The Traveling Scholar » Malta

Ciao, Malta! Hello, Athens!

ShannonElizabeth — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 13:13:59 +0000

Yesterday was our last day in Malta and though S. and I had planned on doing the South tour offered by Malta Sightseeing (we did the North Tour on Monday), we decided to save the cash and plan our own sightseeing tour. The only area that we really wanted to see on the tour was the Blue Grotto. I was able to see it during my trip in December, but only from a distance since the water was too rough. St. Paul’s Bay, where we were staying, was literally on the opposite side of the island, so public transportation required some coordination. We had to take a bus from Bugibba to the main bus terminal in Valletta before switching for another bus that heads down to the south of the island to the Blue Grotto.

After about an hour of transport, we made it in one piece and got some amazing views of the grotto from the top. We headed down to the bottom of the hill to jump on a boat to check out the water up close. The area is famous for it’s clarity and the blueness of the water and the boat tour did not disappoint. Note for students: Malta’s not the most student-friendly when it comes to student discounts. 7 euros for a boat tour for all adults, no discounts to be had.

You can see from a distance how blue the water is:

Here’s an up close shot. I’ve never seen water so incredibly blue! When we put our hands in the water, our hands looked blue — intense.

After our Blue Grotto cruise, we headed back to our hotel by way of Zurrieq and Valletta before getting dropped off in St. Paul’s Bay. We had just enough time to pack up our stuff and head to the airport for our 5:15P flight. With the layover, flight time and time change, we ended up in Athens at 12:45A. We jumped on the bus (the X95) to Syntagma Square (for a mere 3.40 euro each) at 1:30A and were settled into our hotel at around 2:30A. Fortunately for us, our hotel — while not the best location — has free wi-fi, breakfast and fairly comfy rooms. Check back tomorrow for pictures from our trip to the Acropolis and the surrounding areas!

Love from Athens,

Gozitan Holiday

ShannonElizabeth — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 06:45:45 +0000

The hop on/hop off tour offered a Gozo sightseeing adventure that S. and I were amped on. Fortunately, we didn’t need to patronize the hop on/hop off services – we had our own personal tour guide: my Malta-based cousin, P. He acted as a tour guide last time I was in Malta and he was equally amazing this time around.

S. and I got up bright and early and headed down to the promenade near Bugibba Square to grab breakfast at Bagnor Café. Breakfast was delicious and beyond reasonably priced. For both of our breakfasts including drinks it was €6.80. The views are stellar and the service is equally amazing; definitely a great stop if you’re in the area.

P. met us at Bugibba Square at 10A and we headed to the Mellieha area to jump on the ferry to Gozo. After a short ferry ride, we landed in Mgarr, Gozo’s ferry harbor. Our first stop was Citadella. I had visited Citadella last time I was in Gozo, and the views were equally stunning this time around. The Citadella was a strategic point for Gozitans during the wars and the top points of the area offer amazing views of the city below.

From Citadella, we hopped back in the car and headed down to Ta’ Pinu, where the church is the hub of the city. I had heard of Ta’ Pinu even before my first visit last December. My grandpa had little souvenirs strewn about his house as homage to Ta’ Pinu but I can’t recall the exact significance… The pope made a stop off at the church in April when he visited Ghawdex and the place holds some significance for Catholics broadly.

After snapping some pictures at Ta’ Pinu, we jumped in our limousine once again to head down to my favorite place in Gozo, the Azure Window. We made our way to Dwejra Bay where the views are dramatic and the sights are breathtaking. The window itself is an incredible sight, but even the fossilized rocks on the walk up to the window are incredible. The waters are so unbelievably blue against the white stone that a thousand pictures never seem to be enough; pictures can’t quite capture how stunning the views are.

S. and I wanted to see caves while we were in Gozo and fortunately, there was a hidden cave on the back side of the Azure Window. We climbed down a steep-ish walkway to a tucked away area where a cave sat peacefully, laden with divers. Though there are boat rides that run for €3.50 through the cave and around to the window, the boats weren’t operating due to inclement weather (sadly). Instead, we grabbed slushies to fight the heat and sat with our feet in the crystal clear water to cool off for a moment.

