t+342: malta

have just returned from a fascinating week in malta. i had been thinking of croatia but couldn't really find any cheap deals. i went into a travel agent who told me that the cheap deals to croatia haven't quite started yet, but how about malta? smack dab in the middle of the med, temples older than the pyramids, a 3 hour flight direct from amsterdam and only 500 euros for a week including air, hotel & breakfast. how about malta indeed!!

arrived mid-afternoon and experienced my first bout of HMHGS: High Maintenance Hotel Guest Syndrome. unbelievable i know but like most unbelievable things, completely true. i insisted on viewing 3 rooms before (rather predictably, i thought) settling on the original. by this time, it was late afternoon-ish so i tootled around the town of bugibba which is your pretty standard resort area (aka tourist ghetto), yet pleasant enough. and i was staying a 4* mercure hotel which would lead me to expect a fairly high standard. however, the bar decorations of banana tops made into dolphin heads leaping out of a pools of blue curacao and joyfully holding maraschino cherries in their mouths might lead one to suspect differently. and let's not mention the live 'entertainment' this evening. suffice to say, he's no paul weller. he's more on the lines of a shabby nearly neil, although it must be admitted that he has the most majestic comb-over i've ever seen. but, i shouldn't be too hard on the place. it is a family holiday type of place. in fact, vaguely neil has given way now to the children who are doing the 'hands up' dance. not so long ago, it would have been a gaggle of 20-something females circled around their handbags doing the same thing. only very, very drunk. this version is infinitely superior.


first day of the vacation was warm but a bit cloudy so took the opportunity to head inland to the medieval walled city and former capital of mdina. also known as the 'silent city' owing to the fact that cars are forbidden within the walls, it definitely lived up to its nickname. even though there were several cruise ship groups trolling through the streets, it was still easy to find quiet avenues and keep away from them. the cathedral is very impressive as well. and the maltese are no slouches when it comes to religion and churches. the island where st. paul the apostle was shipwrecked has a population of only 400,000 people and encompasses an area just over 300 square metres, yet it is possible to go to a different church every day of the year. of course, some of them are only open one day a year so choose wisely.

malta is actually a group of 5 islands so i hopped a ferry to the second largest, gozo. this is reportedly where the locals go on vacation and, although much smaller than the main island of malta, also manages supplies most of the fresh produce. not much to do here but loaf and enjoy the scenery. sign me up! took the local transport to the coast and the azure window. not much else to report except more 'went here, did that, saw this' type of stuff. best just to look at the pix which i'll be posting to an album later today, along with barcelona.