Last Weekend in Malta

This weekend we crossed off the last things on our wish list. We went to the Roman House in Rabat. Amazing mosaic floors. It is a tiny museum but well worth the visit. Next we went to the Mosta Dome. Gorgeous church with the third largest rotunda in the world. It survived air raids during World War II. A bomb penetrated the dome without exploding or injury any of the three hundred people inside. It is an amazing place to see. 

Today was our last attempt at boarding a boat to see the blue grotto by sea. It was a fail. We did go on the pathway to get a closer look though. It is stunning. Maybe someday we will get to see the Blue Grotto in Italy by boat instead. We also went to the Malta Aviation Museum. My dad would have loved this place. They have three small hangers with WWII era aircraft. Finally to wrap up the day we went to the Valletta Glass shop at 

Ta 'Qali Crafts Village. We didn't get to look at the glassware or process of glass making since the shop closed at noon on Sunday. We are going to try and see another shop in the crafts village tomorrow.

Blue Grotto

Malta Aviation Museum

Mosta Dome

Gorgeous Roman Mosaic Floor

Last Week in Malta

We are finishing our last week here in Malta! We have made lots of memories, visited beautiful places including Sicily. I have to be honest. I am ready to be back in the States. I miss our house, doggies, my mom, and just our life. Before we leave we are going to visiting the Blue Grotto one more time. Hopefully we will finally get to board a boat, and see it up close. This will be our fourth try. The water has been too rough each other time. We also want to see Mdina at night. It is supposed to be pretty lit up in the evening. 

Final days in Malta

We finally got to visit Mdina. What a lovely little town. I think it would be so nice to live there. The day we visited, there were lots of other tourists out too. Yet it was still quiet and peaceful as we strolled around the streets. Afterwards we visited Ir-Rabat. We went through the museum of WWII shelters and the catacombs. We also saw St. Paul's Grotto. So much history and truly amazing to visit. 

Tourist Checklist This Far

So we have twenty-two days left in Malta. Equals three weekends for tourist activities since my husband works during the week. So far we have seen quite a few sight and crossed of some bucket list items!

1. Azure Window definitely a bucket list item. I looked at so many pictures of this rock formation before we traveled to Malta. None do it justice. It is an amazing area to visit. The water is the most gorgeous blue your eyes will see. No camera can capture it. It is a place you must see if you are an ocean and nature lover! Gozo island is such a lovely place to visit. Much more laid back and relaxed than the main island of Malta. 

2. Valetta is wish we were staying here rather than St. Julian's. It is less chaotic and fussy. So much history and beauty in such a tiny city. We fell in love with its churches and architecture. The beautiful Grand Harbour is breathtaking too. The sapphire blue waters get me every time. 

3. Blue Grotto so far is elusive. The waters were too rough to see it by boat so we will have to try again. Can't wait til we do. Definitely on my bucket list of thugs to do. 

4. Paradise Bay is just what it's name says. Clear waters just perfection. Love being able to say we swam in the Mediterranean!

5. Malta Aquarium is small but enjoyable. The staff was nice enough to explain to us about different species on exhibit. Munchkin loved it. Since most tanks when down to the floor so little visitor can enjoy it too. There seems to be a lot of space in some areas of the building so hopefully they will be adding exhibits in the future. 

6. Mdina is another place we are going to have to retry. We tried to visit on a Sunday, but there was absolutely nowhere to park. So disappointed! 

First Week is in the Books

So we survived our first week in Malta. Bill has gotten the driving skills for navigating around here. We have learned that meals at restaurants take (2-3) hours from start to finish. We took the ferry to Gozo. Gozo is an amazing island. Completely different from the main island of Malta. It is more laid back. The roads are nicer. The area we were visiting was near the Azure Window, and even twenty miles inland it was not built up into hotels and restaurants. It was a nice change of pace from St. Julian's area.

Day Two

This our first full day in Malta. Last night none of us slept well since the air conditioner in our room doesn't work well. This morning it is overcast. 

Alexis get sick for most of the morning. Thankfully she was better by afternoon. 

Driving in Malta

One word terrifying! There is no reguard for pedestrians. People drive insanely fast. The roads are narrow. In the city of St. Julian there are road where there is only enough room for one car to pass on a two way street. Who goes first?! I would not be able live here just because of the driving alone. 

Our Flight to Malta

We flew Lufthansa to Frankfurt. Alexis did well on the flight. This is her first international flight. 

She was sleepy waiting to board. This changed once we got settled on the plane. 

I was a little concerned about our flight with Lufthansa since we read many bad reviews. Most people complained about uncomfortable seats, little leg space, poor tasting food, and faulty touch screens for the in-flight entertainment. We didn't find any of these things to be true on our flight. 

We made it to Frankfurt Airport! Now waiting for connecting flight to Malta. Munchkin got her first stamp in her passport! 

Reading material for our flight

There aren't a lot of guide books for Malta so I was happy to find this one. Gotta love Books A Million! This book is divided into categories with lists of top ten. The descriptions are short and concise which is just what I was looking for in a guide book. I am getting more and more excited for our trip!

Where is Malta?

Map image from www.malta-map.com

Tickets and Passports

This morning we purchased our tickets to Malta. So excited to start our adventure there.

 September 15th can't come soon enough!