Back in the car we went to hit the last stop near Xaghra in Masalforn, an incredible cave that I claim to be Calypso’s Cave. (Calypso’s Cave is somewhere on the island but we didn’t know exactly where it was. This cave was so incredible that I can’t imagine it’s anything less than this cave of wonders.)

Like the Azure Window, the color of the white-washed stone was an incredible contrast to the bright blue waters of the Mediterranean. After doing a bit of rock jumping, we had an incredible close-up view of the cave and the waters beyond.

After our day in Gozo, we headed back to Mgarr to board the ferry back to Malta. We headed to the family’s house to clean up and get ready for a full family dinner at Mamma Mia in Ta’ Xbiex. Almost the entire family was present for dinner to say hello to S. and I (and to celebrate the birthday of a family member). It was so much fun to see the whole family again and such a great way to spend our last evening in Malta.

Much love to everyone for helping to show S. and I around! Your hospitality is always much appreciated. You helped make our stay an incredible experience! Special shout out to P., who was the best tour guide imaginable. Now, we’re off to bed, ready to face our last day in Malta and head to the airport to say hello to Athens!

Ciao from Malta,

Malta: Tour of the North

ShannonElizabeth — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 16:23:26 +0000

Before I went to bed, I set my alarm for 730A so S. and I could get up bright and early and head to the Hop On/Hop Off bus at the Sliema Ferry port. I’m not entirely sure what happened, but perhaps subconsciously I shut off the alarm before we went to bed to catch a few more zzzs. Needless to say, it definitely didn’t go off as scheduled. I woke up at 930A and quickly woke S. up so we could get going. We ran down to the front desk and scheduled a Malta Sightseeing tour for 1030A. We jumped on at a pick-up point right outside of our hotel and began our journey.

Malta Sightseeing runs a North Tour, a South Tour and a Gozo Tour at €15 per person per tour. If you book the North and South tour together you can snag both for €26. Though it would have saved us a few euros, we opted for the North tour only to save some money and enjoy the tour a bit more leisurely (we’re planning on doing the South tour on Wednesday morning before we leave Malta).

We headed to Sliema by way of Qawra and St. Julian’s to connect with the other tour and begin the official route. The blistering heat was a bit worrisome but the open-air bus was actually cooling with the mild winds. While we got a bit crispy (in the words of S., “I feel like I’m a brownie; like I’m literally baking in an oven”), the heat was pretty bearable.

The tour was scheduled to pass by a number of Maltese sights, but we decided to pick the few we found most enticing. After passing Ta’Xbiex Harbour and Msida Yacht Marina, we jumped off at Valletta, Malta’s capital city. I had been to Valletta before with the family in December and remembered the gorgeous views from the waterfront and the historic nature of the city. It was just as I remembered it, albeit much more crowded and 35 degrees hotter.

We grabbed lunch at Kantina Café to charge out batteries for the day. A couple of sandwiches and caffeinated beverages later, we hit the streets of the capital city. We stopped off at the nearby St. John’s Co-Cathedral to snap some pictures and headed down the streets to the Valletta waterfront before departing. With the buses coming around every 30 minutes, we tried to plan our time strategically so we a) wouldn’t waste valuable in-city time, and b) wouldn’t have to burn to a crisp in the sweltering heat. We arrived at the bus stop just in time and continued our route.

The bus passed by Hamrun, San Anton Garden, Ta’ Qali Crafts Village and Mdina Glass before hitting Mosta. Mosta was on our ‘hop-off’ list because of the history of the city. Our grandpa is from Mosta, so the city held special value to both of us. Unfortunately, the city’s main site, the church, was closed so we hopped off for but a moment to snap some shots of the façade before getting back on the bus. Still, even though we only glimpsed the exterior (see pictures from my first trip to Malta to get some glimpses of the inside), it was beautiful. There’s also something awesome about S. and I seeing the city together, the city that was home to the person that made us cousins.

With our quick passing through Mosta, we jumped off at the next city, Mdina. I was excited for Mdina before we even stopped off. I remembered the city from my last visit to Malta and recalled it being cute, quaint and charming. Indeed, it was all of those things and the characteristic red doors and clean buildings made it a great stop for a half hour.

