Exploring Maltese roots

Andrew Galea from Sydney travelled to Malta to 'explore his roots and learn a great deal more about his Maltese heritage'. In this TravelPod entry he writes about his visit to Vittoriosa:

I woke with a slight headache and queasiness from one too many cocktails that Christina and I enjoyed last night. The perfect remedy for that was to go for a short walk to what has become my favourite swimming spot and have an early morning swim. I planned to go to Vittoriosa today, one of the famous "3 cities" of Malta. Vittoriosa is a walled city perched on a peninsula on the other side of Valletta from where I was staying in Sliema. Like Valletta, Vittoriosa is an ancient place rich in history and Maltese tradition, and also a walled city that was a bastion against would be invaders over the centuries. The heart and soul of Vittoriosa is its dockyards and marina, along with a casino and two museums; "Malta at War" and the Maritime Museum.

My journey started with the ferry ride across the harbour to Valletta, then a walk through the capital to the main bus terminal which was just outside the city walls. The buses in Malta are a classic, they are all ancient rickety old things that blow copious amounts of smoke and guarantee the roughest ride imaginable. The bus drivers must possess considerable skill manoeuvring the metal behemoths through the narrow streets whilst avoiding the crazy motorists that buzz about Malta everywhere you go. My Lonely Planet guide book informs me that whilst there are 400,000 people who live in Malta, there are 325,000 cars. No joke. The amount of cars here is incredible. Every street is just lined with them, parking is non existent and crossing any road is a mini game of "Frogger". Anyway I eventually reached my destination in one piece, said "Grazzi" to the driver and found myself in Vittoriosa.

This city is beautiful. It is like a concentrated version of Valletta (if that is possible), possessing the same charm but somehow being cleaner and prettier. Most of the houses had plants and flowers growing from balconies and the streets were incredibly clean. I have heard that the tourist boom has missed Vittoriosa for the time being, which is probably one of the reasons why it is like it is. However after speaking with some locals the general idea is that Vittoriosa is being kept as a bit of a play ground for Europe's rich and famous. There is a casino here and the boats in the marina were just breathtaking..

Apparently there are no casinos on the island of Sicily, so a lot of the wealthy Sicilians sail down to Vittoriosa to spend a few days at the casino here. Through this I learned that Sicily was actually only 90 minutes away by boat and there were cruise companies that ran regular trips to there. I might look into that later on in my holiday. I got the same sense of history and tradition strolling the streets of Vittoriosa like I did in Valletta. I found a great spot high up in the city overlooking the marina. I took some photos and stood there listening to some music and just taking it all in...

Andrew in Mellieha; in Valletta; and in Paceville