Little Man Does Malta

[PhotoLady]

Are you doing a blog about this? I'd like to see the pics. I am off for a 4 day trip in May - staying in Sliema. I did do an outline itinerary but have had to scrub the Azure Window off it now!

Jeanne

Hi Jeanne

I've just put together a photo blog post for "Little Man Does: Malta" and some of the things he got up to there.....

You can find it here: http://bit.ly/2mJ8EDh

A couple of photos may need an explanation....

We popped Little Man on the steps here just so I could get a photo of the stunning architecture of the grand building behind him.
This is the Auberge de Castille (Maltese: Berġa ta' Kastilja) is an auberge in Valletta, Malta. It was originally built in the 1570s to house knights of the Order of Saint John from the langue of Castile, León and Portugal. The present building dates back to the 1740s, when it was completely rebuilt during the magistracy of Manuel Pinto da Fonseca. The new auberge was built in the Baroque style, and it has been called "probably the finest building in Malta". It now houses the Office of the Prime Minister of Malta.



The Saluting Battery (Maltese: Batterija tas-Salut) is an artillery battery in Valletta, Malta. It was constructed in the 16th century by the Order of Saint John, on or near the site of an Ottoman battery from the Great Siege of Malta. The battery forms the lower tier of St. Peter & Paul Bastion of the Valletta Land Front, located below the Upper Barrakka Gardens and overlooking Fort St. Angelo and the rest of the Grand Harbour.



The cannon is fired twice a day at midday and again at 16:00hrs.

From Sliema, if you take the water taxi across the harbour to Valletta follow the steps up from where you disembark the ferry (or you can take one of the electric car taxis) walk up until you meet Republic Street where it crosses the street you are on. Turn right and follow it up to the very top. It will bring you out very close to the Barakka Gardens and the Castille Hotel area.

Castille Hotel, Valletta, Malta

Castille Hotel Valletta_dsc_7838.jpg (241.12 KiB) Viewed 5901 times

Wignacourt Tower (Maltese: Torri ta' Wignacourt), also known as Saint Paul's Bay Tower (Maltese: Torri ta' San Pawl il-Baħar), is a bastioned watchtower in St. Paul's Bay, Malta. It was the first of six Wignacourt towers to be built, and it was completed in 1610. It replaced the role of Ta' Tabibu farmhouse which was previously known as Dejma Tower. An artillery battery was added a century later in 1715. Today the tower is a museum. (Photo below is provided by Frank Vincentz)



Wignacourt Tower is off to the right of this photograph (there is a blue direction signpost set on the roadside just above Little Man's head)


St Paul's Bay itself is quieter than the resorts of Qawra and Bugibba and it can be walked in about 20 - 25 minutes from the bus station in Bugibba.
There are plenty of places along the way for a rest stop or you can have a drink at this place, where all hot drinks cost just 1 EUR
It's where the Roman Baths are situated along St Paul's Bay a short distance past the Gillieru Harbour Hotel.
Would be lovely to cool down in one of them in the summer!



Let me know if you want any info before you go Jeanne (or anyone else who is planning a Malta trip) and I will do my best to help.....

If you're going to do any exploring on your own - get one of the Tallinja Bus tickets (depending how long you will be there for). A 15 EUR ticket will give you 12 bus journeys. (Some places will need a bus to Valletta then onwards from there so a return trip will use up 4 journeys). We purchased 2 of those for the 3 of us during our week there. There is another which lasts 7 days and that is 21 EUR. You can buy them at the bus terminals and at some of the local shops/kiosks where you see the Tallinja card sign.
https://www.publictransport.com.mt/en/b ... -ticketing

[Firefly]

Thanks for this Jules, we are off on a family trip to Malta at the end of April, your pics are just brilliant !

Jackie

[PhotoLady]

Thanks Jackie

I've got a lot more photos of Malta from this last visit but I haven't got round to putting them on my Flickr account yet.

Which area of Malta are you staying in?

We were switched from our original hotel just 4 days before we were due to leave UK as there was horrendous ongoing work at the Dolmen Resort Hotel in Bugibba / Qawra. Building work I had been chasing our tour operator about for weeks....

We were put in the Seashells Resort at Suncrest hotel (Qawra) and luckily, it was very good. Nice modern style rooms with walk-in showers and a free safety deposit box which fit my laptop inside and the real bonus - situated on the back of the hotel which gave city views (nothing great to look at as it backs on to a residential area) but, that's where the sun appears in the afternoon so we had somewhere to sit and chill out at the end of each day's exploring.

[Firefly]

Hi Jules,

We are staying in St Paul's Bay. I'm not sure of the tour operator, as it has all been arranged by my family, thankfully ! I just hope the weather is kind to us.

We stayed in Sliema last time we went, and I found that very pleasant, and easy to get to Valletta by bus, now that's an experience.

Jackie

[smudger]

Great pics Jules, hope the dog appreciates Little Man's update on what she's missed!!

