Welcome back to When Wine Calls – “2025 Wine Afficionados Tour”.
We had long been interested in travelling to Malta but decided we had to include the island into our itinerary after our neighbours visited there last year. In researching the logistics to get there we discovered there was a direct flight from Dublin to Valetta which enabled us to travel there without transiting.
Unfortunately, on the day of travel there were issues with air traffic control over French airspace, so our flight was delayed in Dublin for a considerable period with us not arriving at Valetta until early evening which we do not prefer when we travel. It was approaching sunset when we sighted the island from the air and the view of Malta was simply stunning.
Since we were staying in the old part of Valetta, we had pre-booked a transfer through the hotel which ended up being a good decision as not only were we arriving in the city after dark but there were celebrations occurring all over the city with many streets closed including the streets around our hotel. After the driver drove up and down many tight laneways, he realised that the only way to get to our hotel was to stop where he could and then drag our bags up the cobblestone lane to the hotel.
On arrival at our hotel, The Embassy Valetta Hotel the concierge apologised but more importantly offered us a champagne (ended up being two champagnes) while we checked in – we hadn’t experienced that since we stayed at Level 41 in London many years ago, so it was a lovely touch that signalled what was to be an extremely enjoyable stay.
After settling in we went out into the laneways of the Old Town to find a spot for dinner and came across a great little Italian restaurant not far from the hotel. We had a great meal with local wine, and we could hear a person singing popular cover songs around the corner. It turned out to be a great impromptu end to the evening with all the tourists gathering around to listen and even dance to this girl singing some great well-known songs (including Abba for Pauline) and really enjoying themselves. As time approached for her to finish up the owner of the bar who had engaged her realised, he was onto a winner with his drink sales and urged her to continue to the delight of the crowd. A fantastic impromptu introduction to Valetta.
Breakfast at The Empire Valetta is on the roof of the building providing the most amazing views overlooking the city and harbour. It is also where they serve dinner with the tables located around an infinity pool.
and a spectacular sunset dinner which included a fireworks display.
The location of this hotel and service provided along with the city itself made us fall in love with Valetta over the few days we were there.
We undertook a three-hour walking tour of the Old Town while we were there to understand its fascinating history, then strolled around the narrow laneways and fortifications to admire what a beautiful city Valetta is. It was a great few days with the fantastic food, wine and spectacular views somewhat unexpected when we first decided to visit.
Remnants of Malta’s past on display.
The draft plan of the city.
On leaving Valetta we headed back to the airport to pick up our hire car and drove across the northern coast of the island to St Paul’s Bay. After driving in Ireland for the previous few weeks I needed to get use to a manual car although at least in Valetta they drive on the same side of the road – the issue was more the manner in which they drive with little structure to the roads and despite being warned by the hire car company about ensuring to keep to the speed limit it appeared I was the only one that got that memo not to mention the one on “give way” rules. Nevertheless, we survived the drive to St Paul’s Bay and after some issues with our GPS directions luckily found some street parking and arrived at our apartment for the next five days – another “washing machine stop”.
The apartment was located along the waterfront with a balcony overlooking the bay providing the most magnificent views. It had everything we needed including some provisions (such as a bottle of wine) that the owner had generously purchased to get us settled – a very thoughtful touch. We were able to sit on the balcony and enjoy all the activity along the promenade as well as the setting sun – a magical location.
We had been having cappuccinos on most mornings throughout the trip thus far but in a café in Malta we noted that they had expresso macchiato’s (i.e. expresso with a touch of milk) on the menu and decided to try one. We found them fantastic and so switched to them as our daily coffee hit for the rest of our time in Malta.
We also discovered a fantastic gelato shop on the waterfront that was owned by a family that all the locals went to each night – the place always had people queuing, so we just had to include stopping there as part of our nightly after dinner ritual.
Also along the waterfront was a shoe van that Pauline immediately headed for displaying this sign on the back – very ingenius I thought to myself.
On one of our days at St Paul’s Bay, we had booked a boat tour to Gozo calling in at the island of Comimo to have a swim in The Blue Lagoon along the way. The Blue Lagoon is a picturesque, turquoise watered bay located on the island and is now so popular that each person must register online and receive approval prior to travelling to the island to restrict tourist numbers. While the water colour was amazing it was too crowded to fully enjoy its beauty with food caravans located along the cliff edge so we can say we have been there but will probably not rush back.
After swimming at the lagoon, the boat travelled onto the island of Gozo where we caught a minivan up to the town of Victoria located on a hill in the centre of the island. Victoria is known for its medieval Citadel with fortified walls and St George’s Basilica. In the short time we had we quickly visited the key points in the Citadel but we ran out of time to fully explore other parts of the city including the basilica so it will require another trip back to fully appreciate what the island has to offer.
On the way back to St Paul’s Bay the boat made its way along the coast to visit the Santa Maria Caves. Unfortunately, we encountered large swells that prevented the boat getting in too close to the various caves to fully appreciate their beauty, but it was still impressive to visit them.
It was a very enjoyable but full day by the time we returned to St Paul’s Bay
While we were at St Paul’s Bay, we decided that, as a change, it would be great if we could find a Japanese restaurant. Following an online search we uncovered a restaurant called “Umi” that was only a short walk down the road from our apartment with a view of the setting sun over the bay.
The food turned out to be amazing, so fresh with the sashimi being simply to die for. We enjoyed the restaurant so much we went back there again on our last night in Malta and on both occasions did not take a picture of the restaurant to share with everyone except for the amazing sunset.
On the way back to our apartment we came across a group of locals doing line dancing in an open-air area near the beach. They were having a lot of fun and did not mind all the tourists looking over the wall above them watching. We could also see them from the balcony of our apartment, so we went back for a glass of wine and continued to enjoy the music. A few nights later they were there again so it is obviously a regular event for the locals to enjoy.
The next day we decided on a beach day and located an area of beach on the waterfront where you could swim as well as have lunch and an Aperol at a restaurant on the water’s edge which was the ideal combination for us.
We had been told by the owner of the apartment that it was worth taking a drive inland up to the historical town of Mdina. Mdina was the island’s capital from antiquity to the medieval period and is one of Europe’s most impressive ancient walled cities with charming streets and alleyways. To this day it remains reasonably contained inside the ancient walls with links to Game of Thrones as a location. It turned out to be a fantastic to walk around, explore and appreciate the architecture with its baroque churches, elegant palaces and monasteries. We dove up to Mdina late in the afternoon and really enjoyed walking around this ancient city without any crowds.
We finished off the day eating a well-known local delicacy Pastizzi at a small shop named Is-Serkin in the nearby town of Rabat, located just outside the city walls – just delicious and very cheap.
After a tremendous time in Malta, it was time to travel from St Paul’s Bay back to the airport, drop the hire car off and catch a short flight over to Catania, Sicily to commence our Italian adventure.
Join us next time as we explore the enchanting island of Sicily that no doubt will be just as wonderful as our time here in Malta.
Until then, take care.
Bruce & Pauline
When Wine Calls 
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