Days 3-4 - Getting to, and in Malta!

Most of day 3 was spent in transit to Malta. We flew from JFK to Istanbul, which is a surprisingly pleasant, popular and widespread airline to fly (they fly to more countries than any other carrier in the world). And once the new Istanbul international airport is built, they'll fly out of the largest airport in the world as well. The airport (which we know quite a bit about since we flew Turkish three times and were forced to learn all about it as many times), will look more like a small city once it's completed. Who knew Istanbul was such an international hub?

We had the usual in flight amenity kits and entertainment options but what made them stand out were their comfy, adjustable foot rests (very few international carriers have these in coach, and they're very useful for shorter folk) and their food. They had the best coach meals I've ever had on an airplane. Not coincidentally, they advertise extensively that they have a chef on-board each long haul flight (and I spotted ours on both long flights with them). Their healthy regional salads/side dishes tasted very freshly prepared, and were quite filling. The dessert was actually delicious (vanilla panna cotta)! I mean, it's still airline food, and it's not first class...but if the best I've had was a 7-8 out of 10 on JAL Business Class or a 5-6 on Emirates in Coach, and the worst airline is a 1 (Hawaiian), I'd give it a 6/7. In my opinion, most other airline food is a 2-3, in comparison. So they made our long flight quite bearable, and I'm grateful.

The international airport in Malta was pleasantly tiny, modern and clean...catching a cab was quite easy (although we had to rent two) because the airport size was even tinier than the small airport we have on our side of islands in Kona. ;-) Let's call it...cute? It was a slow 20 minute ride into Valletta, as we landed during the morning traffic hour. Because I knew we'd all be tired on arrival that morning, we booked our home from the day prior so that we could check in immediately.

Our rented home in Malta was overall, a pleasant experience:

• The location was a 10/10, right in historic Valletta, steps away from the main cobblestone walkway (Republika) and Square. This alone made it well worth what we paid.
• Historic- 9/10 Original wood beams, gorgeous limestone walls/stairs, bright colorful front door and patio (Maltese architectural features we enjoyed)
• Overall 7/10- We had a very spacious three-story, 2-bedroom home. But the 3rd floor bedroom was a hike of over 50+ steep, winding, narrow and slippery stairs. This was a tad too risky for my mom, especially at night to go to the bathroom on the first floor. The kitchen was spartan (fine), but the bathroom was a bit smelly (typical lack of a covered p-trap that you find in many other places around the world). Thankfully, Ry was happy to take the 3rd floor bedroom that required downing a Gatorade beforehand in order to tackle the stairs (he agreed to this before he realized the wifi didn't work up there), and we took the second floor bedroom. My parents opted to use the sofa sleeper in the living room as their den.  
• We also had cleaning issues there too (I met the owner, who said they hire inexpensive cleaners from Eastern Europe who tend to prioritize speed over detail) and plumbing issues (the new water heater broke the first night we were there, and the toilet could barely handle more than a half sheet of toilet paper at a time, another common issue we face traveling). We had a solution, but it required a pot full of water, a trash can and effort, so I'll spare you the details.)

Once we unpacked and showered, we headed out to explore. The entire city of Valletta is hilly, but quite small and easily manageable to cover the entire inlet in a day or two. We cruised Republika Street, and sampled some of the local gelato and pastizzi. The gelato was three euros a scoop, so Ryan went a little crazy and had it at least 4-5 times while we were there.

We loved that at the waterfront down below, there were rails to walk straight into the water.
We couldn't resist not dipping our hands into the sea one day and were surprised to see opihi (limpets) on the rocks.

The lower Barraka Gardens

On the way back to our apartment that evening, we found a rare market that was larger than a tiny hole in the wall...it was filled with gourmet foods, pastries, tapas, desserts. For convenience sake (it was only 5-7 minutes from our home), it was where we did our grocery shopping for the rest of the trip, since everything was there- milk, yogurt, fruit, eggs, cereal, vegetables, etc.

There was even escalators! In Malta, this was quite unusual, as most buildings are historic, restored, and do not offer modern conveniences.

Because food was so reasonably priced for Western Europe, I think we only had two meals while were there! And as you can see, my father gets comfy no matter where is. Hawaii no ka oi! 

You can also see the crumbling limestone stairs, and the winding stair case that went up, up, up. In spite of it's flaws, I really liked our Maltese home. It was different, and representative of a traditional home/experience there from the US. In the US, this house would result in a dozen lawsuits in a year from falls down the stairs! :-D