[PhotoLady]

Hiya George.... sadly, Ruby wasn't very well whilst she was in the kennels and has barely given the Little Man a second glance since she came home. She was at the vets twice with some tummy bug that none of us know where she's picked it up from and she's still being sick every so often now.

If she's no different after her meal tonight, it looks like we may have to take her back for the vet to have another look at her

She's in good spirits in herself, which is a good thing - just wish we knew exactly what was the cause of it.

[PaphosAL]

Hmmm... Never been to Malta. Is it true what they say, that it's mostly concrete, with very little greenery?

[PhotoLady]

No, there's actually quite a lot of greenery - very similar to the interior of Cyprus

What is good about it though, is because it's a very small island - you can see the individual towns and villages as you cross the length and breadth of it on your travels.

It's a place I can never work out which damn direction we're going in because, unlike Cyprus there is no highway which runs east to west so all roads appear to wind in all kinds of directions. Somewhere that gives me no thoughts on hiring a car, even if they do drive the same side of the road as in UK and Cyprus!

[smudger]

Aaawww Jules, sorry to hear that, not what you need on your return, really hope she picks up soon. Keep us posted.

Just had about 4 weeks of back and forth to the vet with one of my cats with an abscess from a bite. Result of getting him in and out of the cat box constantly is that he now goes out at 6 when I get up and comes home again about 9 at night, happily stays on my bed all night, but dont see hide nor hair of him during the day. Happily the abscess has cleared up, but Lord knows what I'll do if I ever have to get him to the vet again.

Hostages to animals we all are, but happily so. Really hope Ruby bucks up.

[PhotoLady]

Thanks George..... it's a worry because of her age. She's 10 and a half years old now and a very big dog. She weighs in at over 40 kilos. The poor guy at the kennels found her flat out on the floor of her kennel and had to pick her up and carry her to their van to take her into the vets.

They didn't phone to tell us until after she had been treated as they didn't want to scare us by telling us beforehand. She has picked up tremendously well but still having vomiting sessions as the digestion is taking place a few hours later.

We've already decided that there will be no more four legs and fur in our household after Ruby. There comes a time when you start to fear your pets will outlive you - and that's not a nice thought at all

[Poppy]

I hope that Ruby is soon feeling better Jules. I have to say though that she certainly looks after her toys better than our two do as little man looks new!!

[PhotoLady]

Thanks Poppy

In all her 10yrs, Ruby has never really played with or had her own toy..... Our other dog, Indie who passed away 2 days after we lost my Dad last October was a bugger for keeping them all to himself. Any he didn't like the look of or if they didn't squeak just right, he chewed them to bits inside the space of a couple of minutes when we weren't looking!

We bought her this one for Christmas last year and she carries him from our bed to the living room, the kitchen - wherever we go, Little Man comes too. At the end of the day, she picks him up a takes him back to our bed for the night. She doesn't chew him but she does grab him by the leg or his scarf and tosses him over her head (hanging onto him all the while) and talking to him (as dogs do)! He has however, lost his left eye one way or another....

It's so cute to see such a big dog carrying this little guy around with her....

[Firefly]

Hi Jules

Poor Ruby, has she picked something up from the kennels maybe ? My Son's dog (a Cypriot rescue dog) had D & V after she had a weekend stay at a kennels in the UK, never again he said.

Hope she is feeling better today. It's always a worry when they're ill, as they can't tell us anything.

Jackie

[PhotoLady]

Hi Jackie

The kennels say it's the first time they've come across it.... To be honest, we think they run only on a part-time basis so she does get a lot of attention when she's there. The only concern we have is that they're not always very responsive to phone calls or emails and we were considering trying another place in the summer months for a short "tester" - but, they dealt with the situation very quickly, took her to our own veterinary clinic and relayed the details back to us. Karen, who owns the kennels made sure she was around to run through everything again when we went to pick Ruby up on Friday morning. So, they've redeemed themselves in that department.

The vet apparently told them it's some kind of a bug but we will find out a bit more when we call in to see them tomorrow to pay the bill.

The good news is Ruby has kept everything down that she's eaten since her last meal yesterday - she's as bright as a button so we're hoping we're on the right side of it now. She decided to play chase with a ball across the laminate floor in the kitchen today - not the best idea when you weigh as much as she does and can't stop when she reaches the kitchen table!

[Firefly]

Hi Jules

Phew, good news then, hope Ruby continues that way. Not so good news for the table

Jackie

[smudger]

Good to hear Jules, hope it continues!

Edit - the good health, not the arguing with the table

[PhotoLady]

She's flat out on our beds as we speak along with my husband - it's time for his afternoon "read"..... 2 pages and he's asleep

[PaphosAL]

When replying to 'smudger' posts on here, Jules, I think your'e incorrect in using the 'George' handle...

Am I right, smudger?

[smudger]

Al, I'm not fussy one way or t'other, neither of us use our own names on the boards, so its really no prob! We both know who we are

[PhotoLady]

Phew, that's a relief!
I find smudger doesn't come as second nature when I'm typing and even then, I have to double check to see if it's written with a lower or uppercase "S"

And LOL at the table edit