The Island of Malta with Darren , Debbie & Oli

 The Island of Malta 

We were super excited to be jetting off to sunnier climates and our group were keen to learn about the history of this beautiful island. A fabulous day was spent in Valletta the capital. The city is renowned for its Baroque architecture, with grand palaces, churches, and fortifications.

We watched the daily historic tradition of the cannon salute which happens every day at 12pm and 4pm. It is known as the saluting battery and it’s a tradition that dates back to the 16th century when Valletta’s defences would fire cannons as a show of strength. We watched while the guards prepared, loaded and fired the cannon. It was an amazing experience. For the rest of the afternoon we boarded the Stella Maris boat for the 2 harbours day cruise. We passed forts, battlements including the sight where Popeye was filmed. There were beautiful churches, a five-star hotel built like a cruise ship and two lighthouses. Many of the buildings along the coastline had been built in the 16th century and were very grand. 

A wonderful afternoon was spent at the Classic Car Museum. There were so many cars that had been lovingly restored from the 1940s to the 1960s. We saw Spitfires, Jaguars, Fiats and Fords and we all picked which one was our favourite. We even had the chance to have our photo with Michael Schumacher. 

Giddy with excitement we took our seats on the top deck so we could get the best views. We cruised along the Northern coast of Malta enjoying the views of St Paul’s Bay. Our destination today was to the small island of Gozo and once we had docked, we boarded an open top bus up to the capital city Victoria. Victoria was the name given in 1897 by the British government on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, at the request of the Bishop of Malta. We then boarded a little train to ride to Independence Square, a beautiful square with many pretty shops, restaurants and churches. We had some lunch and a little look in the shops before heading back down in the little train, to get the open top bus and catch the boat to our next stop. This was at the Blue Lagoon where we could spend time exploring the island or swimming in the tranquil turquoise water. James and Oli were first to head into the sea and swam around the boat.

Our hotel was amazing with some great facilities. We spent hours relaxing around the pool, practising our swimming and making the most of the swim up bar! The table tennis table was on fire as the boys got some good rallies going. 

Another sightseeing day was on the agenda and we took the open top bus around the north of the island. Our journey took us through Sliema, Malta’s main coastal resort passing Manoel Island, Msida Harbour and onto Valletta. It was then onto San Anton gardens, the best known of the island's gardens. We stopped at Mdina, a beautiful ancient walled city which is also known as the silent city as there are no cars, except for the ones that belong to the few residents that live there. Impressive palaces line the narrow, shady streets and is one of Europe’s finest examples of an ancient walled city. It had so much character, you could easily see why the movie The Gladiators was filmed here. 

Down at Malta’s National Aquarium we were amazed at the wide variety of marine life, with over 40 tanks that housed so many exotic fishes and creatures from the Mediterranean Sea and oceans from around the world. We all liked the painted comber and especially the common clownfish which we all thought looked like just like Nemo. Our favourite part was on the deep explorer, which was a lift ride which gave us the sensation of taking us down into the depths of the bottom of the sea. Our brave group walked through the glass tunnel where fish, sharks and stingray swam over us. It amazing to be able to see them so close. 

Beach days are always on of our favourite days and we couldn't resit dipping our toes in the crystal clear sea. 

Our evenings were always jam packed with dancing and live music.  We showed the rest of the hotel guests how we like to party in true JollyDays style to songs such as YMCA, Sweet Caroline and Let’s Twist Again.