We just landed in Malta after traveling for almost 24 hours. The flights went okay, and I was able to get some much needed rest for our busy day of settling into Malta. Immediately after arriving in Malta it was cool to feel the cool breeze and see all of the agriculture there. The scenery was mostly farms but not super green, since Malta does not get a ton of rain. Our hotel was in Valletta and we walked along a bay with sailboats in it to our welcome dinner. The dinner was nice and it was cool to see that most people in Malta speak English which I didn’t expect. Valletta is one of the smallest capitals in Europe and the whole country is roughly 2,146 times smaller than Texas! Valletta became Malta’s capital in 1570 and it was named after Jean Parisot de la Valette. In Valletta we went to the Co-Cathedral which was beautiful and decorated in Baroque style architecture and paintings. Malta’s climate is pretty dry but the air was nice and it wasn’t too hot or too cold. We traveled to Old City Mdina and got to enjoy the view of the Mediterranean Sea and get gelato! Old City Mdina is Bronze Age in origin and has Punic, Greek and Roman ruins. The name of the city derived from the Arabic word “town”.
After Malta we traveled to Sicily where we arrived in Marzamemi. Marzamemi is a small fishing town located in the Ionian Sea. Marzamemi has a small population of less than 400 and it is located in between the cities of Noto and Pachino. We traveled to Noto in the afternoon and spent time exploring the city and visiting Palazzo Castelluccio, a beautiful palace that was built in 1782. Overall, Malta and Sicily have exceeded my expectations and all of the towns we have traveled to have been wonderful. I can’t wait to explore Italy more and learn about the rich culture and history here!
