September 1, 2025
Our first stop on the cruise was in a micro-nation, Malta. We had most of the day to spend there, but as per usual, my jet lag kicked in. I woke up in the middle of the night and was up for about 3 hours, so we got ready a little slower in the morning.
We hadn’t booked a tour with the cruise line, so we decided to make the most of it with a self-guided walking tour of Valletta. The city might be small, but it packs in centuries of history, stunning views, and more uphill climbs than our legs were ready for.
Once we got off the ship, it was a quick 20 minute walk over to the Barrakka Lift, which would save us quite a few steps for 2 euros total to bring us up to street-level.
One of our first stops was Jean de Valette Square, named after the founder of the city. Just around the corner is the open-air Royal Opera House, which was bombed during WWII and now serves as a striking mix of ruins and modern architecture. It’s a reminder of Malta’s resilience, standing right in the middle of daily life. There are still discussions if it will be rebuilt to its pre-WWII prominence.
Once inside Valletta, everything feels like a living museum, with every corner showing off its limestone buildings and colorful balconies. We then made our way to the Triton Fountain, which is right outside the city gate.
We wandered down Republic Street, which is lined with shops and cafés.
I asked one of the restaurants for a look at their menu. I was looking for the classic pastizzi (flaky pastry filled with ricotta or peas typically) and only saw overpriced food. I asked him if they had the pastizzi and he pointed to Spar (basically a 7/11) and said they would have them.
You could tell he was annoyed that I wasted his time and I mean I was annoyed he wasted mine with his overpriced food! We walked into Spar and tried the chicken and mushroom pastizzi. It was simple, cheap, and delicious. Exactly what I thought it would be!
We saw down to enjoy an Aperol Spritz and cool off in front of a fan. It was in the upper 80s and super sunny, so it was nice to relax in the shade with the fan blowing on us. I noticed a street food stand that had a qassatat, which was another Maltese food. This one is rounder and stuffed with ricotta – and it’s flaky and delicious and as good as it sounds. Except it was in the upper 80s and we weren’t already having a hard time staying cool. But both food dishes we tried were 10/10 – no notes. Malta knows what they are doing with their food!
Of course, no walk through Valletta is complete without a stop at the Upper Barrakka Gardens. The views over the Grand Harbour are some of the best in the city. It’s the kind of view that makes you stop talking for a minute just to take it all in.
It might be a view you recognize, because it’s actually been in a lot of different movies and TV shows!
Valletta is one of Europe’s smallest capitals and is a UNESCO world heritage site – it really is a gem.
We made our way back to the ship in time for one of our favorite games – will anyone accidentally miss the cruise ship? No one did yesterday! At least no one that we witnessed!
We had dinner in the Mediterranean restaurant on board and actually reconnected with one of the staff members from our first cruise, Jayson. It was fun – naturally he didn’t recognize us, but I put the pieces together right away. What a small world!
Up Next:
At Sea
Mykonos on Wednesday
Scribbles and Snapshots 