Exploring the vibrant streets of VALLETTA, MALTA

Exploring the vibrant streets of VALLETTA, MALTA

Hello hi we’re still in Malta we are! welcome back we’re currently in on right on the waterfront in Sliema aren’t we? yes but we’re off on a trip about to get the ferry we’re off to Valletta! [Music] thank you see you later Sliema we’re off to Valletta and we’re off! wow it’s quite a wake it is isn’t it? we’re nearly there yeah on terra firma he’s lovely isn’t he? hello lovely I hope he’s happy the traffic looks fun doesn’t it I don’t fancy driving around in that no! everybody says don’t bother don’t they don’t bringing a car so if you hire a car that’s fine just don’t bother bringing it to Valletta, it’s not worth it we decided to start our tour of the city at the top overlooking St Elmo Bay and slowly make our way down to the Triton Fountain and we’d just see what we could find along the way coming down towards St Elmo’s Fort who’s St Elmo? don’t know from Sesame Street? yes from Sesame Street! all places, all films shot in lower St Elmo they’re very pleased with themselves as being a film location that’s looking across the Three Cities, we’re going there another day that’s the Siege Bell isn’t it there oh will look at this? that’s a really good shot of the Three Cities so we’ve got one two and then three wow that’s amazing somebody important coming through I wonder who that was? they had they weren’t on the horse no they weren’t on the horse ah do love a handy map! [sound of a siren] what have we done? dunno! we appear be at war! I do love these gallarijas look at those bells it’s beautiful isn’t it so I think that’s where we’re headed I think that’s St John’s Co-Cathedral but I could be wrong let’s find out there’s so many of them around here it’s hard to tell isn’t it yeah yes we were wrong it’s not the cathedral we’re looking for it’s just a small church it’s just an amazing church gosh oh look at the fish! oh Aladdin Heating and lighting that looks like an old ghost sign doesn’t it? this is Merchant Street they have a lot of shops Makes sense yep so if we head this way we should finally reach our Cathedral fingers crossed be shut today don’t say that! around the corner entrance is around the corner I’ve just seen oh ok so let’s go this way the cathedral is very popular so we had to queue for about 20 minutes to get in luckily there was entertainment on hand to pass the time oh! goodness me! good grief I think they like gold here wow the Sacristy we’re about to go into ah my goodness these floors are amazing beautiful the GoPro is absolutely not doing this justice at all the colours on the GoPro look quite yellowy but this is the warmest of gold it’s it’s stunning wow this beautiful crucifix was painted by Caravaggio we’re going into the Oratory wow where the paintings are also Caravaggio oh my goodness that roof sparkles again there’s a Caravaggio and it’s depicting the beheading of John the Baptist wow wow gosh so according to my guide the ceiling took six years to paint he’s done pretty well hasn’t he? comment below the line if you have a house that’s taken longer to do! goodness me wow as you might expect these things, these beautiful places need a lot of maintenance it must be an ongoing task mustn’t it? yes you’ve heard of painting the Forth Bridge, well this is painting St John’s Co-Cathedral wow this Chapel is dedicated to St George we have a cat called George I don’t think that’s who they’re referring to it’s almost as though we’re on holiday I’m saying gosh wow this place is ‘insert phrase here’ the art is wonderful this is the Chapel to the language of Provence the crypt! you can go no further than these were behind little glass partition the ceiling is painted wow after taking in the wonders of St John’s Co-Cathedral it was time to find some lunch this is Saint Lucia Street full of lovely cafés one of our favourite things to do is to find a food market and we found one and a glass of Kinnie please the Big Reveal! just just a light snack! yum so this is Kinnie and this is Naomi drinking it this is our first try it’s a a Maltese soft drink everybody says you must try it but it’s a bit of an acquired taste let’s find out man that’s delicious that’s really nice! it’s not quite as strong as I thought it’s was going to be actually it’s quite nice I quite like that I think that it’s very nice I drink that again most definitely does taste a bit like the late ’70s, early ‘ 80s doesn’t it? it does yes which is why I’m trying to place it that’s not bad, I’d rather have this but… it’s lovely isn’t it? let’s investigate after refuelling ourselves at the Indoor Food Market we spent the afternoon enjoying the sunshine and exploring the streets of Valletta everywhere you turn there’s yet another beautiful street it’s wonderful Gallarija everywhere and sparrows let’s go and have a look at some gardens Look at the trees beautiful aren’t they and the wind swept aren’t they the pink is lovely isn’t it it’s almost purple but not quite we’re in Hastings Gardens come around the corner oooooh!! so just here is the church that’s not far from our hotel what a view this is lovely gosh shall we continue? yes lets! we wanted to head to the saluting battery for the 4 o’clock gun salute but before that could we find that fountain? and so after start starting at the top we’ve now reached the bottom of the city and in the distance you can see the new City Gates which we’re about to go through we are at the Upper Barrakka Gardens somewhere very special this is my Dad and he came here in 1947 we think we found where he stood so we’ve come back to to watch the Saluting Battery see if we can find the photographs the views of photographs that he took just after the war we’ve found where my Dad’s stood just here so this is for my Dad Are you excited for the cannon fire? perfect that’s very good ’cause we’re actually firing one in 15 minutes so if want to join us down here for the cannon fire all you have to do is to walk down the stairs behind you down to the reception of the Saluting Battery and buy your ticket and a puss cat came too! I’m afraid you have to be 5 metres from the cannons but with the invention of the first portable seagoing clock by the English clock maker John Harrison in 1735 the sounding of the midday gun in ports became an all important and expected public necessity this place remained in constant military use until 1956 when its saluting guns were silenced forever that’s a cute little road train with so many characterful bars and cafes it seemed foolish not to take in some liquid refreshment [Music] I come bearing drinks! cheers honey happy birthday! Church! oh my goodness look at that dome! wow what a piece of architecture it’s a different kind of amazing isn’t it? it is differently awe inspiring isn’t it? wow back at the water back at the ferry bye Valletta! thank you you’ve been lovely quite lovely [Music] and we are back in Sliema easy peasy lemon squeezy! and you return to this gorgeous view of Valletta in the evening sunshine wonderful did you have a nice day? it was brilliant wasn’t it? very much recommend Valletta absolutely big fans big fans lovely but we haven’t finished oh no there’s more to come oh yeah! stay tuned yes please so if you enjoyed the video give it a thumbs up maybe subscribe it’s completely free ding! and it really helps helps us out helps us grow the channel we really appreciate it and we’ll catch you next time [Music]