After passing through the narrow streets and grabbing a few postcards (we sent one to our grandma from a post box in Mdina!), we headed back to the bus stop. Again, we jumped on and passed a few more nondescript cities before a fifteen-minute break in Mgarr. Now, while Mgarr is home to a pretty-enough church, we wouldn’t normally have thought much of the city. It was fairly quiet, somewhat desolate, in fact, aside from a cool little shop:

This picture is effectively a shout out to my uncle, J. Falzon! While I’m pretty sure my San Diego- based uncle does not own a butcher shop in Mgarr, still cool that this place had his name emblazoned on the exterior.

Back on the bus we went, heading back to our drop-off point at Bugibba Square, a cute little touristy spot near our hotel in St. Paul’s Bay. After a few hours of down time, we got ready to head out and check out the Malta Arts Festival in Floriana where my other cousin, P., was performing with his band. En route, we stopped off at a little pub so S. could grab a pint of Maltese beer, Cisk, while we waited to head to Ospizio. From 9 until about 1030P, we caught a pretty cool (and very interactive) performance near Valletta. Even though the entire performance was in Maltese (and my Maltese is a bit… rough), it was still cool getting to experience something unique and cultural while we were in town.

Now, we’re mentally prepping for a fairly early morning and a trip to Gozo (Ghawdex) with P.! We’re taking the ferry over there and checking out the gorgeous Azur Window, Ta’ Pinu, Calypso’s Cave and some other quintessential Gozitan sights before we grab dinner with the fam.

Catch up with you tomorrow after our adventure on the Isle of Calypso!

See all of our pics from Malta here!

xoxo,

Malta: Photos from the Island

ShannonElizabeth — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:53:19 +0000

I can’t blog nearly as fast as I can post photos. More adventures to come, but here are some photos from our hop on/hop off tour for the time being:

[picasa width="400" height="300" bgcolor="#000000" autoplay="1" showcaption="1" user="shannon.falzon" album="es_MaltaPartII"]

xoxo,

Malta: Day 1

ShannonElizabeth — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:19:21 +0000

S. and I hopped on the tube on Sunday at 415P to make it to the airport for a 7P flight. We were excited and ready to get on board AirMalta to get settled into our St. Paul’s Bay area hotel. As fate would have it, however, our 725P flight was delayed. By three hours! In return for the inconvenience, AirMalta equipped us with £20 restaurant vouchers so we could grab a few drinks in the bar to ease the pain. And that we did. We grabbed dinner, drinks and did some airport shopping before jumping on our flight at 1030P. With the delay, the flight time and the time change, we ended up landing in Malta at 230A. Through customs we went, heading over to the taxi stop to grab a cab to St. Paul’s Bay. With our flight being so heavily delayed, there was no way I could legitimately be okay with my family coming to the airport to pick us up! For €26, we grabbed a cab and sped (we questioned whether our driver was drunk or if that was typical Maltese driving) through the streets of Malta. Finally, we made it in one piece to the Crown Hotel, passing out at around 4AM.

The Crown Hotel, while well located, is not the four-star hotel that they claim to be. It’s nice, mind you, and the staff is helpful, but no internet, a ‘TV’ that doesn’t actually work and rooms that are poorly ventilated were a bit of a turn off for us at first. The rooftop pool though? Glorious, and the views of Malta are awesome:

Considering we only paid £32 per night (total!), I can’t complain. While it’s not a four-star, it’s certainly worth more than £16 per night. It’s right down the street from a darling promenade and a McDonald’s that has free Wi-fi (how American, right?)

Today was our first full day in Malta and we made the most of it. Though I planned on sleeping in (after not getting to bed until 4A), I found it nearly impossible to sleep despite my ridiculously heavy eyelids. Instead of laying in bed staring at the ceiling, I jumped up at 830A, took a long shower and prepped for a day of beach bum wonder. After S. showered, we packed up our bags and headed out to explore.

