maltese fishing boats

Traditional Maltese boats are even more colorful than the buses. As far as I can tell, there are at least three different types of boats: luzzu, dghajsa, and kaajjik... but I'm not sure which one of those this boat is. In any case, they're used for fishing and ferrying. This boat was in Marsaxlokk, Malta's largest fishing village.

maltese buses

Buses on Malta are white and orange and of varying ages. Apparently most, if not all, buses are privately owned, usually by the person behind the wheel. In effect, some buses have names: "Paradise Garage," "Lady Jane," "Love of My Life." 

On a related note, a bus ride costs €0.47. That's 47 euro cents. Unless you're going farther, in which case it costs you €0.54. Most prices in Malta seem to be in these odd numbers, probably due to the fact that Malta just switched to the Euro in January, but that's just my guess.

fort st. elmo

Fort St. Elmo (and whatever building is across the street from it) in Valletta, Malta

merħba minn malta (hello from malta)

This weekend finds me in Malta. I didn't quite plan on coming to Malta, but found myself with a few days up for grabs, looked up flights on a whim, and the next day arrived in Sliema. Today I wandered around Malta's capital city, Valletta, and the much older, quieter city of Mdina. I'm not really exaggerating when I say that everything is made of limestone: buildings, city streets, field fences, everything. Globigernia limestone, to be exact.

manarola, cinque terre

A (stitched) panorama of Manarola in Cinque Terre.

l'ombrello giallo

Is it still considered eavesdropping if you can't understand what's being said? Either way, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I just liked her yellow umbrella.

cinque terre

This is the end of a week's stay in Cinque Terre. The weather report before I came promised a pretty bleak week, but I've had at least three gorgeous days of full sun, so in the end I've been able to enjoy the area under all circumstances, from hiking the complete coastal trail in lovely sun to cuddling up with endless cups of tea, listening to the rain from our little hostel's terrace overlooking Riomaggiore. Need I say it has all been very relaxing?