Malta

Weekend trip to Malta on our only free weekend of the month. To be honest, we chose Malta because it had the cheapest flight to the most interesting place for this particular weekend (only 32€ each!). Because we've been so busy with visitors and moving, I let ChatGPT help me plan this one, we packed our backpacks, and we had a great weekend in Malta. 

Viewpoint from Lower Barrakka in Valletta

Me and Kevin at Triton Fountain near the city gate

Friday, February 14

We packed up and took an evening flight to Malta. We arrived at around 21:00 and eventually found our way to the bus stop to head to the city of Valletta. We were able to get 12 bus trips for about 19€ . We checked into our AirBnb in Floriana and our host advised us that a lot of places closed around 22:00-23:00, so we hurried into town to find a place to have a meal. 

The walk into town was beautiful. I don't think either of us really had any idea what to expect! The city of Valletta is fortified and at the front gate, you're greeted by Triton fountain- it was beautiful and looked like something you would find in Rome. As we walked into the city, it led us directly onto Republic Street, or what appeared to be one of the main streets in the city. The street was pedestrianized and all of the buildings had overhead lighting, so it felt like we were on a movie set! Walking through it at night made me understand why this city was a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Republic Street at night

We tried to get tables at my short list of restaurants, but everything was either fully booked or closing for the night. We finally stumbled upon a nice looking restaurant where we were able to be seated outside, and quickly ordered some seafood pasta. We enjoyed our very late (I think we finished after 11, which is even late by Spanish standards) Valentine's Day dinner in the streets of Valletta and headed right back to go to bed.

Saturday, February 15

Started the day with coffee and pastries at a cafe just around the corner from our AirBnb. The food and coffee were nothing special, but it was nice to be able to go somewhere so close! After we fueled up, we headed down to the water to catch a ferry to the Three Cities. The ferry operates every 30 minutes and takes only about 10 or so minutes. We bought tickets aboard the ferry and enjoyed the beautiful views along the way.

We didn't really have an agenda for our arrival, I had just read that these were cities with lots of charm and history. Once we got off the ferry, we just walked where we felt compelled to go! The streets were quiet and just really beautiful. It was while we were walking around Birgu that I fell in love with the colorful window boxes here. Many apartments in Malta had sun rooms that were painted different colors than the rest of the facade of the building and this stood out most in Birgu. What was most striking was that you could find any color from turquoise to bright orange to plum to firetruck red and I loved that it gave each building its own personality. The other piece that was noticeably different in this area was the tiled sidewalks and streets. It made the city feel so clean and bright. 

Me on a beautiful street in Birgu

We spent the late morning strolling around Birgu and admiring the scenery. On our walk, we stumbled upon The Norman House, which was said to have been built in the 13th century (likely earlier) and the oldest house in Birgu. It was purchased in 2000 and restored as a museum, and it was cool to walk from kitchen, to mill room, to bedroom and get a glimpse of early Maltese life.

When we started to get hungry, we made our way to Vitorja and found a spot to grab lunch by the harbor. We had seafood and caprese salad outside by the water and enjoyed the view until it started to rain and I got a migraine. We got reseated inside and shared a slice of apple pie (which unpleasantly was probably more of a British take on apple pie with bready crust and dry filling). Once the rain let up, per recommendation of our server, we walked toward the garden at the end of the peninsula and watched the canon firing at the Upper Barrakka in Valletta from across the water. It was cold and windy, but still a sight to see.

"Cold" and windy, but still fun to watch canons firing

View of Valletta from the Three Cities + some sun!

We took the ferry back to Valletta and went back to get some rest before our dinner reservation. And by rest... I also mean we watched the newest episode of Severance... Anyway, last night during our food finding disaster, we walked into two different restaurants to make reservations in person for the rest of the weekend.  Tonight, our reservation was at Maltese restaurant called Angela's. Angela's was a small (maybe 8 tables?) and appeared to be operated by a middle-aged couple with one behind the bar and the other waiting tables. We were seated at a cozy table next to the bar and took the server's recommendations on food which included escargot, traditional Maltese pasta, and some braised meat with veggies. The servings were massive and the food was good. The best part was definitely the atmosphere though! Once we finished dinner, we walked back and tucked in for the night.

Cute and cozy Angela's

I mean... even if we hadn't had the snails, I don't think we could've finished this all

Sunday, February 16

Today, our plans were to go to Mdina and Rabat. Knowing that these towns were a little less populated, we decided to get breakfast and coffee in Valletta before heading that way. I picked out a bagel spot and a coffee shop with vanilla oat milk lattes- so American, I know. So, we started the day by walking to Lot 61 Coffee Roasters, located on a pedestrianized street, and sat and enjoyed our coffee on a lively street in the middle of town. The vanilla latte was the best I've had in months and I actually savored every sip! Who knew a drink could make me so happy??? Next, we walked to The Bagel Hole, a small underground bagel shop with seating capacity of 3. We split a bagel with cream cheese and it was the best bagel we'd had in months! Because they'd be closed the next day, we even decided to stick around town until we were hungry for more. To work up an appetite, we walked around different streets of Valetta and stopped wherever we felt inclined. Eventually, we came back and had a bagel breakfast sandwich and then headed to the bus stop to start our afternoon in Mdina.

