VALLETTA (Day 1)

Malta is the largest of three islands located just south of Italy. We stayed in a small hotel on the bay boardwalk in the touristy city of Sliema. Since it was the holiday season, everything was covered with festive lights and decorations.

We started our first day with a simple hotel breakfast, as would be our routine for our entire stay. The hotel staff was exceptionally nice.

We caught one of the colorful old buses to the nearby capital city of Valletta. Each bus was personalized, and many of them were filled with images of Jesus and other religious items and symbols.

Valletta is a world heritage city. It is filled with countless ornamental churches, colorful balconies and towering fortress walls.

We wandered through the maze of streets and ended up at the Upper Barrakka Gardens and the old aqueduct, which gave us a wonderful overview of the old fortress city.

We continued wandering aimless through the streets and narrow alleys of the impressive historic city. There was so much to see!

The Malta Experience was a movie explaining the 7,000 years of human history on the island. We learned about the ancient megalith temples; the trading with the Phoenicians; the conquests of the Roman, Byzantine and even the Norman empires; the valiant knights of St. John of Jerusalem (responsible for the image of the Maltese cross); and the long conflict with the Ottoman empire, Napoleon's domination, the hardships of WWII and independence from the British in 1964.

We visited the large stone Fort St. Elmo and wandered around the rows of cannons that sat overlooking the twin harbors of Valletta. Costumed guards patrolled the passageways.

We spent the rest of the day exploring the numerous charming streets and narrow alleys.

As the sun began to set, the festive lights turned on, and there was entertainment in the form of historic plays and traditional dancing.

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