Facebook has been a real treasure for Christine because it has enabled her to find several people from years gone by. FB was the way Christine and Carol Farrugia got connected, and that has been a wonderful gift to us, especially during our trips to Malta. Carol has been our activity guide. Another connection has been with Martin Vella Bonavita, a former playmate when Christine was about 10 years old. We actually had lunch with Martin and his wife Sandy when in Australia in 2020. Cousin Louis took us on a wonderful road trip and we got together with Martin in Melbourne. As a result of reconnecting with Martin, Christine found Martin’s brother Roger. She didn’t really know Roger as a child- he was older and away at school – but through FB she has had some ongoing communication. Roger lives in Perth, Australia now. In their messaging Christine learned that Roger would be in Malta during the time we were there. He said he was hosting a party for family and friends and he kindly invited us to attend. We arranged for Carol to be invited as well. So off we went to Valletta to a party at Casino Maltese.
Here’s the description of Casino Maltese from their website. “The Casino Maltese is a private members’ club in Valletta. The Club offers its members the advantage of having a base in the nation’s capital, a home away from home, with a selection of elegant rooms and facilities. Here members meet friends, relax, dine, and enjoy social events or special occasions. The Club is sited in a historic building with sumptuous architectural features, in the centre of Valletta with balconies enjoying views over both St George’s Square and Republic Square.” It’s definitely a prestigious place.
Roger Vella Bonavita is a first cousin of Christine’s Australian cousins. Roger’s mother Mary was Aunt Bice’s (Louis’s mother) sister. It amazing to me all the connections there are to this very extended family.
We then met Bernadette Carabott, another cousin of our Australian Caruana cousins. Bernadette’s mother was another sister (Olga) of Aunt Bice. She was there with her partner David. We had a ball talking with Bernadette. She misses all her Caruana cousins and really wants to visit them in Australia. So, Louis, Bernadette conveys her warmest regards to you.
It was a nice gathering and the food was outstanding. Every few minutes a server came by with a tray of luscious hors d’oeuvres, and over the span of about 2 hours we consumed a lot of fabulous food. Roger was a charming host and often he came by to say how happy he was that we came. It was a wonderful experience and we made a wonderful new Malta connection in Bernadette.
After the party, Christine and I walked Carol to where she got a cab home. It was such a nice day that we decided to stay in Valletta and wander around a bit. It being Saturday, the main streets were crowded with tourists. A cruise ship was in port, so that always makes for big crowds. But we enjoyed strolling around and ending up at Upper Barrakka Garden. The Grand Harbor views are just fantastic from there.
As we were looking out over the Grand Harbor, Christine said, “I want to go in one of those boats.” What she meant was one of the small dghajsas, a traditional Maltese boat, used as a water taxi from Valletta across the harbor to Birgu. Birgu is one of what’s called the Three Cities across the Grand Harbor from Valletta. Birgu, Senglea, and Conspicua are the three. Birgu, also know as Vittoriosa, was once the capital of Malta and the first home of the Knights of Malta. Fort St. Angelo is at the tip, and to this day, the fort is the home of the Knights of Malta. Birgu has a fantastic marina and boat yard and you can see some fabulous yachts and sailboats moored there.
In the old days, the dghajsas were rowed across the harbor, but now, the oars are only used for getting to the landings. Small engines are used today. Each dghajsa takes a maximum of 6 passengers and it costs 2 Euros each. The trip across the harbor takes about 10 minutes and you get fabulous views of Valletta, Birgu and Senglea.
We wandered around for a bit and then sat in a cafe near the town square and had a drink. Birgu has many lovely small streets and once you get away from the waterfront, there are fewer tourists so you can just wander along the narrow streets enjoying the fantastic architecture.
It was so much fun to just lose ourselves in this fabulous city. Along the way, Christine said, “I hear Scottish dance music.” I thought maybe she was just hearing music from a bar up a lane, but as we got closer to the music, we realized that it indeed was Scottish music, and bagpipes What a surprise! We entered an old building and up a ramp to a courtyard, and lo and behold, there was a Scottish bagpipe band parading up and down the courtyard. Although they weren’t in uniform/kilts, they certainly were playing bagpipes and drums. This apparently is a very big part of Scouting in Malta as I’ve read that there are several scouting groups hosting drum and bagpipe bands. Christine was thrilled and she danced to the Scottish music.
We made our way back down to the waterfront and returned to Valletta via dghajsa. We took the Barrakka lift back up to Barrakka Gardens and made our way to the Valletta bus terminal. Riding the bus in Malta is all part of a Malta experience. When we were here in 2016 for 3 months, we registered for a Tallinja card and now can top up our cards electronically. It seems the cards don’t have an expiration date, so we’re still using our cards to board the bus. The buses are typically jam packed. Eventually, the driver stops picking up new passengers at some stops when the bus is totally full, and I mean packed like sardines. It is irritating to be standing at a stop and have the bus just pass you by. Apparently, last week a guy kicked in the door of the bus when the driver didn’t open the door at a stop because the bus was full. There have been several instances of bad behavior by passengers in the last couple of weeks. But the bus service will get you to nearly every corner of Malta and it is the way we get around when we’re in Malta.
We got back to our flat in good shape, happy and tired. We still had chicken and potatoes leftover so we warmed up some dinner and continued watching the Netflix series Bridgerton.
It was a very lovely day in Malta today.