A Day in Valletta Malta

Sun rise arriving in Malta 2015

Sun rise arriving in Malta 2015

 

Day 403 – April 9th, 2015. Cruise Day 19 – Valletta in Malta – sunny

Cruising into Valletta is just amazing… I was up early and being on deck 9 I had not far to walk to the very front and outside. The sun was just coming up and these are some of the views I had.

The view from the front of the ship on deck 9 approaching Valletta port

The view from the front of the ship on deck 9 approaching Valletta port

 

We came alongside in the port of Valletta which is apparently the largest port in Europe, often called the Grand Harbour.

Valletta cruise port in Malta 2015

Valletta cruise port in Malta 2015

 

There were two other cruise ships in, the Seaborn Legend and the Holland America Prinsendam. As you can see the Magnfica is huge compared to the Seaborn boutique style ship.

Seaborn Legend dwarfed by MSC Magnifica in Valletta 2015

Seabourn Legend dwarfed by MSC Magnifica in Valletta 2015

 

We had a tour booked for Valletta as part of the cruise package that we bought. This is the second tour, the first was a tour in Tenerife just last week.

La Valletta (Malta) City Tour – Rabat, Mosta & Mdina (MLT03) 3.5 hours

We boarded our bus in the port just outside the terminal and made our way to the church of Mosta made famous for two world war bombs that hit it and did NOT explode. Some say it was an act of god to not allow them to explode, for whatever reason they did not we can all be thankful and enjoy the beauty of this church.

Malta was a very important strong hold during the war and was a prime target for many bombing runs. Back in those days accuracy of bombing was not so good and as a result the church got hit.

Tour by bus around parts of Malta

Tour by bus around parts of Malta

 

The Church of Mosta in Malta

The Church of Mosta in Malta

 

Take a look at the detail inside the church of Mosta.

Mosta church panorama 2015

Mosta church panorama 2015

 

Inside the Mosta church in Malta

Inside the Mosta church in Malta

 

The Mosta church dome where the bomb came in

The Mosta church dome

The Mosta church dome

 

Photos of the bomb that never exploded in Mosta church Malta.

The bomb that never exploded in Mosta church

The bomb that never exploded in Mosta church

 

After some time at the Mosta church we made our way to Mdina, an old medieval walled city with narrow alleyways and cobbled roads, impressive churches and other buildings.

View to Mdina in Malta 2015

View to Mdina from the countryside below in Malta 2015

 

The silent city of Mdina

As you could imagine there were plenty of tourists around.

Mdina in Malta 2015

Mdina in Malta 2015

 

Mdina tour in Malta

Mdina tour in Malta

 

Mdina, also known as “the silent city” is kept car free except for those living there. On many of the walls that we walked down you could find a sign saying “keep quiet & respect the locals” or something like that.

The facades of the buildings are all clean and ornate. Look at all the different door knockers.

Mdina images

Mdina images

 

Door knockers from Mdina

Door knockers from Mdina

 

Just outside the city walls are some roman ruins. Also where you can take some horse-drawn rides around Mdina.

Mdina images with ruins

Mdina images with roman ruins

 

During the war Malta had a very large British contingent and since then many Brits have made it home so it was no surprise to see some typical British icons.

British icons in Malta 2015

British icons in Malta 2015

 

This is a view from the top of a wall of the old city in Mdina towards the coast.

Panorama from Mdina in Malta

Panorama from Mdina of Malta

 

After our walk around Mdina it was off to the next stop, a glass factory in Ta’Qali where they make and sell all handmade pieces of art.

Mdina Glass factory in Ta’Qali

 

Not only can you see the finished pieces of glass art for sale, you can walk into the factory where you see the glass art being made. I found it interesting to watch how easy they make it look and how they join pieces together to create a finished item.

