How Do You Make a Maltese Cross?

Probably by running that old joke past him. But with that out of the way, our trip to Malta was pleasant and uneventful. Edward travelled on a steamer that he referred to as the Orinoko. I could find no reference to it under that spelling, or the currently more used Orinoco.

For his sailing accross the Mediterranean the weather was mostly soft, calm, delicious until the last few hours of the trip, when a storm came up of such intensity that they narrowly escaped passing the islands altogether, only sighting land as they passed the western extremity of Gozo the second of the two main islands that make up Malta. A quick turnaround saw them entering the quarantine harbour on the north side of the city of Valetta. Numbers of shore boats-queer, short little craft, with high cocked stems and sterns-were soon alongside. These boats still exist in Valletta Harbour but their sole function today seems to be conveying tourists on sightseeing trips around the Harbour.

If you can zoom in on the small boats you'll see they are like little stubby gondolas

We travelled from Perth to Malta on a Qatar airways flight. The trip took about 20 hours in all, including a 3 hour stopover in Doha which looked pretty dry and dusty from the air. As we continued on accross the Mediterranean we could see many of the Greek Islands that Edward sailed through and for us the weather remained soft, calm and delicious. From the air we could clearly see the numerous dry stone walls by which the land is enclosed and divided into, very small fields and plots although today many don't appear to be cultivated. I suspect the land value makes cultivation not worthwhile. On our arrival customs formalities were minimal and we were soon on our way by airport shuttle bus to our accommodation at 63 Triq il Bjar in Valetta.

Triq il Bjar, our doorway to the left.

Our accommodation was a self contained bed sit apartment in a building that probably existed in Edward's time but then would have probably been a storage room at the base of a large building. It was a windowless but otherwise pleasant, arched chamber, complete with kitchen, washing machine and ensuite shower.

After 20 hours of travel all we wanted was a meal and bed. Fortunately just around the corner was a restaurant, Nenu-the Artisan Baker, in a bakery that has existed for over a century, where the charming waiter Issac made our first night a delight with complimentary bruschetta, rabbit spaghetti, Maltese spiced coffee and a complimentary limoncello shot. All of which Issac assurred us was traditional Maltese style, much superior to their Italian equivalents. Issac's style was such that he pretty well guaranteed a return visit.