Every October, the schools in France takes 2 weeks off in October. It is a fantastic time for a school break…comes just before everyone starts to really burnout! This year we decided to go to Malta for a week of that time.  The trip there was probably the most frustrating travel day we’ve ever had in all of the years living and travelling in Europe!  We were supposed to fly out of CDG in Paris to Frankfurt, Germany and then take a connecting flight to Malta.  All of the flights that week were connections even though Malta is only 4 1/2 hours to fly direct. We boarded on time in Paris and then sat on the runway for an hour due to fog. By the time we arrived in Frankfurt, our other plane was boarding. We were told it knew we were late and we would make it, but when we got to the gate (and we rushed!!), they said it had ‘just’ closed and we couldn’t board. It is very frustrating to know your plane is sitting right there with your seats open on it and they won’t let you board (due to regulations etc.), especially knowing we were late due to fog etc. So, then it was an 8 hour wait int he airport and some intense discussions with customer service since all other flights were booked solid to Malta and we had to be put on a waiting list for a flight to see if passengers didn’t show up. Our trip was shortened as a result and we couldn’t lengthen it on the other end, because all the flights were booked as mentioned. So, luckily we were able to get on a plane which took much advocating and dealing with luggage transfers.  Especially since one of our suitcases had been put on another plane to Zurich for absolutely no reason, and we had to have a truck sent out to the plane to get our luggage off! It was just one big comical tragedy by the end, with many little things happening around the travel. Somehow though, we muscled our way onto a flight and arrived at our hotel at midnight.

The theme of travel problems followed us through the trip because while in Malta we had reserved a convertible to drive to the island of Gozo (and ferry), but then they were late bringing it to our hotel so we called and found out the convertible wasn’t available so they were trying to get us another car.  Again, we argued about the situation and 30 minutes later they show up with a convertible…so it worked out, but now we were late to go touring for the day. 🙂 Then to finish our ‘transportation’ issues, we were late getting to our shuttle on pick up day by 10 minutes because there was a mix up in the time of departure, and then our driver was very annoyed and drove like a maniac to get to the other hotels to pick up other people that had other flights. He literally had us on 2 wheels, flying around corners on the narrowest, windy roads. It was a miracle we made it to the airport at all. Then when we got to the airport an hour later in Malta, we waited in line only to hear that they had overbooked that flight and our names were on a list to ask if we could wait 4 hours at the airport to take a different flight through Rome to make room for other people on this flight that was our original booked flight!!!  We refused since we’d already given up the day to travel and didn’t want it to take until midnight again to get back to Paris.  We refused the offer to fly through Rome rather than Frankfurt, and got on our plane and everything worked out. But still, the ‘travel’ part of this trip was memorable for sure.

The rest was relaxing and warm and beautiful. Malta feels ancient in some ways.  Chris and I went to see some incredible historical sites that date back before the pyramids.  He really enjoyed the day that he and I went into Valletta to see the ruins and the old city. That day we also saw a memorial near their ‘city hall’ of  Daphne Galizia , the journalist who had just been killed in an attack for speaking openly about the problems with their government. There was a small camp of protesters and music being played with flowers piled at her memorial.

Probably my ‘best’ memory of Malta was having champagne and cupcakes for breakfast every day from the beautiful buffet breakfast at the resort.  Fun restaurant dinners and sunshine were Bri’s favourite part of the trip. She enjoyed the leather massage chair in our suite and sunning on our decks. There was a hospitality room on our floor and she went there everyday for complimentary drinks and food. In the city, we saw positive messages written on the side of a building; you don’t see that around very often.

Greg’s favourite moments were driving the convertible with him and Bri across the island of Gozo, and relaxing on the beaches we found. It was a quiet, relaxing holiday. Too cool to swim in the ocean, but warm enough to be outside in a bathing suit.

The resort was large and Greg and Bri relaxed on our deck or by the pool for at least part of each day.  The temperature was between 18 and 22 everyday. It was lovely. The ocean was all around the peninsula that we stayed on and we wished we had a little more time there in the end, because it is an island to explore!