Vittoriosa
Trip Start
Sep 15, 2007
1
5
29
Trip End
Oct 17, 2007
Vittoriosa,
Malta
Friday, September 21, 2007
My journey started with the ferry ride across the harbour to Valletta, then a walk through the capital to the main bus terminal which was just outside the city walls
Valletta on the way to Vittoriosa.
. The buses in Malta are a classic, they are all ancient rickety old things that blow copious amounts of smoke and guarantee the roughest ride imaginable. The bus drivers must possess considerable skill manoeuvring the metal behemoths through the narrow streets whilst avoiding the crazy motorists that buzz about Malta everywhere you go. My Lonely Planet guide book informs me that whilst there are 400,000 people who live in Malta, there are 325,000 cars. No joke. The amount of cars here is incredible. Every street is just lined with them, parking is non existent and crossing any road is a mini game of "Frogger". Anyway I eventually reached my destination in one piece, said "Grazzi" to the driver and found myself in Vittoriosa. This city is beautiful. It is like a concentrated version of Valletta (if that is possible), possessing the same charm but somehow being cleaner and prettier. Most of the houses had plants and flowers growing from balconies and the streets were incredibly clean. I have heard that the tourist boom has missed Vittoriosa for the time being, which is probably one of the reasons why it is like it is. However after speaking with some locals the general idea is that Vittoriosa is being kept as a bit of a play ground for Europe's rich and famous. There is a casino here and the boats in the marina were just breathtaking. I took a few photos of some of them up close and I am not really a boat person, but these vessels were amazing. I could imagine sailing around the Mediterranean in any number of them, it would be grand. Some of them were even bigger than my father's boat...(sorry dad, had to slip that one in). Whilst walking through the city I found a plaque embedded in a wall which was from the Maltese government to the residents thanking them for their efforts in ensuring Vittoriosa was clean and well looked after, making special mention of the plants and flora they display outside their homes
Valletta on the way to Vittoriosa.
. The people here had great pride in their city, and the community spirit was palpable. Apparently there are no casinos on the island of Sicily, so a lot of the wealthy Sicilians sail down to Vittoriosa to spend a few days at the casino here. Through this I learned that Sicily was actually only 90 minutes away by boat and there were cruise companies that ran regular trips to there. I might look into that later on in my holiday. I got the same sense of history and tradition strolling the streets of Vittoriosa like I did in Valletta. I found a great spot high up in the city overlooking the marina. I took some photos and stood there listening to some music and just taking it all in.
After some time I ventured back to the bus stop, risked my livelihood on another bus trip and was back in Valetta by mid afternoon. I settled in a café/bar for a little while and had a bite to eat and a cool drink to parch my thirst. I was still not 100% from last night it would seem! Someone must have spiked my water mum...I would blame Mick Abdilla but he was not there. I thought I spotted Victoria Beckham whilst walking down to the wharfs to catch the ferry back to Sliema but I could not be sure. No sign of David though unfortunately.
Once I returned to Sliema it was off for another swim in the Mediterranean and sunbake on the rocks of Malta's east coast. Hmmm I was getting too used to this.
