Day 5 - Senglea/Isla, Cospicua/Bormla & Vittoriosa/Birgu, Malta

I'd read about an area in Malta called Three Cities in Lonely Planet, and it sounded so intriguing. So we caught a 10-15 min. bus ride over to the area and explored for the day. And I'm so glad we did, as each city was pretty charming and much quieter (very few visitors) than Valletta. The views were especially beautiful near the waterfront, with views of Valletta. Essentially, all three cities are all close walking distance from one another, with one hailing from the Middle Ages.

As these next few pics will show, even the ten min walk from our apartment to the central bus station was beautiful.

The city fortress to historic Valletta, where the main bus station is located just outside gates.

 

This fountain is right next to to the Central Bus Terminal, which was one of the nicest I've ever been to- it was small, organized, well marked, affordable and convenient. And...we found the best cannoli of the trip from a baker there!

 

There are water taxis shuttling people from one city to another for 1 euro each

 

Down at the waterfront, we spied a few of these miniature pools of water that we suspect, were carved out of the stone to hold live fish that were caught for freshness.

My mother's eagle-eye also spied this jellyfish, which if you can believe, is the first one I've ever spied in the wild. I've seen dozens in aquariums, and a few dead along the shore in Hawaii, but never alive in the ocean! (Which by and large, is a good thing here in Hawaii...as people get stung all the time.)

Along this waterway, we also spied a number of more live jellyfish bobbing along. Needless to say, I was pretty excited...and cautious. ;-)

The cuisine in Malta was largely Italian-influenced, although their signature dish of rabbit was always offered as well. On this day, we decided to dine at the waterfront with beautiful views of Valletta across the water. Ry had the fish and chips, and we couldn't get over the cute mini baskets that the fries came in.

Tapas and funghi pizza for the older folks!

 

There is a pedestrian bridge that connects Isla to Birgu. My father darted ahead to quickly run back and forth across a few times so that he can proudly announce that he'd been to each city 'a few times' before we'd ever been there. :-D

A view of Valletta's Upper Barakka Gardens from an old watchtower

 

The cutest crane in Malta that Ryan spied on the ride back home

More than a few streets there were stairways...

Ending my day with a beloved cream-filled cannoli, I think I had 4-5 during the trip...most were only 1 euro each! I think I pay closer to $4-5 for slightly larger ones in NYC.