To Drive or Not to Drive…

Whenever we travel, one of the major questions during the planning phase is - do we rent a car or use public transportation? One must consider many factors before they jump into a one-ton piece of metal and venture into the land of the unknown. Cost tradeoffs, the availability of public transportation, and time considerations are just a few of things that needed to be mulled over before we made our decision. Going into this trip it appeared to be a simple decision:  a) A car would give us the flexibility we desire to explore the island on our schedule.  b) A car hire in Malta was just too reasonable to pass up.  c) And although there is great public transportation, time was our major factor.  Rent a car for this trip - Check that off the list of things to do!

We did pause to weigh the British factor. Malta does follow the UK rules of driving on the left with the steering wheel on the right. I have driven on the left in the Caribbean with no problems, and the availability of automatic transmission cars made the decision easier. I do not think I would be comfortable driving on the left and shifting gears with my left hand in reverse order. I am ambidextrous, as well as, dyslexic so things on the other side and backwards sometimes make sense. However, in this case, a manual shift car just seemed too big of challenge. With the automatic just a few euros more, I was comfortable with reserving a vehicle.


Fast forward a few days… Janet begins looking at the latest copy of Virginia Living Magazine and lo and behold, the travel section’s featured article is “Marvelous Malta”. The publication has beautiful photos splashed all over the pages making us say - YES, we made the right decision! Janet begins reading aloud and in the first sentence (I am not kidding) the author writes, “…whatever you do, do not rent a car”. There is a pause in her reading as we both stare at each other. The author goes on to recount where he has driven, (some of which I have said sorry no car... we will be using public transportation) and why Malta is the worst place he has ever driven. He gets the rent a car from the airport to his hotel where he parks it for the rest of the week. Uh Oh – do we need to cancel the car? It is time to do some serious research on driving in Malta!

So querying the repository of all information in the world, GOOGLE, the first item I find is the following quote:

"In the United Kingdom they drive on the left, in the United States they drive on the right. In Malta we drive in the shade and try to avoid the potholes!."

Even the official tourist website for Malta states, “If you intend to rent a car and drive in Malta, it is advisable to take out comprehensive insurance.”

(Picture from Malta Today 29 September 2015)

Drilling down further into the subject, I was amazed to find a plethora of YouTube Videos documenting driving experiences in Malta.  One of the videos captured a US driver and a Maltese driver squaring off in a small back street.  Not a pretty story... Not sure I would call the American an ambassador of good will either.

After watching just a few of these video shorts, I was second guessing my initial decision regarding driving. I am positive Janet’s ankle would not be able to take the pressure of slamming her foot to the floorboard continuously, and I was concerned that my ears would have a constant ringing from my name being screamed at close range frequently and often.  So real were these concerns that I had a dream last week where I was back in Cairo during rush hour.  Cars were everywhere, and my iPod was on full volume.  The cars horns beeping and the rock opera Tommy blaring in my ears...

Honk Honk Honk Tommy Honk Tommy Honk Tommy Tommy Tommy can you hear me?

HMMMM… what should we do?

I am glad we had the foresight and were wise enough not to pick up the rent a car at the airport after 20 hours of traveling.  Experiencing the roads on Malta for the first time exhausted is and would be a bad plan. A cab driver will be waiting at the airport for us with one of those nice little signs saying Tom and Janet.  Ahh... the music in my head stops.

Malta does offer an Explore Card for €21 (€15 for children) that gives you unlimited bus travel for 7 days around the island. Sounds good, but these buses stop everywhere and a short 20-minute drive can become a 1 hour 15 minute adventure. However, I would guess the chances of arriving safely increases dramatically, and the frustration of looking for a parking place disappears.

With unlimited travel, the 7-Day Explore Card offers the transportation needed to explore all parts of the islands, and it also includes buses on Gozo. One can hop on or off as many times as you want, at any time. It appeared an alternative plan was developing.  So I reached out for advice on a travel board (TTOL) which I participate on.  My hope was to receive some advice or words of encouragement on this topic.  Only received one response, but it was enough.  At last we made a decision to stick with the car and be in control of our own density.

With our driving decision made, my other conundrum with vehicles in Malta needed to be addressed. I did some research, and may have found a way to eliminate my concerns about parking. I discovered that Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (Mother Cabrini) is the unofficial patron saint of parking spaces. She is also known, and more importantly, as the patron saint of immigrants. God knows she is a busy woman these days, but hopefully she will hear my prayer when I say, “Mother Cabrini, Mother Cabrini, please find a spot for my little auto machini.” 

Now I know some of you pre-Vatican II Catholics will go with St Anthony as your stand by for parking places, but it appears Mother Cabrini, the first US citizen to be canonized as a saint, has moved into his spot. (excuse the pun) 

So now, I am no longer worried about parking or driving in Malta! However, thoughts and prayers are still welcome.