The views down the street from our hotel are breathtaking. Most Maltese people I talk to have so many wonderful things to say about the island (they’re biased of course), but seeing the cerulean waters definitely made me understand a bit of why they’re obsessed. Beautiful is an understatement. Never have I seen water so blue and so clear; we could see straight to the bottom. Colorful little boats bounced in place on the water which just added to the overall charm of the area. After searching tirelessly for an elusive bus stop (it took us about 45 minutes to find the right area), we were en route to Golden Bay.

We actually unknowingly posted up at Tuffieha Bay (still gorgeous) and soaked up a bit too much sun while enjoying the welcome Vitamin D. A few hours later (and a few shades darker), we departed after having lunch on the beachfront. We headed to the sandy beaches of Golden Bay to check out the water sports. Kayaking, snorkeling, SCUBA, parasailing and jet skiing are available at the bay and are definitely an awesome way to spend a hot afternoon. After a bit of debating, S. and I decided to give parasailing a shot. Neither of us had ever done it before and while it was a bit pricey (€40 per person) the experience was incredible. We floated high above the Maltese shoreline and circled aroud Golden Bay, Tuffieha and another neighboring inlet before splashing into Mediterranean.

After our parasailing fun, we jumped on the bus back to St. Paul’s Bay to clean up and grab dinner. We made a stop off at the rooftop pool of the Crown Hotel to splash around a bit (and soak up some unnecessary sunshine) before heading back into our rooms. After cleaning up, we headed down to the Promenade to grab dinner at Angelo’s. The food was awesome and the views were amazing. Though it was reasonably priced, the service was a bit iffy (our waiter was a bit of a dick head) and we had to correct a few… ‘additions’ to our bill before paying inflated meal prices.

Now, we’re heading to bed. Tired, a bit sunburned and ready to get some real sightseeing in tomorrow. Plan of attack: Take the bus to the Sliema Ferry area and jump on the hop on/hop off sightseeing bus to see the island in its entirety!

Love from Malta,

Malta and Athens on the books!

ShannonElizabeth — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 21:50:47 +0000

As you already know, I have planned to spend the month of July traveling around Europe with my cousin, S., whilst working on my dissertation. I’m so incredibly excited to be able to take advantage of my time here, and doing it with my cousin is just icing on the cake! We decided to get Eurail passes for the majority of our unplanned travel, but the first two legs of our trip involve flights, so we decided to get those pinned down while flights are cheap!

After trying to map our journey (country by country; we’re going to figure out the cities as we go!), we decided that Malta would be a good starting point for our excursion. A few days in the Mediterranean sunshine, a bit of sightseeing and a bit of family. [Check out my previous Maltese excursion here, here and here.] Plus, as it’s an island, we decided to get the flights out of the way initially and then stick to rail for the remainder of the journey. We booked our flights to Malta through AirMalta and got a pretty decent deal: £120 from LHR to Malta. Now, I realize that EasyJet has much better deals (I found a one way ticket for £80ish, but I took the following facts into consideration when booking:

1) Easy Jet flies out of Gatwick (or Stansted or Luton) vs. Heathrow. Heathrow has the added bonus of having a tube line that drops off there. For £5 I can take the tube to Heathrow vs. the £18 that I would have to spend taking the tube to Victoria and Gatwick Express to the airport.

2) Luggage! EasyJet allows one piece of hand luggage and everything else is charged (£9 in advance, £18 at the airport) which is inconvenient; AirMalta will allow the extra luggage that I’m bringing and save the headaches.

3) Flight time: The flight times with EasyJet weren’t so great. Mind you, our flight with AirMalta gets us to Malta shortly before midnight but it’s better than a 5A flight the day after my cousin gets to London.

In any case, between the flight times, luggage, airport issues and added benefit of not having to fly a discount airline for once, we went for it! We snagged a great hotel in Buggiba, Malta for the four nights (three-and-a-half days) we will be in town. Total cost for a four star hotel near the beach? £149 for both of us; less than £20 a night each! That’s less than I pay in London for my current shoe box of a room! After getting the Malta trip nailed down last week, we decided it would be best to get the second leg of our trip under control as well. After discussing countries that were on our must-see list, we both agreed that Greece was a must! Since it’s the furthest point of our journey, we decided to make that the first stop of our mainland trip and the departing point for our Eurail adventures! For a mere $112 we snagged a flight on Aegean Air from Malta to Athens. What a steal!

