09/02: Malta

When we were surveying many of the $40,000+ Rembrandts, Picasso's and Monet's that Courtney and I already have sitting up in our apartment we got to chatting with the auctioneer. He suggested to us that if there was any one day that we should wake up early it was for our arrival in Malta. Guide books described it as a step into a J.R.R. Tolkien book. I'd have to stay that I agree.

Here's a photo looking towards the town of Valletta, the capital of Malta:
The following I snapped which is of some of Malta's most famous knights and now frames the entrance to the port:

Courtney and I were among the first in our group to set foot on Maltese soil and went out to explore beautiful Valletta. The small island country was ruled by the Knights of Malta, a devoutly religious group whose goal it was to take back the holy land or some shit (I tuned out of this part of the audio guide). Their history is mixed, long and storied but basically, the islands were passed around more than Paris Hilton. Their most famous claim to fame was withstanding a siege by the Ottoman Empire in 1565, which according to Wikipedia was by far the greatest naval power of the Mediterranean at the time.

The fun of being invaded and reinvaded didn't stop at the turn of the (last) century as Malta experienced some bombing during WWII, which might explain the loud speaker surrounded by pretty flowers ... or maybe not.
Here's Court and I looking over Valletta.


The town is gorgeous, and basically feels like it was chiseled right out of limestone, but it doesn't really have much in the way of attractions aside from a gorgeous Baroque church (none of my photos were particularly spectacular. Perhaps Courtney's fared better). As such, after a few hours we hopped on a bus and headed towards what is known as the "Blue Grotto", which is a gorgeous natural formation on the other side of the island. Here's Courtney and I along the coast:
As it appeared a little tricky to see the formations by walking on foot we paid 7 euro to take a quick boat tour through the formations.
The water was gorgeous as you can see here:A photo from inside one of the caves:


As you can see there are numerous caves and archways carved into the rock. It was stunning to ride underneath them.

The sights here were amazing. Although there wasn't seemingly much to see in Valletta, we both felt like we could easily have spent a week or more on Malta. We missed numerous ancient temples and all sorts of other amazing sights. If you get the chance, I highly recommend you make your way out that way.

After the Blue Grotto we literally ran up a huge hill so as not to miss our bus. This was the first time we ran for a mode of transportation to avoid missing our boat, but certainly not the last. While we were waiting we noticed some rather odd markings at the bus stop that made me wonder about my good friends Loic, Helene, and Felix. Had they all been at the same stop, and had they all left their mark?


Just in case, Courtney and I left ours. So if you ever venture out towards Malta, look for the "Courtney and Blake" tag that now adorns the bus stop by the Blue Grotto.

Stop #2 - Naples and Pompeii!