Pre-Trip: You are going where?

Why Malta?

Malta has been on my bucket list as a location to visit since I was in Miss Slattery's sixth grade geography class. (I am the good looking kid on the front row.) There was just something about being in the middle of the Mediterranean that caught my attention. If you ask my mom she would tell you geography was one of the few courses  I did well in (translated...passed with something higher than a C-) during my school years.



This island nation, often referred to “as the gem in the heart of the Mediterranean”, has played a major role in civilization since prehistoric times. Temples built in the fourth millennium BC, which predate the Great Pyramids and Stonehenge, can still be explored today. In fact a short ferry ride to this neighboring island of Gozo, one can see the temples in Ġgantija, which are considered the oldest, surviving, freestanding monuments in the world. But it was the allure of the Knights of Hospitaller (aka the Knights of St. John), who battled the Turks, the Moors, the Barbary pirates and ruled this island nation for 250 years that was just to great of a draw for this school boy. A pilgrimage was in order, and indeed now 47 years later the time has come.

Where is it?

Malta is part of Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The islands of Malta, Gozo, and Comino are the three inhabited islands of this southern European chain, which lies 50 miles south of Sicily, 170 miles east of Tunisia, and 200 miles north of Libya.

Thank You Google Maps

Malta, the largest island in the archipelago, is only 16 miles by 20 miles in size. Yet with 450,000 inhabitants it is one of the most densely populated nations in the world. The three islands, connected by short ferry rides, will definitely be explored and photographed…Promise! Malta is a very popular vacation destination of Europeans in the summer months, so it is our hope by traveling in April we will be able to avoid the masses at the cost of warm water. This time of year, the 65 degrees water temperature may be great for those who live in Cape Cod, but for these Caribbean spoiled swimmers, we may only do a plunge.

Isn’t it the place where Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin met at the end of WWII?

Well close… Two out of three were there. Roosevelt and Churchill met in Malta in early February, 1945 before the big three met in Yalta, which is in the Ukraine. The primary purpose was to insure that England and the U.S. remained under one command structure for the ongoing invasion of Germany, and plan on how to deal with Russians as they moved westward. This is just one moment in history on this island that plays gateway between Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. From the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, the Normans, the Crusades, the Turks, the French and the British and their role in World Wars I and II, Malta has been in the thick of world history. Because of their past, Malta has an interesting blend of culture and language. Maltese and English are both the official languages of the island. The Maltese language is unique in that the words are primarily Semitic, but it is written in the Latin alphabet.  

For example, while preparing for our trip, we researched Maltese cuisine and found a recipe called “Stuffat tal-Majjal”. The dish sure looks like a North African word, but when translated to English it means Pork Stew. There is not much chance the origins of this amazing dish were in the Arab world. 

Quick Off Ramp: We did make Stuffat tal-Majjal and found it to be wonderful stew. I did adapt the recipe, but if you click on the Fun Things tab on the side of blog it will take you to the original recipe and my adapted version. I had no Maltese Wine on hand so we went with a Sicilian Nero d'Avola that paired very well. Give it a shot - Igwadu! (Maltese for - Enjoy!)

Really?

ABSOLUTELY! This adventure starts on the last day of March, and has the potential to be a very special couple of weeks. We depart from Philadelphia and fly direct to Rome. Transferring in Rome for the final leg to Malta, we will arrive late afternoon on Friday 1 April. Believe me the irony of the date has not escaped my attention. This whole trip has occurred spontaneously in the last two weeks, and amazingly all the pieces have come together. Seven days in Malta will be followed by a day in Rome as we do our version of a Cruise Ship visit. How does one see a world capital in a day? Well stay tune and we will find out together.

Upon our return to Philadelphia, we will leave directly by train to New York for three days. Last summer I was lucky enough to get two tickets to the David Gilmour (Pink Floyd Guitarist) concert in Madison Square Garden. Believe me; I have been counting the days since last July when I scored the tickets at face price online.



The concert sold out in 6 minutes! 

So now feeling very cosmopolitan with a whirlwind trip to the continent and back for a major entertainment event in the Big Apple the next 7 days cannot come fast enough.

Although recent terrorist activities will not stop our plans; they are serious enough to put us on full alert. Our situational awareness in the coming weeks will be at a heighten state, whether we are in Europe or New York. It is unfortunate the actions of a few have injured, maimed, or murdered innocent people, however to succumb to them and become an isolationist means they have won.

Je Suis New York, Paris, Brussels, the World!

Oh yeah... And as always - comments are welcomed! If you are having problems posting a comment to the blog, please check out Comment Help on the right side under Fun Things.  (OK it is not very fun, but I did not know where else to put it)