We are finally in Malta!
Since arriving in Malta we’ve had to figure out all the logistics that come with being in a new place. The first few days were tiring but now we feel settled in and are very happy that we chose to be here for two full months! For this post, we wanted to share with you some things we’ve had to figure out and learned during our first weeks in Malta, along with a few general updates.
The weather in Malta is great! The sun is warm enough that you can wear just a t-shirt or a light long sleeve during the day and the temperatures don’t drop that much at night.
Our city: Mellieha
The Maltese islands include Malta, Gozo and Comino. We are staying in Malta, on the northeast part of the island, in the city of Mellieha. During our short visit to Malta in 2017 we did a day trip to Mellieha to spend time at the beach and loved it. So when we were looking for airbnb apartments in Malta, we were super excited to find one that was perfect for our family in Mellieha.
Mellieha is a hilltop town with gorgeous views of the Mediterranean Sea, a beautiful church, lots of locally owned grocery / stationary / toy / butcher / everything stores and a lively town center. The city is well connected to the rest of the island by several bus lines that run all the time. That being said, it takes about an hour to reach Valletta, the capital, and even longer to get to the southern parts of the island.
Mellieha is also right by Ghadira Bay, which has Malta’s largest sandy beach. It’s beautiful. We’ve been going to the beach with the kids and they love it! Hugo has always loved playing in the sand and is now building really elaborate castles based on his newly gained knowledge after touring some of Europe’s most impressive castles and fortresses. Valentina loves walking in and out of the water to carry filled buckets to shore. We could spend endless hours playing at the beach!
Riding the bus in Malta
We use the bus to do all our site seeing in Malta (plus the ferries to get to Gozo or Comino). There is an excellent bus system with very well-signed bus stops and buses that run on time. And Google Maps works perfectly for bus transit directions. When we arrived to Malta, we were paying for bus rides as we went, which meant that we (including Hugo!) were paying 1.50 Euros per ride (which covered two hours on any bus) every time we wanted to go out to explore. Fortunately, after doing some quick reserach, we learned about the Tallinja Card and signed up for it online. The card is similar to San Francisco’s Clipper card (you swipe it when boarding the bus) but it also makes riding the bus a lot cheaper. Using the card, us grown ups only pay 0.75 cents per ride and Hugo only pays 0.25 cents! We ordered the cards online and got them in the mail in about a week.
Christmas in Malta
Christmas in Malta is huge! Everywhere we go, there are decorations, beautiful Christmas lights and arrangements and, sometimes, even Christmas music playing on the street. Wonderful Christmas lights arrangements hang across a lot of the country’s streets, and nativities are everywhere.
During our first week in Malta, we headed to Valetta to check out their Christmas Village. We arrived early when they were setting things up, but the kids enjoyed looking at the giant tree, the many decorations and, later on, jumping like crazy inside the bouncy house in the kids area. Us parents enjoyed a cup of mulled wine (which made our tongues a bit numb from having a bit too much anise in it!).
We also visited the Christmas Market in the city of Rabat, which is supposed to be the biggest and best Christmas Market in Malta. The market was nice but it was just too crowded for us to be able to fully enjoy it. We shuffled down a narrow medieval street shoulder-to-shoulder with people. The Christmas lights were super pretty and the ambiance was nice, but the crowds were too much. We ended up straying away from the main street into the narrow alleyways of the town and the kids really loved that!
One night, while we were heading to see our town’s Christmas tree, we ended up chatting with a man who told us about a free choral concert that was going to take place at the smaller church in town. The concert was free and Paola and Hugo ended up going. (Valentina went back with Joe because she needed a clean diaper and we hadn’t planned on being out for too long and didn’t bring a change with us!) The concert was very nice and included a children’s choir. Hugo only lasted for about half the show and he did a great job of quietly leaving the church when he was ready to go!
Playgrounds in Malta
We’ve been happy to find lots of playgrounds within walking distance from our temporary home. The closest playground to us is a half block away and it has a nice play structure, a couple of springy animals to ride and a great ramp for the kids to run up and down!
We also discovered Family Park, an awesome park tucked away in Mellieha that includes a playground, a skateboard ramp, an outdoor gym, green spaces, and a mini library inside an old red phone booth! The kids LOVED this place! Valentina was happy to swing, Hugo spent a lot of his time digging with his trucks, and both kids loved building “insect hotels” (more on that on a later post) with rocks they found laying around.
We also found another playground right behind the main church, on the backside of the hill, overlooking the sea. This playground is nice because there’s enough room to run around AND there is a cafe on site! The cafe serves alcoholic beverages as part of their menu, which is so European and we actually really like how laid back they are about these things. We can see ourselves going back another day to enjoy a cold draft beer on a sunny day while the kids play around in the playground!
Judo
One thing we are very excited about is Hugo starting Judo classes here in Malta! For a while now he’d been asking about doing a martial art and, when we saw a Judo studio in town with a class for 5-8 year olds, we asked if he could join for part of the session and they said yes! Hugo is super excited about this! He loves the class and the instructor, and has already made a friend! We hope to be able to continue with classes when we move on to Croatia in February.
As you can see, we’ve been busy since arriving in Malta! Soon we’ll share more about what we’ve been seeing and doing since getting here, but we wanted to share more about how we are making this place home for the next couple of months.
Finally, we are ready for Christmas! Our Airbnb lady loaned us a tree and we got a string of lights to hang up in the house. We’ve been doing lots of baking, Christmas crafts and listening to lots of Christmas music. Today Joe made and decorated Christmas cookies with the kids and it was a lot of fun for everyone! Hugo and Valentina are super excited about Christmas and their excitement is really contagious! We can’t wait for Christmas morning!
We want to wish all of you a great Christmas and happy new year surrounded by family and loved ones. May 2019 be an amazing year filled with adventures, good health and lots of love!
Want to read more about our travels? Then visit our places page.