Our second bagel lol

We boarded a very crowded bus and Kevin and I got separated as I took a seat next to an older gentleman in the front. He started to chit chat and I enjoyed a 25-30 minute bus ride talking to this Englishman who has been visiting Malta for 30 years! He noted that the island has changed remarkably and is much "uglier" now that you can't enjoy a view without seeing a crane (this seemed true) but that he came back every year to visit friends. The bus ride took us through the "country-side" of the island and it's crazy to think in 25 minutes, you can get to the other half of the island (only 15 minutes by private car). 

Finally, we made it to the city gates of Mdina and we were able to get off the crowded bus. Mdina is a fortified, former capital city located in the center of Malta. It was nicknamed "The Silent City" as it became less populated (now only 250 inhabitants) after the capital was moved to Valletta. The streets were not as "silent" as we were expecting, as it was filled with tourists, but beautiful nonetheless. We walked through the small, narrow streets and enjoyed watching horse drawn carriages pass by. Mdina was slightly elevated, and you really could see all around the island and why this was a smart choice for a capital city. For lunch, we stopped at the famous Fontanella Tea Garden and had classic Maltese sandwiches and tea with an absolutely spectacular view of of the island from their terrace. 

Walking around Mdina

View from the Fontanella Tea Garden terrace

After lunch, we left Mdina and headed to Rabat, a quieter city right outside Mdina. Here, we walked through quiet streets and enjoyed looking at the architecture. I didn't find it quite as quaint as Birgu, but it was still nice to walk through. We struggled to find a good place to sit and relax, so we decided to head back to Valetta to sit and have a hot chocolate instead.

We took the bus back to Valetta and headed straight for Coffee Circus Lisboa to sit and have a hot chocolate. They had outdoor seating nestled on a staircase overlooking the sea, and it was the perfect spot for an afternoon rest. By the time we finished, it still wasn't time for our dinner reservation, so we stopped at a nearby bar to grab a glass of wine in the meantime. Finally, we were on our way to our dinner at Gambit, a restaurant we also made a reservation at in-person on our first night.

Our view from the Coffee Circus patio

This was the meal I was looking forward to most of the entire weekend based on Google reviews and it did NOT disappoint. Kevin ordered the Branzino (local sea bass, parsnip puree, sweet potatoes, green zucchini) and I ordered the Gambit Ravioli (homemade ravioli with feta and smoked paprika filling, baby spinach, cherry tomatoes, capers, hazelnuts, and pulled pork) with tiramisu for dessert. Everything was incredible- so light, fresh, and we enjoyed every bite. As the night went on, we found out the owners of the restaurant were Serbian and the decor in the restaurant was unique and even featured an ode to the chef's dog. We were seated directly next to a married couple and at what we thought was the end of the night, the woman struck up conversation with us once she learned we were American. It turns out, her husband was American, but she was Italian and was the former US correspondent for a prominent Italian newspaper. We shared sentiments of disbelief/anger about what was going on with politics in the US and it seemed she knew more about what was going on than we did (given her background, his made sense lol). The conversation included the couple next to them, who were English, from a town outside of Oxford. The wife worked to open airports and the couple had a short experience living in the US. The evening went on, the Italian-American couple left, the English couple bought us all a bottle of wine, and we continued to chat until the restaurant closed. This was one of my favorite memories of the trip!

An absolutely incredible meal

Monday, February 17

We slept-in after our late night, packed up our things (not difficult in a backpack lol), and checked out of our AirBnb before going back to... you guessed it: Lot 61. This time I got the XL Vanilla Oat Milk Latte. We sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine and coffee. We had no plans today, besides making it to the airport, so after we finished coffee, we checked out a local market and then went back to Republic Street to buy some postcards and shop for souvenirs. We got what we wanted and headed to a side of the city we hadn't explored yet. 

Sally Port Pizzeria ft. me and Kevin

Along the way, we stopped at post office to buy some stamps and then made our way to Fort Elmo. We admired from afar and saw a cute pizza place (Sally Port Pizzeria) where we stopped to have lunch and Italian soda on their patio. Once we finished up, we headed towards the Lower Barrakka, a small garden with stunning views of the water. We posted up there for awhile while I sat and wrote a few postcards to drop off in the post. The weather was delightful, and we enjoyed some light sunshine, took some pictures (including having a child photographer take our photo), and listened to some live music and missing the cannons go off at the Upper Barrakka before heading to the bus stop.

Pretty beautiful place to write postcards, right?

We made our way to the bus stop and airport and enjoyed a little bit of time in a pretty nice lounge (where we finally had some pastizzi, dates, and other traditional Maltese food) before heading home. Beautiful and short trip that I enjoyed so, so much!