Malta is jammed full with tourists by the plane and boatload, for good reason. There's big fortresses, interesting churches, everyone speaks English. It was a British colony, and so they drive on the left.
Cagnes sur Mer: Marie dropped off some friends at the airport at 5am, but she is a super. The rest of us get up and start driving by 8.30am.
Bergamo: is the first stop. It's a nice little town, but due to the economy, it seems a bit quiet, with a couple of people wandering around asking for spare change. We drop the car at a completely dodgy car parking space, and get a shuttle to the airport.
Malta: our boys are going to be shocked by some things, but not by all the different languages. Maltese is a semitic language, and really different. The taxi driver is insane with his driving. They could save millions by just driving normally, especially when it's only 20 clicks or so across the whole island. Our place, in Sliema, is a beautiful sandstone terrace, like one in Balmain, below street level, but with a courtyard at the back letting in heaps of light.
Day 1: we know nothing. As we wander the street, we see the owner of our place, and he suggests we go on the ferry. We arrive in the fortress city of Valetta. It's an awesome sight, with the highest heaviest stone walls ever. The view from the garden at the top over the main harbour is just awesome. There are the old forts protecting the older towns. They claim the stones in the sea near here could be the lost city of Atlantis. The existing city could pass for it too.
After shouting at the boys for a bit, we catch the ferry back, and bus it to St Julians. This is the Hong Kong truly tourist infested part of town. The modern high rise has killed the charm of the place. The backstreets away from the water still have the original homes, which are all beautiful.
Day 2: is a bus marathon on the all day get on get off tourist bus. The boys hold up well. We start at a 2500 year old UNESCO protected temple with a wooden platform surrounding it. The boys run at least 5 laps after being cooped up. Then we wander the streets of Vittoriosa, and its waterfront. There's not much at Zeitjun or the Blue Grotto. After dinner, we walk up the street to see the local church, and walk back along the water.
Some words:
police - pulicija
thanks - grazi
Musew Maritimu
Day 3: Mdina is the ancient capital, high on a hill overlooking the rest of the island. It's all in limestone with winding tiny streets and large gated walls surrounding it. The torture prison is too gory. We get trapped into seeing a film, then some wax people. The best part of the day for the boys is bouncing a little rubber ball in the street.
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