities throughout the next 2 weeks.
More historic sites included the city of Mdina, the original capital of Malta; Rabat, an agricultural center and former Roman city; and Mgarr, home to 2 of Malta’s prehistoric sites. The bus took us in and around St. Paul’s Bay and St. George’s Bay, with water views and the Aquarium. By the time we reached Balluta Bay, 3 hours had passed and we were ready to call it a day. We rested up and headed to the Tauck welcome reception and dinner where we met a few of our fellow travelers. Tomorrow it is discovering Valletta and tracking down the restaurant where we dined 10 years ago.
May 3, 2025
Valletta seemed significantly more crowded than the last time we were here. In October 2015, we were heading back to the USA on a repositioning cruise and stopped for a few hours in Valletta. Today, we are on a guided tour, making all the difference as far as learning more about the history. Our first stop was the Malta Experience. We walked down a steep staircase into a long tunnel, taking us to a theater. We were informed that tunnels run all through Valletta, making it easy to escape from pirates and other threats. It was also of benefit to smugglers. We watched a 15-minute film on Malta’s history, from prehistoric inhabitants dating back nearly 5,000 years to the Knights of St. John, to the battles waged to gain control of this strategically located island nation.
From the waterfront, we walked a steep street to the Casa Rocco Piccola, a 16th Century palace of a noble Maltese family. The 9th Marquis and Marchioness de Piro live here and have opened their home to the public. It is an extraordinary home with generations of furnishing testifying to both the longevity and wealth of its residents. We had the pleasure of meeting the Marquis, a friendly, down-to-earth sort, who gave us some history and confirmed this is not a museum but a home with all the idiosyncratic decor one might find. It was originally built for his ancestor who was a Knight of Malta.
A boxy-looking dark piece of furniture is from the 16th century and is in the same room as a (17th century?) “traveling altar”. The Marquis opened it for our group and was quite proud to tell us about its origin and the fact that it was in his house. There was a side chapel that held various artifacts, including slippers from 4 popes. We were led through various rooms where there were different materials used for flooring, books and collections of chess pieces, the music room with dozens of photographs displayed on a grand piano; another room held a few silver surgical instruments from the days when Malta was known as “the nurse of the Mediterranean”. Silver is an antiseptic so they most likely had better success at healing patients!
We left the main house and entered the courtyard where we were treated to a bit of entertainment by the pet parrot, Kiki, refreshments of Honey Rings, a traditional Maltese treat, and beverages to quench our thirst. Interestingly, there is an entrance to a bomb shelter within the courtyard; Mary Margaret just had to explore it! The bomb shelter is quite extensive but narrow with a second entrance leading inside the main house.
Our last stop on the walking tour was St. John’s Co-Cathedral and it was just as amazing as we remembered. It was commissioned in 1572 and dedicated to St. John the Baptist. Over the decades, priceless artwork, gilded accents and intricate marble works created a magnificent interior, making us feel we were wandering around inside a jewelry box. Many knights and religious figures are buried in the floor of the nave, covered with fantastic, colorful coats of arms, symbols and figures. It was overwhelming!
There are 9 chapels surrounding the nave, of which 8 are dedicated to each order of the Knights of St. John. The Chapel of the Langue of Aragon is dedicated to St. George with Mattie Preti’s masterpiece, “St. George on Horseback”.
We were led to the former Oratory to view Caravaggio’s “The Beheading of St. John”, (1608) a massive painting created specifically for this room and as payment for the Knights allowing Caravaggio to stay in Malta. His second contribution was located just off the main Oratory, “St. Jerome Writing”. Our eyes were about to fall out of our heads!
We left the Co-Cathedral and were allowed free time to explore Valletta to shop or have lunch. We wanted to have lunch at the same restaurant we dined at 10-years ago, a small, mom-and-pop operation, so off we went. Sadly, Ristorante San Pablo was no longer in business. We asked the proprietor of the Beati Paoli, next door to the former restaurant, if he knew what happened. He did not, but given the age of the Cassars and the destructiveness of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was no surprise the restaurant had closed.
We decided to have our lunch at Beati Paoli and were delighted with both the food and atmosphere. Tom insisted he finally had the steak au poivre he had known in Hong Kong’s Repulse Bay Hotel. It was superb!
Lunch over and back to Palazzo Ferreira, the meeting point where we joined our fellow travelers. Once back at the hotel, we packed our belongings, excited for tomorrow’s sightseeing and finally embarking on the cruise portion of our adventure!
May 4, 2025: Embarkation Day
Our luggage was picked up while we were at breakfast. It was time to check out and join our final excursion in Malta before joining the cruise part of our journey. The first stop was the Archaeological Park, the Haġar Qim & Mnajdra ruins. Before arriving at the park, we were given a history lesson, dating from 8,500 years ago when Hunter-Gatherers arrived from Sicily, crossing a much shallower sea, a distance of only 60 miles. The Archaeological Park contains evidence of the second population wave, one that built temples.
The fascinating aspect about this site is that the temples were pre-Egyptian, estimated to have been built about 5,200 BC. Between the Hunter-Gatherers and the Temple Builders were people that developed farming communities. When death occurred, the person was not buried in a specific place nor did it appear that markers were used to signify someone was buried in that location. The reason people began to build temples here is unknown.
The temples were excavated and items and bones were discovered here. Red ochre was used on the dead and on the walls in certain areas of the temple. Fertility figures found and dated to 3,600 BC. Carvings on walls and pillars show snakes (reincarnation—they shed skin), spirals (eternity) and plant features. There was no written language so archeologists can only speculate about the possible cultural significance: was this a healing cult, did the stone placement involve astronomy, etc. For some unknown reason, the Temple People abruptly disappeared from this site.
Other cultures had occupied the area, from the Bronze Age, and finally the Phoenicians where there is a written record. The small island, Filial, is seen through one of the temple openings, possibly considered a home of a god. It is much smaller than during the Temple People era as it was used as target practice during the bombing of WWII.
We left this fascinating historical site and traveled to Mdina, a walled city and the old capital of Malta. Our guide informed us that this city of 250 people is celebrating its Medieval era today and to expect people dressed in costumes led by young men with drums and flags. Our group entered the city once crossing over the bridge and immediately found ourselves walking amid characters from the Middle Ages!
Walking to the Cathedral Square, we admired St. Paul’s Cathedral and noticed that a section of the square was partitioned off, keeping the center clear for the festivities. Onward through narrower streets to Bastion Square where we had a panoramic view of Valletta and the sea.
We had free time before lunch so explored this small “city”, dropping in to St. Peter’s Church and Monastery before being distracted by the loud banging of drums. Back to Cathedral Square to watch the parade of nobles and to meet our group. Lunch was in a building built in 1503 which continued to give us the feeling of living in Medieval times.
We rode back to Valletta where we boarded Le Dumont d’Urville, a gorgeous ship, small enough to carry its 145 passengers and114 crew members around the smaller islands and shallower waters.
