What a week. After some hassle getting here (read my previous blog post), Malta has done nothing but impress me and leaving this beautiful place is proving to be very difficult. Finally getting to my Airbnb in the area of Santa Venera at around 11:30pm last Thursday, I quickly dumped my stuff and fell asleep.
In the morning, it was a hectic figuring-out of the bus system here in Malta (convenient because you can travel across the country via public bus, but not exactly comfortable when you have people jam-packed in leaving little room to move) but I arrived at the Lower Barrakka Gardens to meet Hamish (my travel buddy, previously featured in January’s Paris blog 💛). From there, we had an incredible day walking around Valletta, Malta’s capital city. In fact, this year they are designated the Capital of Culture! And even better; a Picasso and Miro exhibit was being featured in the Grandmasters’ Palace! I always love stumbling upon my favorite artist, and I got to see a style of Miro’s work that I had never seen before, what he called the assassination of painting, which is totally kickass. After a long day in Valletta, we headed back to Hamish’s sailboat Airbnb to make some pesto pasta and watched the sunset! A perfect day ⛵️🍝
picasso - they had at least 50 of his copper plate sketches, varying in detail and subject. so much art!
miro - this series was probably my favorite of his; he would purchase unsigned artwork and create a second dimenion and level to the painting, often including the frame into the art itself. an artist and creator truly beyond his years!
Day 2: Rabat and Mdina! ✨
After not completely catching up on sleep from my travel day, I had a good lie in on Saturday morning while Hamish did some exploring on his own. Around midday, we set off on the bus to the city of Rabat on the western part of the island. Something I quickly learned about Malta is that it isn’t really vegan friendly, so I’ve just gotten used to asking to ‘put everything you have thats vegan on a plate and I will buy it’. Hey, it worked. As we sat and watched the people passing by the restaurant I witnessed a beautiful funeral procession, with a coffin being held up by loved ones and adorned with lilies. Later on that day we witnessed a wedding, so it really was a day of importance for the city and I was lucky to have seen and been a part of these two events.We had a lovely lunch in Rabat and walked around the quiet and charming streets before heading into the walled in city of Mdina. Wow, what a stunner. This day was remarkably windy and chilly (doesn’t help that I was dressed for beach weather...) so we ducked in and out of small streets and buildings before finding our bus and heading back to the area of Valletta. Although this day was shorter and less was seen, it was perfect all the same.
i could have just walked all through these little streets for a week and would have been happy!
gate to the city of Mdina 🏰
Although this day we planned to go to Marsaxlokk for the Sunday market, our plans changed as the bus to Cirkewwa (the northern point of the island where the ferry leaves) came about 10 minutes faster. So, to Gozo we went! A feature of the island that I really admired was the large cactus tress that lined all the roads within the more mainland sections of Malta. The first stop in Gozo was obviously the beach, and without really realizing it, our travel time to the northern part where Ramla Bay was ended up being about 2 hours. I’m honestly blessed that Hamish is just as patient and easygoing of a traveler as I am, as the bus-ferry-bus combination totally wore us out! We relaxed on the beach then took a hike leading up to a cave overlooking the bay. Gorgeous is an understatement; this hike will be a memory that I will cherish for years to come. We played the Call Me By Your Name soundtrack on the way up, and met a little puppy at the top! If you want to see what Heaven probably looks like, go to Gozo.
Following our hike and a walk through a wild poppy field (I know right? Magical!) we took the bus towards Victoria where we ate dinner (I had a veggie burger that I am almost positive was not vegan) by St. George’s Cathedral and took a quick walk around the Citadel. Amazing views from the top, but after a long day of traveling we were both exhausted and left Victoria for the 2 hour journey back to our beds. Sleep came quickly that night.
our cute little new friend overlooking her queendom!
Similar to our day in Rabat and Mdina, this day was pretty low key and started off in the early afternoon. Taking the bus to the very south of the island, we had lunch and enjoyed the harbor of Marsaxlokk, a quiet fishing village known for its colorful boats and seaside seafood restaurants. No seafood for me, however, so I ordered some fresh and delicious Gnocchi with a cocktail to wash it down. Is this the college life that I was expecting? Not exactly. We then took a walk outside of Marsaxlokk and went to see St. Peter’s Pool - a geological formation caused by erosion that formed an inlet for the waves and a perfect jumping-off cliff! However, it was a bit too windy for jumping, so we laid on the rocks and got sunburnt. And I got to read a book for fun (Perfume by Patrick Susskind) - a luxury that I seldom get anymore and have learned to deeply enjoy again. In fact, it was so peaceful and stress-free that I forgot to take photos! In a way, these were the best moments - the ones so perfect that I simply forget to capture it and just really experienced it.
The photo below is seemingly just a mirror selfie, but has a deeper meaning: throughout this trip I have, for the first time in my life, felt comfortable to wear a crop top and expose my tummy area. Being vegan and eating cleaner has not only caused me to lose weight, but I can honestly say that I have been happier and more confident about my body and mind. Yay for me, and yay for saving animals in the process! 🌱🌱🌱🌱
My disappointment in how quickly this amazing trip flew by caused my packing to take a lot longer than expected, thus leaving me less time that desired for another walk around Valletta. We had our final brunch in the city, took a walk around the co-cathedral and visited the memorial for Daphne Caruana Galizia, a Maltese investigative journalist who was assassinated in October of 2017. I recommend looking into her story, it is frustrating, heartbreaking and unfortunately still all too common. Finishing our walk around Valletta, we said our goodbyes to this beautiful country and got our our final public bus to the airport. Although I am sure that this is not the last time I see Malta, I will miss it greatly and hope to visit again. But for now, on to more adventures! After exams, of course.
