“Malta grew on me, gently and gradually. Each day I spent there was better than the last, and when it came time to board my cruise back to Italy, I wasn’t quite ready to depart, however promised to come back one day”
After travelling to 24 distinct countries, learning, experiencing so much beautiful moments the life could offer throughout the diverse journeys of culture, food tradition, languages, history and the nature, this one voyage stuck with me.
Malta is not on many traveller’s wish lists as people often know little about it contrasting the popular vacations such in France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Greece, while a few think it’s a boring country with almost nothing to do which is just far from the truth , I reckon it is easily a place you fall in love with.
An archipelago country in Mediterranean Sea close to Sicily, Italy & Libya, Tunisia in North Africa, ‘Malta’ was once conquered & battled over by many empires ranging from Romans to Turks, Knight French, British and more, each leaving something in Malta, be it art, artefact or architecture swaying the great influence over today’s Malta.
This being the 25th country I travelled to, the reasons behind Malta sticking with me is beyond its oceanic beauty, and the architecture seen in the surrounding cities. How the fortified city walls overlooked the Mediterranean Sea, with its warm waters and the hours of sunshine in breezy wind, it’s the perfect place for one to spend.
It was very eye-opening to see and learn about how, when Malta was first starting out as a country that it was impacted by Phoenician, Roman, Arab, Norman, and Aragonese cultures. How in the past their occupations made a mark on Maltese culture! In Valletta, capital city built in 1565,I was astounded seeing how some of the original Baroque architecture is still standing & has been preserved. Even though I didn’t have the luxury of exploring all 3 islands of Malta, I enjoyed experiencing the culture of it and also the vibrant beaches with all their blues and greens. And this was my first time in this part of Europe which is pretty amusing for a Bangalorean like myself, deprived of a beach in hometown.
Valetta was one of the major port cities I visited during my cruise days in Mediterranean. I chose to spend just 2 days in Malta’s, not really knowing whether I would be able to see the whole Malta in just 2 days. I was surprised after spending only 6 or 7 hours in the city, I had already seen most of it. Valletta consists of 12 streets heading north & another 12 streets overlap east and west. Valetta is truly a tiny but glorious city and it covers less than a square kilometre. Valletta’s streets are unique unlike most other European cities and very easy to explore on foot, the streets are filled with historic buildings, architecture, houses and cafes with stunning multi-coloured balconies.
“The Silent City” in Malta,
Within in no time, I surrendered myself to Mdina and lost track of time unless startled by Maltese friend while my weary brother looked fuming in an attempt to cease my flattering speech over Mdina,
The former capital city of Malta, Mdina, an ancient walled city stands as finest example to tell us a story from antiquity to the medieval period.
Mdina,is a sheer timeless beauty & also known as ‘The silent city’ as vehicles and construction / redesign of buildings are strictly prohibited preserving the old glory of medieval town. Free from noise and empty lanes, I almost could hear flip flop sounds of our feet as we marched through the empty lanes of windowless walls.
Maltese food is full of flavour & colour, easily reflects the influence & twist given its closeness to Sicily and Northern Africa which I could ascertain after trying out a glass of smooth local wine accompanied by platter of olives , ġbejniet (local sheep’s cheese, zalzet , galletti & some bigilla ( borad bean pate) which left me not known where to start with.
Something else that stood out to me and made my travel experience more surreal was that fact a few episodes of “Game of Thrones” was actually filmed in Malta including Valletta, Manikata, Gozo, Saint Dominic’s Priory, San Anton Palace, and Mdina. It was such a dreamlike experience witnessing & standing at the places where GoT was filmed, myself being one of the ardent followers of the show.
In Valletta, Malta’s capital, location was used for several King’s Landing scenes. I remembered the scene, The Red Keep’ filmed at 17th century Fort Ricasoli. With its impressive plaited pillars at the King’s Landing gate.One can reasonably get close , by going in one of the water taxis that they have provided, which are actually these refurbished 200-year-old gondolas (slightly different than what I found in Venice).
‘Gozo’ the sister Island , is the place where filmed Daenerys ( My most favourite character in GoT) and Drogo’s wedding scene, and this is also where the audience was introduced to Jorah.
Interestingly, Malta have been to home to quite a blockbusters Gladiator, Troy , Munich, Captain philips & mega popular ‘Game of Thrones’ Bollywood too has its first tryst with Malta as ‘Thugs of Hindustan’ being the first Indian film to be shot here ,thus brining into light for the marvellous architecture, culture and stunning water bodies to Indians.
Personally, I felt 3 days is what I wanted that would’ve given me a chance to experience all three islands, and get a true grasp of Malta.
I voyaged to Malta via the MSC Grandiosa, which is one of the biggest luxury cruises in the world. (I wish , perhaps one day I’d inscribe the experience here dedicated to Cruise days)
From the comprehensive foodstuff to the sauna to the wonderful view of the ocean from the deck, I got to experience every possible thing on board to breath-taking sceneries of Dawn and Dusk and also enjoyed relaxing out in the sun before I arrived at my destination. I went from Marseilles to Valletta, Malta on this cruise ship and it took me only 2 days to arrive and to cover many other places too.
Another spot that I travelled to, while on the MSC Grandiosa was Sicily ,Italy which is also surrounded by the Mediterranean sea. This location also stuck with me through seeing the oceanic views, with it having a bunch of blue lagoon beaches. And I’ve got to say that it’s really worth it to go and visit. It is actually one of the largest islands in Italy and I’ve got to say that it’s one of the most stunning places I’ve ever seen. Anyways during my visit there were wine tours and other very cultural-immersion activities that really helped us experience the traditional culinary side of this region of Italy.
One day we spent our time at the little hilltop town of Taormina which sits on the east coast of Sicily. There we saw the tallest volcano in Europe called the Etna, which is still active with trails leading up to its summit. “The Godfather” saga is the perfect example of a movie series leaving its mark on the world, through its scenes in Sicily, Italy which were excellently recreated based off of this unique tourist attraction.
Another place I visited is Palermo, a city in Sicily, Italy. Palermo is truly such a beautiful city and to love without question. With its Arabic origins, it has so many places and landmarks one can visit in this magnificent city. It has these three main markets called the Capo, Vucciria and Ballarò. In these markets there is an abundance and variety of food and their theatrical vendors, it’s such a cultural experience and even though it may be daunting to visit it I would recommend it to anyone looking to experience Palermo to its fullest.
I bid-adieu the Palermo trip with the perfect beverage ‘Granita al caffee con Panna’.
Antico Caffe’ Spinnato is one of the best places to get it. It is where I learnt & tasted about an atypical coffee, where they serve a granita al caffe con panna which is just shaved coffee ice with whipped cream on top.
Getting to voyage on the magnificent MSC Grandiosa was such an exhilarating chance of my life, going to so many places around Mediterranean ocean. From Malta in Europe to Sicily in Italy, it was such an immersive cultural experience for me. I’ve got to say that it was one of my favourite trips up until now, almost outranking the other 24 countries that I have visited. It always a nice kick back ,to relax and learn what Europe had to offer through these journeys.
Malta now occupies the highest place in my list of personal favourite places that I’ve been to. I will definitely be visiting Malta again in the future, hopefully to see Comino in the summer so I can experience the Blue Lagoon that I so desperately want to see.