St Julian, Malta (March 2020)

General
Malta is an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of three islands, namely Malta, Gozo, and Comino, which are called collectively the Maltese Islands. Altogether, Malta has a landmass of 316 square km. A small nation. with a population of approximately 500,000 inhabitants or 600,000 if you include the foreign expats living there.

But, its location being right in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea and very close to the Sisily of Italy is strategically very important to other nations. Thus, it has suffered from numerous attacks from a number of countries and empires. The Romans, the Ottomans, the Phoenicians, to name a few.

In addition to Malta's flag, the country uses another flag more widely. It is Malta's Navy Flag that is also used for its merchant activities.

Its capital city is Valleta, which is full of historic sites and buildings. Kristin and I stayed in Malta for 5 days, including 2 days which we had to stay because Turkish Airways refused our boarding because Turkey did not allow anyone who was in Spain or Germany to even pass through Istanbul Airport if they did not complete the 14-day quarantine period. We ended up staying in Malta for two additional days and took Qatar Airways to pass through Doha to return to Thailand.

St Julian
We stayed at a hotel at Balluta Bay within St Julian Local Council, one of 68. It is a beautiful small bay with a breath-taking view.

There was a water polo pool right across from the hotel. 

We dined at a few restaurants in the neighbors and we thoroughly enjoyed a restaurant called U Bistrot where we ended up eating three times. Foods were excellent, services were impeccable and the ambiance was cozy.

This is U Bistrot Restaurant and the last meal before we left the following day.

We walked around the neighborhoods to Spinola Bay to the north. The bay was picturesque and full of restaurants and cafes. We ate twice in this area: once hamburgers at Cuba Restaurant and the other time at a Greek restaurant. Both of them were very satisfying.

While we were in Malta, our journey centered around the Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour, consisting of South Route and North Route, and Harbor Cruise. Thus, my travel blog posts will follow the journey. - Jeffrey