I have heard amazing things about Greece: from the history and culture of Athens to the serene island of Santorini and the party haven that is Mykonos. Certainly, if we had the time, we would see everything! Unfortunately, time is of the essence and we needed to be able to see as much as possible in four and a half short days. We decided to book a hotel in Athens for the entirety of the trip, using it as a sort of home base for the rest of our Greek sightseeing. Though we’ll likely spend two of the days exploring Athens, we want to allocate at least one day to Santorini to get a feel for the islands. If we feel semi-fulfilled with a couple of days in Athens, I’m hoping to use that extra day to hit up a nearby city (though I’m not 100% sure where that’d be yet… Delphi, perhaps?) or another island. Like I’ve mentioned before, Greece was one of the top 3 places I wanted to see in my time here (along with Rome, Italy and Istanbul, Turkey) and I am so incredibly stoked to actually have this booked! I have fantasized about this trip for years (probably since I was eight) so I’m hoping that it’s half as amazing as I’ve imagined! Another bonus: for five nights in Greece, I snagged a great little hotel (3 star about a mile from the Acropolis) for £173 total! Again, talk about a steal. Can you beat a Greek excursion for £18 per night? Did I mention that breakfast and wi-fi are included? Cha-ching!

Less than one month until this madness begins and I can’t wait! Until then, I’ve gotta stick to studying for my exams (they start in 10 short days)! It will be such a relief once this craziness is over…

From London,

Team Shannex Theme Songs.

ShannonElizabeth — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 06:45:37 +0000

Songs have an uncanny ability to remember past adventures. I find that when I hear certain songs on the radio, I remember long-forgotten events that seem to be tied in with the music of the given moment. With our crazy travels this week, there were definitely a few songs that will have that effect on me in the future. Have a listen to the official soundtrack of Shannex’s {Shannon + Alex’s} Maltese excursion:

Empire State of Mind // Jay Z & Alicia Keys {Watch It Here}

The song of the moment — reminds me of Paceville! <3.

Stereo Love // Edward Maya {Watch It Here}

This one sounds like the island and the images in the video look like Malta!

Fireflies // Owl City {Watch It Here}

Whimiscal; courtesy of Paul. Malta was the first time I’d heard this song!

Lots of love from Edinburgh,

Malta: Days Three and Four

ShannonElizabeth — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:00:53 +0000

So, now that we’re finally settled, it’s time to re-cap days three and four in magnificent Malta. Wednesday was a visit to the beautiful Blue Grotto in the morning (a place that came highly recommended by my grandmother and my late grandfather), followed by an evening of family fun with Sylvana & Joe and a night out in Paceville (pronounced Pah-tchay-ville). We spent Thursday exploring the capital city of Valletta, followed by our last supper, courtesy of Teddy & Angela.

Wednesday’s weather made for a perfect sight-seeing day. Though a ferry to the Blue Grotto wasn’t really on the agenda (it was too blustery), we had an amazing view and got some great shots of the water from above — the area was seriously fantastic; definitely a must-see for anyone in Malta!

After our Blue Grotto trip, we checked out some other old (3500 years-plus) temples and got a pretty sweet glimpse of the island of Filfla (you can see it in the background)! It’s super tiny and uninhabited — it looks like a big rock floating in the water <3.

Our dinner on Wednesday was super delish & entirely too much fun with two kiddos running around.

For one of the first times since my grandpa passed away, I was reminded of how much I miss seeing him and talking with him. I felt an urge around day two to call him and use my newly-acquired Maltese skills and suddenly remembered that he wasn’t there anymore… definitely made me a bit sad, but it was nice being able to see where he was born and where his family came from.

After our dinner and family time, we headed out for a far-too-late night in Paceville, courtesy of one Paul Sebastian (aka best tour guide ever). After getting home at around 230A and enjoying three qaghaq tal-ghasel, I felt I had done my work in annihilating my poor family’s kitchen.

