Med or Atlantic? St. Paul's Bay, Malta actually

WillowTheWhisp · 15-06-2006, 09:49

I'd never before seen the Med looking as steely grey as this.

jambutty · 15-06-2006, 10:20

I’ve seen the Med in its quiet moments with the sea like a mill pond and when all hell breaks loose. It doesn’t look rough like in the North Atlantic but the swell can be some 30 feet from peak to trough.

BOB · 15-06-2006, 11:26

Yes Willow I Know The Spot Must Have Been There Same Week As You Tuesday Morning Flight 535 Mt Travel I Stayed At The St Marie Hotel

West Ender · 15-06-2006, 22:17

I go to Malta twice a year. In March I was staying at the Coastline Hotel in Salina Bay and we had a couple of very windy, stormy days. The sea was crashing over the road and spray was hitting the hotel gardens. It was the same when we went to Buggiba for an afternoon, huge waves crashing on to the sea-front. It was just like being at Blackpool.

Two days later the sun was hot again and we (my eldest daughter and I) went to Mellieha Bay where I usually stay. The Maltese were out with tractors to clear that beautiful beach of all the black sea-weed and detritus the sea had brought up.

Lampman · 17-06-2006, 12:45

Youv'e all got me worried as we are holidaying in Malta in a couple of weeks,should we take a brolly?
Incidentally I have stayed at the Coastline,nice hotel though a bit in the middle of nowhere.
I like Malta,but it has always puzzled me why they don't import some sand and make a few beaches instead of the rocky areas they have.
I could stay all day overlooking Valetta harbour(if my wife's shopping trips didn't interfere!
Can't wait.

WillowTheWhisp · 17-06-2006, 12:58

Maybe the answer to your question Lampman lies with those crashing waves. If they imported sand it would probably end up all being washed out to sea!

There are a few small beaches if you know where to look.

We got some crashing waves too. I wouldn't worry too much about the weather though. Even if it rains it won't last all week and it will be nice and warm the rest of the time.

West Ender · 17-06-2006, 16:10

Lampman, I usually stay at the Riu Seabank in Mellieha bay which has the island's largest sandy beach. I used to stay at the Paradise Bay which also has lovely small beaches and, of course, there's Golden Sands if you can afford a 5* hotel - it's ve-e-e-e-ry expensive (so I don't stay there).

All the sandy beaches are in the North, or on Gozo, and I like the quietness up there but I think part of Malta's charm is the rocky coastline further South.

Oh, I always take my umbrella to Malta. Four years ago I got caught in a "monsoon" in Valletta and it rained like I've rarely seen before. All the karrozin drivers crowded, with their horses, under the arch and everyone was drenched. It only lasted half an hour, though, and then it was 35'C again and brilliant sunshine.

cashman · 17-06-2006, 23:33

malta is a fabulous place have been a couple of times,and the maltezers

are lovely people,must have been lucky though never degged it down just sunshine.

jambutty · 18-06-2006, 08:49

It is some 40 years since I last hit the streets of Malta. Valletta to be precise and to be even more precise Strait Street better known then as The Gut. Door to door bars and restaurants on both sides of the street from top to bottom and it was a long, long street. Most were sleazy and sold their local hooch that we nicknamed ‘Screech’ as well as the usual drinkable alcohol. It was a potent white wine I think, although it defied classification. Great for polishing salt sprayed brasses on the upper deck though and a first rate paint stripper. It was almost impossible to drink it neat. You had to have something like orangeade with it to make it slightly palatable.

The beer was Hop Leaf.

One bar, aptly named Dirty Dick’s Bar (The House For Cocktails) 144b, 144c Strait Street, Valletta, Prop J Attard opposite Ciko’s Restaurant handed out small booklets with this printed on the back.
I’m out for the night
If I get drunk, tie this label
to my button hole and
SEND ME HOME
Name ……………..…
Address ……………..
Do not knock, but ring the bell,
And if the Mrs. comes, run like ‘HELL’.

Inside would be printed some pearls of wisdom. Like:
ME FADDER

When I reached the age of three
Who took me on his bony knee
Showed me the proper way to pee
ME FADDER

When I’d often miss the pan
(As you very simply can)
Who said “now hold it like a man.”
ME FADDER

As years began to pass
I’d pee to yards into a glass
And if I missed who’d kick me arse.
ME FADDER

Now I can pee both high and low
Or from a great height in a po
Who was it taught me all I know.
ME FADDER

If you would be as good as me
At this noble art of pee
Who d’you think’s the bloke to see.
ME FADDER

And
ME MUDDER

When my prayers were early said
Who tucked me up in my widdle bed
And spanked my bum till it was red.
ME MUDDER

Who lifted me from my cosy cot
And sat me on an ice cold pot
And made me pee if I could not.
ME MUDDER

And when the morning light had come
And in my crib I dribbled some
Who wiped my tiny liddle bum
ME MUDDER

Who did my hair so neatly part
And pressed me gently to her heart
And sometimes squeezed me till I’d fart
ME MUDDER

lettie · 18-06-2006, 09:17

Me and Sparks had the worst holiday ever in Malta last year. Don't get me wrong, on the whole the island was lovely. We enjoyed Valetta and found beautiful beaches at Mellieha Bay and Golden Bay. We stayed in Bugibba which is like Blackpool with the sun. It's way too touristy and strewn with dog muck.
Our accommodation was the pits......filthy, cockroach infested and ramshackle. despite the brochure claiming that it had been fully renovated I very much doubt whether this place had seen more than a dab of silicone sealant in years. If you are unfortunate enough to end up in Bugibba, get the first bus out of there and explore the island and........do not stay at the Medallion Court.. The following link was my review on Trip Advisor. I am pleased to say that we did receive some compensation for this holiday..

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._of_Malta.html

junetta · 19-06-2006, 00:44

I lived in Malta for a couple of years back in the mid seventies, in fact, my daughter was born there.

My husband sold his brother down Strait Street one night for a couple of bottles of Marsavin (the local red wine)..........lol. Lovely stuff, it cost about a pound for a crate in those days or if you wanted a posh bottle 35 cents! It needed lemonade added for the first few glasses!

We lived close to Valetta and my favourite beach was in St Thomas Bay, just past Marsasloxx, spelling could be wrong, but it was nice and sandy and reasonably peaceful.

I've been back three or four times since, usually with my daughter, and have found that nothing much changes even after all these years. One of my favourite days out is to catch the bus in Valetta up to Mdina, the silent city. Just to sit there and look, wonderful.

A lovely island with wonderful people.

jambutty · 19-06-2006, 08:51

I wonder, do the passengers still cross themselves when they board a bus?

They had to in my day because the way the busses were driven around especially in the country lanes you would need divine intervention to keep you safe.

BOB · 19-06-2006, 08:57

Yes The Bus Drivers Are Still The Same One Of The Buses I Travelled On Last Week Was 55 Years Old

jambutty · 19-06-2006, 11:20

So they got some new ones then?

The busses were old in the late fifties. WWI vintage I think. But it was fun careering along country lanes on a wing and a prayer. It was also rumoured that one of the bus drivers had actually passed a driving test but we never found out which one it was.

cashman · 19-06-2006, 11:22

we went on a bus from the dock in gozo and going up the mountain it conked out, the driver got up,moved an old lady from the side seat,got his tools out from lifting the seat lifted the bonnet and proceeded to repair the bus.then away we went to the capital. was one of the funniest incidents to me.