www.sundaylife.co.uk
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48 | MORE2LIFE
TRAVEL HOW THIS GREAT LITTLE GEM HAS NOW BECOME MORE
AWE INSPIRING: The magnificent interior of St John’s Cathedral
FACTBOX
easyJet flies direct to Malta
from Belfast International
Airport every Tuesday and
Saturday. Fares from £25.99
one way, including taxes.
Book now on:
www.easyJet.com
n For more information on
what to see and do in Malta,
visit www.visitmalta.com
HOTELS
Westin Dragonara Resort
hotel, St Julian’s. Perched on
a 74,000-square-metre
private peninsula, the Westin
Dragonara is surrounded by
the sparkling turquoise waters
of the Mediterranean. Opulent
grounds and historic buildings
complete the picture.
www.westin.com/malta
Xara Palace Relais &
Chateaux
www.xarapalace.com.mt.
RECOMMENDED
RESTAURANTS
n Dolce Vita, Spinola Bay, St
Julian’s. Great view across the
Bay from inside or from the
outdoor terrace. Serving
speciality Mediterranean
seafood dishes.
www.ladolcevita.com.mt
n Da Pippo Restaurant, 136
Melita Street, Valletta,
lunchtime only.Simple
Maltese cooking, extremely
popular — you need to book.
n Giannini restaurant,
fine dining, situated above
St Michael’s bastions,
Valletta
Sunday Life 06 MARCH 2011
MY NIGHTS OF MALTA
JIM GRACEY
REASONS to go to Malta? The
sun, the sea, the food, the wine,
the people and value for money,
but, above all, the history.
Three and a half hours’ flying
time from Belfast lies seven
thousand years of history and
you can sample it all in four or
five days.
Malta has always been a
place of refuge — either that or
under siege.
Greeks, Romans, Arabs,
Italians, Brits, Germans and a
myriad of religious orders have
variously settled or sacked the
place, each leaving their stamp
in one way or another.
The result is a Mediterranean
melting pot, quite literally in
high summer, with more histo-
ry packed into its 124 square
miles than most large countries.
It was also the most bombed
place on the planet for two years
between 1940 and 42, withstand-
ing 3,000 German and Italian air
raids to play a pivotal role in win-
ning the second world war in the
Med and north African theatres.
06 MARCH 2011 Sunday Life
Stunning Mediterranean island is steeped
in sunshine and history in equal measure
The resistance of the Maltese
population and their British gar-
rison earned the George Cross
Island its proudly borne honour
for gallantry, the highest the UK
monarchy can confer, and the
only time it has ever been
bestowed on an entire nation.
Now Malta is in the news
again, welcoming evacuees
from the crisis in Libya.
A safer haven you could not
envisage.
With a population of just
400,000, Malta has much in
common with Northern Ireland
in punching above its weight on
the world stage.
Our affinity goes back gener-
ations to wartime service, Royal
Navy and Air Force postings,
religious pilgrimages, charita-
ble links, such as the Knights of
Malta order, and the good, old
package holiday.
STONE ME: The
fortifications around
the Maltese capital
show that this was an
island under siege
Northern Ireland people have
been going on holiday to Malta
since the sunbed was invented,
mostly to the resort of St Paul's.
Now you can add the friendly
little isle to the list of easily
accessible short break destina-
tions available to us, thanks to
the advent of a new easyJet
service from Belfast
International, flying every
Tuesday and Saturday.
On a longer stay, take in the
adjoining island of Gozo or a
day trip to Sicily, by hydrofoil,
60 miles away.
Just go for the sun, if you
like, but to visit Malta without
delving into its history and cul-
ture would be a missed oppor-
tunity of epic proportions.
I know, I was that tourist, I
realised, standing transfixed
before the iconic work of art
that is The Beheading Of John
The Baptist by the brilliant but
criminally insane Italian artist
Caravaggio.
View it in wonder in the awe-
some St John's Cathedral in the
centre of the capital Valletta.
With its beautifully crafted
stone and woodwork and paint-
ed ceilings, I found it more
inspiring than the Sacre Couer
in Paris, the Duomo in Milan or
the imposing Cologne
Cathedral in Germany.
Learn the history, too ... the
story of the knights who ruled
ancient Malta and of how they
took in the demented
Caravaggio, on the run from a
murder rap in Italy, only for
him to go off the rails again
after completing his greatest
masterpiece; the only painting
on which his signature appears,
incidentally — in the Baptist's
blood, of course.
www.sundaylife.co.
ACCESSIBLE TO ULSTER HOLIDAYMAKERS
I'd been to Malta before, for
football, and seen no more
than the airport, hotel and sta-
dium.
If I'd looked beyond the
floodlights, I'd have noticed the
towering ramparts of the mag-
nificent medieval city of
Mdina, Malta’s first capital city
during the reign of the knights.
