GIRLS TRIP TO MALTA
So we all need a girls trip every once in a while, right? Well yeah, that's exactly what we thought too! Unfortunately not as rich and famous as we would like to be, we based our summer vacation destination on the cheapest place to go. This meant going on wizzair.com and clicking on all possible "beach" destinations until I found the cheapest one. And which destination was the winner? MALTA!
We had never been to Malta, but I had several friends who had either worked there or have visited for vacation. From what I found on Pinterest, it was a gorgeous island to visit with crystal clear beaches, cute boys, and lots of sightseeing. Now if I'm being honest, we really only enjoyed two out of the three of those things since the weather was insanely hot - like 45 degrees Celcius (over 113 Fahrenheit!). So my first tip for visiting Malta: do NOT go in the summer.
But if we disregard that fact that we almost had a heatstroke while sightseeing in the capital city of Valletta, the rest of the vacation was pretty great. One of the highlights was visiting the Blue Lagoon which is on a separate island next to Malta. It was absolutely breathtaking, with crystal clear waters that were warm and beautifully blue. The people in the city were so nice and kind, and of course everyone spoke English. You could feel the positive energy they exuded. Maybe it's all the sun they get :D
Our hotel was not so shabby as well, which was located in St. George's Bay. For those of you who like to party, I recommend staying here. The nightlife is absolutely insane!! We also had fun at our Hotel's exclusive Sky Bar and Infinity Pool, which of course was reserved for VIP's. But as usual, my mother sweet talked the receptionist into letting us try it out for an hour. I think we got some pretty great instagram pics.
At whatever age, Malta has the sights and activities for you, your friends, or your family. It is family oriented, yet young and fresh, with beaches for days and sun to give you the bronze tan you have always dreamed of. We had an amazing time and definitely recommend putting it on your bucket list as it is not only gorgeous but affordable as well! #dianasays
This summer has been pretty crazy due to the fact that I had to coordinate not one, or two, but several family member's summer plans all at once. Consequently, we did not decide on our annual mother-daughter(s) trip well in advance. Luckily we were able to organize our trip to Malta just a couple of days before our departure, which proves that flying within Europe can be pretty reasonable even last minute. Diana hit her friends up for some advice in regards to where to stay, what to see. We did our own online research as well, and using my precious miles collected on my Chase card, we were able to book the really nice InterContinental Hotel at St. George's Bay, aka San Giljan.
The hotel had a nice private beach with lounge beds and towel service accompanied by a full service bar where our lovely tropical drinks were created included with colorful umbrellas. Now the only thing that was left to do was take in the gorgeous view of the bay. Not a bad start to our vacation! The hotel also had a nice pool deck on the 10th floor with a restaurant, bar, and umbrellas with "service call buttons" on them by our sunbeds in case we were too lazy to get up to order our drink from the bar. I definitely felt a little spoiled but don't we all deserve a little pampering once in a while?
With the insane heat wave sweeping through Europe in July we expected very high temperatures for our beach vacation but I was even shocked by the scorching conditions. We had to limit our cultural sightseeing to a minimum. It was simply impossible to enjoy the beautiful buildings while your skin was burning under the sun and your tiny pieces of clothing were drenched in sweat. When I actually beg Diana to go into a shoe store just so I can stand in front of a fan while she is looking around, in hopes of drying my tank-top and trying to cool down my body temperature, you know I am not exaggerating. Or standing on a shady corner and debating before crossing the road on how to run fast enough over to get cover under another slim shady path. When I saw a small bus with shades over its seats, similar to the kind that little kids take around in a mall, I could not dish out my Euros fast enough to book the 30 minute tour around Valletta.
Thankfully Malta is surrounded by water and has amazing beaches with colors of the sea you have never seen before. We visited a few of these little paradises around the islands by taking public buses and boats. If traffic is not chaotic enough for you, cars drive on the left side of the road. Taking this into consideration I decided not to rent a car and take my chances driving into one of the 1000's of roundabouts the wrong way. Their bus system is pretty good, easy to figure out where to go. Our only mishap was when we tried to get back later in the day from our trip to Mellieha Bay and all the buses were overcrowded. In this case the driver will not stop to pick you up and you will have to wait for the next one, which later in the evening could mean a 30-60 minute wait. My advice is to try to travel before the rush hour not to be left behind.
Just like the architecture of Malta which is a mixture of European baroque trends heavily influenced by both the closeness of Sicily and Africa, the cuisine is also very eclectic. You find lots of Italian and middle Eastern restaurants side by side accompanied by traditional eateries of Maltese food. You cannot go wrong either way, we had excellent meals during our trip.
The highlight of our vacation was definitely our excursion to the Blue Lagoon where we took a speed boat out to the intricate caves and were able to dive into the crystal clear blue waters from the small boat. Screaming with delight while our crazy English sailor sped through the waves playing 90's hits on his radio. Overall, it was a successful vacation which I think we would love to repeat...but perhaps next time in October or early May? :) #mommyknowsbest
