Malta - Valletta Part 3

With views like this, how could you ever get bored of Malta? The beautiful blue seas, the splashes of greenery around the the stone buildings. For some reason, the building with the arches caught my eye. No idea what it was or used for, possibly a warehouse?

We spent some time wandering around the edge of Valletta, gazing out over the bay's and inlets and trying to decide which of the fabulous yachts that were parked up would be best for us. Not that I think we could afford anything more than a nice dingy! I could put some fairy lights around it and some plants, just to make it look a bit more exciting.  

I swear calzones are jut the ultimate lunch food! 

This is the fun Roman inspired temple in the Barakka Gardens, situated atop one of the bastion walls that surround Valletta. It was peaceful and warm, and was enjoyable to stroll around in looking at the plants. There's two sections, this was the upper gardens, but there was also lower gardens at the bottom of the defence walls.

The streets of Valletta are just so charming, either normally with the adorable balconies, or with the garlands spread throughout. Despite a lot of the streets being narrow, at no point is there any feelings of claustrophobia or a loss of that historical charm that Valletta exudes in every place you look.

Another view over the bay, at the opposing forts, you can see how well defended Valletta would have been, with all these cannons and defensive structures left, right and centre.

We walked further along the walls to the other part of the Barakka gardens, with these fun arches that gave us some wonderful framed views across the water.

We popped into the National Museum of Archaeology. They had this intricately carved statue of a female deity, one of the oldest artefacts found in Malta. She seems to be resting, almost like she has just laid down for a quick afternoon nap. The other thing I found there that captivated my attention was cart ruts. Yes, you may be thinking, how can cart ruts be interesting, but this is me we are talking about. And it was time for me to become obsessed with something else. The little display there told us they were some of the oldest human markings on the island, and there were some in Salini, and more at a place called Clapham Junction, named because there was so many cart ruts together, it looked like sets of points and crossings of the train lines in London. I told James that's where we would be heading next to check it out! But I'll show you all of those in another post.

Now for something really different, we paid a visit in the afternoon to the Lascaris War Rooms. For any history buffs, this is something for you. And if you're not a history buff, then I promise you will still enjoy it. Its all be lovingly restored, and every room contains living history. You start off as part of a guided tour, and then get some time at the end to wander freely about. Our guide made it come to life, with stories about how the planning of the invasion of Italy & Sicily was planned, to how Malta suffered under siege and bombardment during the Second World War.

They also took the time to explain what a lot of the different consoles, technology and maps were used for, and how it all came together to create an intelligence unit that ran many missions in the Mediterranean. What I loved most however, was the fact it had been restored in such a way that you felt you had just wandered in while everyone was on a tea break in between missions, and that at any moment, a bell would ring and everyone would come rushing back in. It was really quite extraordinary.

Tickets start from 20 euro's, and there is additional cost for the guided tour. However, since we were there (remember, we visited in February 2020) it seems like loads more of the war centre has been opened, and there is also additional attractions included with the ticket. Head to their website https://www.lascariswarrooms.com/visit to find out more, and see what other attractions you would like to see. When we come back to Malta, we are going to visit again and the additional things that have now opened as well. I love that they have been able to continually expand and restore, and I hope they will be able to open even more!

Don't forget to check out the gift shop too, we got some really fun replica ration books as souvenirs to give to friends and family. Needless to say my Mum was not impressed with hers, she said rationing ended a long time before she was born! 

I think I would have made a good plotter, after all, I do have an A-level in Geography, and it would have been less dangerous than letting me drive a tank!

We stopped off for some dinner in Is-Suq Tal-Belt, this indoor food market in the centre of  Valletta. With a wide range of different eateries, vendors and a supermarket in the basement, there's plenty of choice for dinner there. Recently restored, it's a great place to grab something to eat, socialise or just grab a couple of groceries. As you can see, we treated ourselves to pizza & a calzone. James said it was wrong to eat a calzone for lunch, so he teased me by having one for dinner while I had a pizza.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around Valletta, I swear this place had something new around every corner. For such a tiny city, it really did keep us amused at all times. Not a moment bored! There was this beautiful church building, followed by this poignant monument to Maltese Independence, which they achieved on the 21st September 1964. After many years of being ruled by various other empires and powers, this year marks 60 years since the islands independence. 

This kitty just wanted to sunbathe on top of the car, and was offended when we stopped and took a photo. Sorry Kitty! Maybe I should have offered a bit of pizza crust, might have cheered the kitty up a bit.