Glockenspieling: Rolling Geeks

For our first full day in Malta, I booked a golf cart tour of the Three Cities through a company called Rolling Geeks. Rolling Geeks provide a private tour with a twist - your tour is conducted by driving an electric golf cart around town while being guided by a pre-programmed GPS with a corresponding audio track. You are in control at all times of how fast or slow you go and you are able to stop at any point (after pulling off of the road, of course) to get out and look around. Once you hop back in the GPS and guide pick up right where you left off. I figured that the girls would love it because we could cover a lot of ground with a lot less walking. B would enjoy the fact that he got to have an audio guidebook with him and I would relish in the fact that everyone was happy.

We pulled up to the Grand Harbour in Vittoriosa and were greeted by that same sparkling blue water we encountered last night and a lot of sunshine...

We quickly got situated in our golf cart and received a few lessons on how to work it all along with another reminder that the Maltese drive on the left side of the road. Since B was the only one that had remembered to bring his driver's license, he would be doing the driving and I would be doing the reminding to stay LEFT.

Ready to go, we followed our Rolling Geeks guide for a bit so that he could make sure that we were ok driving and following the GPS instructions. He gave us the thumbs up about 500 meters in and we were suddenly on our own. A bit apprehensive at first but the farther we went the more we settled into the left side driving, listening to the GPS and taking in the sights all at the same time. We did run into a few glitches (the GPS couldn't keep up with us a few times after we stopped to look around, a huge truck was parked in a tunnel we were supposed to drive through, sudden turns popped up after we had already passed them) but overall it was a fun way to spend a few hours in a part of Malta that often gets overlooked but definitely should not.

The Three Cities consist of Cospicua, Senglea, and Vittoriosa and lay claim to being the very beginnings of Maltese history. The harbors have been used since Phoenician times and have played a part in defending the country ever since. Driving through the streets we got a glimpse of how the locals really live and saw many of the sights...not that I could concentrate with all of that turquoise water staring at me...

Did you see that water???? It changed colors from every angle and as the light changed. And that building behind it - an old Army hospital - but the water was so much more interesting...

so we went back to wandering around the shore.

It was definitely time for a snack so we parked the cart and pulled up a table seaside.

Despite the look on her face here, we ALL enjoyed sitting in the sunshine. Me by enjoying the award-winning local beer.

Back in the cart, we continued winding our way through the tunnels and streets of Malta. We did hit a road block or two (literally) but it didn't deter us and we really enjoyed the tour.

We finished the tour just after noon and according to plan we were headed over to Valletta on the other side of the Grand Harbor for lunch. We hailed a traditional dgħajsa (water taxi) and truly enjoyed the 10-minute ride through the harbor to Valletta.

A typical dgħajsa.

As we pulled up to the dock, our driver told us that the boats would not be in the water for the next two days. They were filming a movie and closing the harbor. We came to find out that they would be filming the remake of Murder on the Orient Express with Johnny Depp and Michelle Pfeiffer. This picture is of the set being set up. We got to walk right through it to get to the city.

The only surviving fortification gate. It is named after Queen Victoria and leads you to the city of Valletta.

We walked up, up, up (stopping to try out the pay phone) and had a bite of lunch overlooking the harbor. Are you sensing a theme here? Nourished, we set out to inspect the city of Valletta - this time on foot.

The capital city of Malta, Valletta is the southernmost European capital and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Within its 55 square km, there are over 320 monuments making it one of the most concentrated historic places in the World. Don't worry - I won't go into detail about all 320 (not that we could have covered them all anyway) but we did see a few that are definitely worth mentioning, mostly the St. John Co-Cathedral.

Commissioned in 1571, and amazingly almost totally undamaged during the bombings in WWII, the cathedral is one of the most ornate and gorgeous I have ever seen. Everywhere I turned there was something new to behold because every single surface is gilded, painted, carved or inlaid. Even looking down you see that the marble floor is a series of tombs that house over 400 Knights and officers of the Order. It would have been overwhelming if it hadn't been so beautiful. I could post many pictures here - showing each of the 9 Chapels that shoot off of the main nave, and the statues and the floor and the tapestries. But it would make this post super long so I give you only a few (the rest will be on my SmugMug page soon if you are curious).

Still processing the beauty of the St. John's we stumbled upon another, much more humble church - The Collegiate Church of St. Paul's Shipwreck (quite a mouthful). St. Paul is considered the spiritual father of the Maltese. In the year 60 A.D., St. Paul wrecked his ship on the island on his way to Rome and became the first person to bring Christianity to the population. Arguably the oldest and one of the most important churches in Malta it is also in need of many repairs. I was shocked at the disparity of the two churches and wish I had more pictures to document their differences but I only snapped one picture inside before finding and reading the sign that says that photographs were not allowed. So, you will have to take my word for it.

Back out in the sunshine, Stinkerbell decided to ham it up a bit...

B and I decided that it had been a pretty long day of sightseeing so we would check the last box and head back for some dinner and a swim before bed. We walked the short distance to the Siege Bell Monument and sure enough, there was a playground for the kids. We let them play while we checked out the view and finally called it a day. We did have 2 more full days after all!