—

We hit up Valletta on Day 4 and it definitely ties with Mdina for being the cutest city! There are so many fun shops there and loads of cute cafes & eateries (and gorgeous views)! We had a seriously delish lunch at Cafe Jubilee before departing. Paul had mentioned the Maltese chain earlier and it definitely lived up to expectations — good food and totally affordable!

Missing the sunshiney days and happy people of Malta already!

To see the whole Malta album, click here!

Family Fun on the Island!

ShannonElizabeth — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:10:30 +0000

I have so much to catch up on, but I thought a post about the fun family gatherings we’ve experienced thus far would make for a good filler for family keeping up with my homeland hoorah! Too much family fun in four short days; the sadness about leaving tomorrow is hitting me… *tear*

Monday:

{Zija Cikka & I}

Our first family dinner was at Zija Cikka’s house in Qormi — Soppa Tal-Armla (Widow’s Soup), Gbejniet (Maltese cheese), & Gina’s super delish homemade chocolate cake! It was so fun finally catching up with my mom’s Maltese family!

Tuesday

Some good times in Gozo:

{Charlie & Paul at the Azure Window}

Paul & I at Ggantija Temple in Gozo!

Wednesday:

First stop — Ziju Zeppi’s farm!

{Paul, Zeppi & Maria Luisa}

{Paparazzi shot on the farm}

{View from the farm}

Dinner yesterday was at Joe & Sylvana’s house — delicious & entirely too much fun with two little monkeys running around:

{Joe & Sylvana}

{Rosie & Joe}

{Princess Martina & I}

{Alex & Katrina}

[Falzon - Farrugia - Saliba Family]

I’ve had such an amazing trip thus far and am so incredibly sad to be leaving tomorrow…. I am in love with my family! I’m looking for a super cheap ticket to come back here for Christmas! Otherwise, I’ll be back in summer 2010 for Part II.

To see the whole Malta album, click here!

PS. PSS (you know who you are), I love you to the moon & am so thankful for the amazing trip you coordinated! You and your family are the most amazing people on the face of the planet!

The Isle of Calypso

ShannonElizabeth — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:06:34 +0000

Looking through the 658 pictures that I’ve taken thus far, I realize I have to play a serious game of catch-up! I still have some fun pictures from Day 1 and 2 to upload, but I’m going to fast-forward to yesterday’s journey. We woke up to semi-warm Mediterranean sunshine and decided that it would be a good day to take a journey to the Maltese island of Gozo (Maltese: Għawdex, pronounced OW-desh). Gozo’s a quick 20-minute journey by ferry from the mainland and though it was windy, it was definitely a gorgeous view!

[The view of Mellieha on the way down to the ferry was pretty outstanding, too!]

We had a pretty great view of Gozo from the ferry. The island is so small that you can literally see the entire thing and capture it from a camera lens from a distance!

As you can tell, it was a pretty blustery day on the ferry but the views of Gozo were worth standing on the sun deck.

Gozo has been inhabited for around 5000 years and has a ridiculously long and amazing history, so our day was jam-packed. Lesson: If your journey is well-planned (and you’re with some Grade A tour guides who take care of you!), you can see all the major sites in a day. First stop on our agenda?

The Azure Window:

The natural arch is thought to have been created millions of years ago and is absolutely breath-taking! The water is insanely blue and the journey to see the arch close-up is a trek along fossilised rock. Probably one of the most beautiful things I have seen yet!

After our trip to the Window, we headed to the Citadella (didn’t really get any pics there) which is set on the hill of the capital city. It was built as a fortress of sorts to protect the island from attacks. We got to tour the inside and it was pretty awesome! After our mini tour (and a mini bout of rain), we headed to the Ggantija Temples which are a UNESCO Heritage site and date back to around 3500 BC.

By the end of the day, we were officially exhausted and napped on the ferry ride back home! Our tour guides had everything planned perfectly — we got sooo much in during a single day! Gozo’s definitely a nice trip for anyone visiting Malta. And the few Gozitans that populate the small island seemed friendly as well! Fun fact: Gozitans speak a slightly different version of Maltese… a little bit more Arabic-sounding. Just a fun fact to throw in your arsenal of goodies during Trivial Pursuit.

Love from Malta,

Wanna see all the pictures? Click here!