Inside the Morano glass factory Malta

Inside the Mdina glass factory in Ta’Qali Malta

 

Sure enough the object of this visit is to get you to buy something, but that is with many visits to such places and you are not pressured into buying here in fact your free to just look around at your own leisure.

Unesco listed Valletta in Malta

After the stop at Mdina glass we made our way back towards the harbour where a few of us were dropped off allowing us to walk around the UNESCO designated Valletta.

Malta Unesco listed Valletta

Unesco listed Valletta in Malta

 

The coach drove past many different designs of buildings.

Different buildings in Malta

Different buildings in Malta

 

Wonderful Malta

Wonderful Malta, old city walls to memorials in Floriana

 

From where we got dropped off it was an easy walk into the old city.

Smart parking in Malta 2015

Smart parking in Malta 2015

 

From here you get a great view of the port of Valletta.

Cruise ships in the port of Valletta 2015

Cruise ships in the port of Valletta 2015

 

Look at this architecture.

Auberge de Castille, the Office of the Prime Minister

Auberge de Castille, the Office of the Prime Minister

 

Roman ruins in Malta 2015

Roman ruins in Malta 2015

 

St Georges Square in Valletta, Malta

St Georges Square in Valletta, Malta

 

We had a coffee in St George’s square with our friends before continuing to explore the area.

St George's square

St George’s square

 

Palace of the Grand Master, Valletta

Palace of the Grand Master, Valletta

 

I just love the facades of the building here, so creative, curvy and stylish.

Street views of Valetta

Street views of Valetta

 

Valletta city images

Valletta city images

 

St. John's Co-Cathedral from the outside

St. John’s Co-Cathedral from the outside

 

Maltesse architecture in Valletta

Maltese architecture in Valletta

 

The Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta

From here you have great views over the city below and the port. The Barrakka lift can be found here which takes you down to the bottom level port side.

Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta

Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta

 

Friends from MSC Magnifica

Friends from MSC Magnifica

 

Views from the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta

Views from the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta

 

Valletta and Upper Barrakka Gardens in Malta

Valletta and Upper Barrakka Gardens in Malta

 

Barrakka lift in Valletta historical Malta

Barrakka lift in Valletta historical Malta

 

After taking the lift down, which by the way is free to go down and only costs going up, we walked back to the ship. Malta has been wonderful and a place that we must return as it has so much more to see.

Port of Valletta in Malta the largest port in Europe

Port of Valletta in Malta the largest port in Europe

 

Waterfront port of Valletta

Waterfront port of Valletta

 

Tonight’s dinner had a Greek theme to it

Greek themed dinner menu MSC Magnifica 2015

Greek themed dinner menu MSC Magnifica 2015

 

This is what we chose to eat

Appetisers

Kolokithokeftedes – courgette and Feta cheese fritters with yoghurt cucumber sauce (J&M)

Salad

Greek salad – tomato, cucumber, red onion, Kalamata olives and Feta cheese on a bed of fresh lettuce (J&M)

Soups

Avgolémono – chicken soup with lemon juice (J)

Pasta and Risotto

Risotto al Prosecco – Prosecco wine risotto (M)

Lasagne alla bolognese – pasta au gratin with meat sauce, béchamel and Parmigiano Reggiano (J)

Main Courses

Souvlaki – grilled lamb and vegetable skewers with tzatziki sauce (J&M)

Desserts

Honey parfait – with strawberry coulis (J)

Picture sequence from left to right. Flavours were great tonight, but the lamb skewers were poor.

Greek dinner meals on MSC Magnifica

Greek dinner meals on MSC Magnifica

 

Will leave you with another fine sunset at sea…

Malta sunset 2015

Malta sunset 2015

 

WOW, we really loved Valletta and the other spots we saw of Malta and would certainly love to return in the future to explore more of the Maltese islands.

Odyssey update… In 2016 we arrived in Valletta by cruise ship for a fleeting visit but best of all, we have recently (March 2017) finished our 52 day stay in Qawra in the north of the island.

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