Malta – days 1 & 2 | alison richards | graphic designer and artworker

Several people have told me throughout the years that I have lived in London that I have to go to Malta. I'd kind of planned to go to Sicily and Malta in one trip, but it proved complicated to organise, and required more time off than I was willing to take, given that I'd already had 6 weeks off for my UK roadtrip in May/June and wasn't guaranteed work over the Christmas period.

I therefore compromised, and decided to go to Malta as I'd already seen lots of Italy and this was an entirely new experience. I booked some cheap flights, this time actually flying in the middle of the day not super early in the morning!

I quickly decided that day while I was hanging around that I didn't like flying in the middle of the day. Waking up at some ungodly hour is much better, it gives you less time to stress. I can never put my finger on what it is that actually stresses me out, but I did not enjoy waiting around at home. I ended up leaving for the bus early, getting the earlier one and getting to the airport early - at least if I'm at the airport, there is no possibility of my actually missing the flight!

I arrived in Malta just past 9pm and caught a taxi to my accommodation, where I was greeted by the lovely host - she was so friendly! That night was apparently special in Malta, as all the museums are open for free until 7am the next day! But I was tired, and I do enjoy early morning wanderings rather than late night wanderings (also, I would have preferred to see the streets in the light of day to work out where I was), so I went to bed and got up early the next morning to head off.

There was a bus from my accommodation in to Valletta but I decided to walk in - it was about 2km to the city gate and about 3km to the furthest away point. I'm always a little funny with public transport, especially when I just get to a place, as I would prefer to know where I am and landmarks first before I catch it. But it turned out that it was an easy walk and not too energetic; the worst problem was the lack of pedestrian crossings in places!

I left my accommodation at 7:45am, getting to Valletta at 8:20am. The weather was mild at this time of year. There was a possibility of rain throughout the time I was there so I always carried my umbrella or a rain jacket, but for the most part, it was nice, sunny, and about 24 degrees. Can't complain! But from here I will stop the commentary and just show you pictures of what I saw there. Also, apologies, Malta has lots of nice doors and typographic signs.... and I took a LOT of photos.

The very kind security guard at the St John’s Co-Cathedral let me duck into the church early Sunday morning to have a look between services. I came back a few days later and paid for an entry ticket, but this is the church empty of people. A service was starting in a couple of minutes so I had to be quick. I’ll have more photos of this later!

This was the only ATV I saw. It reminded me of Greece, where people hired them on the islands instead of mopeds.

The colourful boxes jutting out of the building are traditional Maltese balconies. People are given money by the government to restore and preserve these, as they are considered an important part of Malta’s architectural history. Apparently they started in the 18th century as a “fashionable” addition to your house and it grew from there. I liked that they added pops of colour to the yellow stone

Never saw this open to check whether their shoes were indeed economical

I saw this green car down by the ferry then it just happened to drive past me! Good timing!

The view from the Upper Barrakka Gardens. Birds eye view of pretty places to go walking to!

Not sure why the chandelier or mirrorball were hanging from these little streets but I liked it!

The house of social reformer Manwell Dimech who made enemies with the ruling political party and was thus banished from the island!

I definitely zig-zagged all over the city – this is right in the centre again! No wonder I walk so much when I travel!

Tired, sore, and having walked 17km already, I walked back to my accommodation and collapsed on the bed. A little while later I went out to dinner nearby. I was staying in Hamrun and there were lots of places to eat fairly close by, but nothing too exciting. I ended up at a pizza place that had good reviews. I'd have something Maltese another day, I was too shattered today!