Malta, The return flight

It is the last morning of my living in Malta. And I decided to get to the airport by bus, just of the experience. Actually all the buses with destination to the airport have letter X. My bus was X1.

It took me only 30 minutes to get to the place and I had plenty of time left before my departure.

There is a stop-over in Istanbul with the break between the flights of more than 5 hours. Flight from Istanbul to Novosibirsk takes 5 hour and 10 minutes. The service in Turkish Airlines is perfect as usual.

Malta, The Island of Gozo

Today I am going to visit the island Gozo. Actually, there are three biggest islands in Malta. These are Malta, Gozo and Comino. To get to Gozo you need to come to Cirkewwa and take a ferry. In fact, nobody asked me to pay for using a ferry. And in Gozo I also could use my transport card which I had bought before.

So, Gozo is smaller than Malta and it looks similar like Malta, with the same architecture and numerous churches.

Here I had lunch which consisted of delicious salad with dried tomato and local cheese and then I went to Rambla.

Rambla is another bay where people come to relax and swim. This place is unique because the sand here is red and the sea is not calm, with big waves. There is bus from Victoria bus station to Rambla and it goes every hour (duration of 20 minutes).  Actually, if you want to observe the island by bus, you should all the time come back to Victoria station and continue your journey from there.

At my way back I had to buy the ticket. And it was a return ticket for 4.65. So, the ferry is not for free.

Malta, The final day at school

Today is the last day at the language school. We were given the certificates and said goodbye to each other. However, I have two more days to spend a lovely time in exceptional Malta. The Maltese Islands cover the area of just 316 km², but there so much to see here. Actually, even in two days you will be able to get a feeling of the island's character. I highly recommend to visit the top attractions on Malta such as Valletta, Gozo and Mdina. It is very useful to take Hop On Hop Off Malta Sightseeing Tour.

The island of Gozo I am going to see tomorrow, but today it is time for Valletta.

So, I set off for Valletta to enjoy walking around the city once more and to obtain some presents for my friends. Such a nice day in such a beautiful city, which was deservedly declared a UNESCO World Heritage site!

The best souvenirs from Malta could be door handles, filigree, lace and glass products. As for foodstuff, you can buy sheep's cheese, sun dried tomatos, olive paste or honey.

While I am driving home from Valletta on the bus I pass through several towns with no borders. Here is a quick description of the areas.

Sliema is a kind of poshy place with expensive hotels and restaurants. Saint Julian's is the residence for many language schools. Peachvile is the center of the night life with numerous clubs and bars. Pembroke is a quite place, kind of a bedroom community, where some language schools are located. And I am happy to live in Pembroke.

Malta, To the beach!

Today I went to Melieha bay again. I have spent there several hours swimming and sunbathing. I returned just right in the time of dinner with my host family.

Malta, Maritime power

Today I wished to visit the old fortified city Birgu, which also has the name Vittoriosa. It is located on the opposite side of the bay from Valletta, on the south side of the Grand Harbour. In short, it is such a small city with narrow cosy streets. As many other towns Birgu is a quite place in a daylight. And there are only occasional tourists in the streets.

To get to Birgu I took the Bus 3, which makes a round trip. First, from Valletta you can reach Riche bus stop, and later from the same stop it will deliver you to Valletta. As I uderstood later, it is also possible to take the bus 4.

On the main square I found a nice restaurant to have lunch. I was so excited after my strolling that I ordered the most expensive pizza with seafood. Simply, the day was almost spoilt. The pizza with all these ingredients was absolutely soaked, as if they cooked it in the sea. Never and ever I will order such kind of pizza again! However, my positive mood was saved by a glass of white wine.

There are probably only two the most interesting places to visit in Birgu. First of all, it is a maritime museum. And secondly, it is an inquisitors palace.

Nevertheless, the most spectacular for me was just observing the luxurious yachts, which were located at the harbour nearby.

Of course, I could not miss visiting the maritime museum. Honestly, I expected to see something more exciting. For example, the maritime museum in Barcelona, which I visited last year, was much more interesting. Nevertheless, I did not regret about spending half an hour observing the exhibition here.

At night there was a party with the students from my english group in a lounge bar at Sliema Ferries. We had a great time drinking cocktails and taking about various things.

Late at night, when I went home, I was absolutely sure that there was a night bus service in Malta, because even the bus stops displays such information about night buses. Unfortunately, it did not work. Instead, they have some red minibuses which go along seashore and collect late tourists. This is a kind of illegal but cheap taxi, and the cost is only 3 euros. So, I got off at St. Julian's bay and then I had a nice 30 minutes walk towards my house.