Join us on our continuing adventures in Malta! This time, we’re exploring the capital city, Valletta.

We hop on the ferry from Sliema (only €3.80 return).

We find out whether it’s worth hiring a car on Malta…

We start at St Elmo’s Fort and work our way down to the Triton Fountain at the gates of the city

We see the Siege Bell and try to work our what the air raid siren is for. Do let us know in the comments if you know what it was for!

Merchant Street is a great place for souvenir shopping and takes us to St John’s Co-Cathedral. You MUST visit this beautiful place – it’s quite awe inspiring! How often do you get to see Caravaggio paintings in the place they were created for?

Lunch time! We head to the Food Market and tuck into lovely poke bowls and wash it down with Kinnie, Malta’s own soft drink. Delish! Can you buy it in the UK??

Hastings Garden is a lovely quiet place and check out the views across to the Three Cities.

The Saluting Battery turns out to be an emotional place for Naomi. #missyouDad

It’s Neil’s birthday so we celebrate with a drink (or two) at Café Society on Triq San Gwann. A lovely spot with a great vibe.

We pop into The Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel which was rebuilt after WWII as the original was destroyed in the war. Then back across the water for a final look at the gorgeous view of the city.

Thanks for supporting our channel. 👍
Contact us on Twitter @GrapeSodaYT
Instagram @grapesodatravels
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?…
Support us by buying us a coffee over on https://ko-fi.com/grapesodatravels
It really helps us to continue to develop our skills and go on travels!

Photo credit: Nathan Hughes Hamilton (Flickr)
CC BY 2.0 DEED
Attribution 2.0 Generic