To walk through its silent,
narrow, bending streets,
PERFECTION: The
view at sunset from
the Dragonara Westin
designed so as to disrupt the
flight of arrows, was serenity
in the late afternoon February
sun.
The must-see here is the 15th
century Palazzo Falzon resi-
dence and its amazing collec-
tion of arts and crafts. Then on
to the fortifications, from
HISTORIC:
Mdina was
once the
capital of
Malta
which you can see the whole
island and sea beyond.
Here we were shown around
just about the most desirable
and exclusive boutique hotel
imaginable — by none other
than the head of the family
who own and run the place, the
island's High Commissioner
Joseph Zammit Tabona.
The Xara Palace Relais &
Chateaux, originally home to
Maltese nobility, is now a
Mdina landmark and the last
word in luxury with 17 individ-
ually designed suites, all with
panoramic views.
To spoil yourself would cost
between 800 and 1,200 euro for
a four-night package, depend-
ing on season.
The Dragonara Westin, where
we stayed, at St Julian’s, is a bit
closer to the average budget.
Malta is one big battlement,
not surprising given the early
threat from seaborne invaders,
and you can still see where
those bastions came back into
play as anti-aircraft batteries
during the last great global
conflict that defined the
island's modern day identity.
Where German
bombers once screamed down,
Valletta's regenerated water-
dive
front is now buzzing with bars
and restaurants.
If the food is superb, a fusion
of Italian and Arab influences,
the wine is Malta's best kept
secret. They don't make
enough to export but the red
from the Meridiana vineyard is
too good to keep to themselves.
And here is where Malta also
scores. Dinner for two, with
wine, averages at 60 euro at the
top end to half that in brilliant
little bistros.
Good beer is 2.80 euro a pint
and, when asking what we
owed when four of us sat down
for coffee in the sun in
Valletta's main square, back
came the answer: four euro.
As each of us fetched out the
amount, we were politely cor-
rected: “That's for all of you.”
A journey back in time,
indeed.
LATE BREAKS THE
BEST TRAVEL DEALS
EUROPA TRAVEL
Flying from Belfast International
Airport:
n Fuerteventura, 1 week SC,
dep April 23, £426pp; Lanzarote, room caters for 2 adults and 2
1 week SC, dep April 24, £416pp; children or 3 adults.
Turkey, 1 week SC, dep April 24,
£493pp; Salou, 1 week SC, dep
April 24, £319pp; Salou, 1 week
3-star HB, dep April 24, £384pp;
Salou, 1 week 4-star HB, dep
April 24, £455pp; Salou, 1 week
3-star AI, dep April 24,
£455pp; Sharm el
Sheikh, 1 week 3-star
AI, dep April 26,
£599pp.
Flying from London:
n Sri Lanka, 1 week
4-star B&B, dep
Heathrow May 12,
£631pp; Mombasa, 1
week 4-star HB, dep
May 8, dep Heathrow BARGAIN: Turkey
May 8, £769pp; Tobago,
1 week 3-star RO, dep Gatwick
June 9, £783pp; Phuket, 1 week
4-star RO, dep Heathrow May 1,
£827pp; Koh Samui, 8 nights 4-
star B&B, dep Heathrow May 27,
£923pp; Langkawi, 1 week 4-star
RO, dep Heathrow June 4,
£995pp.
n For more information, call
9062 3211 or visit
www.europatravel.com
TRAVELODGE
Travelodge Ireland is selling
19,000 rooms at €19; and then
sale prices will range between
€25 and €45 until 50,000 rooms n Ring 00 3531 775 9300 or
have been sold. Availability is
MORE2LIFE | 49
from March 6 to October 31. At
Travelodge, you only pay for the
room and not the number of
people occupying it. A family
There are four Travelodges in
Dublin (Rathmines, Ballymun,
Swords and Castleknock), two in
Limerick (Ennis Road and
Castletroy) and one hotel each in
Cork, Galway, Belfast, Waterford
and Derry.
n For more
information, visit
www.travelodge.ie.
CONCORDE TRAVEL
Concorde are
encouraging people to
travel to Croatia and
Montenegro flying
direct from Belfast
between May 22 and
September 25.
The following packages
include accommodation, flights
and transfers:
n Dubrovnik, 1 week SC in 3-star
apartments Antuninska, from
€524pp; Dubrovnik, 1 week B&B
at the 3-star Hotel Komodor,
from €700pp; Mljet island, 1
week at the 3-star Hotel Odisej,
from €754pp; Montenegro, 1
week B&B at the 4-star Hotel
Queen of Montenegro, from
€744pp; Makarska, 1 week B&B
at the 4-star Hotel Osejava,from
€750pp;
Flights only from €410pp.
visit www.concordetravel.ie