Arrival in Malta

Gary Crallé
Apr 3
2 min read

Updated: Apr 29

It did not begin well. The fellow at the U-Save car rental desk in Valletta (Malta's capital city) told us 'No car for you!' due to age and insurance restrictions, even though our package deal included a car. Someone at Yes Getaways had not done proper diligence.

That's when we met fellow Canadians Tamara and Dwight from British Columbia who had coincidentally bought the same package tour. They kindly offered us a lift to our shared hotel, the Lady Todd. We quickly learned that island traffic was maximal and parking was minimal. Dwight wisely parked the car on the street and left it for the week.

Lady Todd was a small, unpretentious, clean and friendly 3-star hotel conveniently located near the ferry dock to Valleta which lies just across the bay. A snack shop occupied the hotel ground level. Check-in and breakfast were in Mr. Todd Hotel 3 minutes down the street. Lis and I lucked out with the hotel's only oriel window (dark green in the exterior photo), an architectural detail that defines Maltese communities. Being street side, earplugs were a bonus.

Like the dome of 1950s Pullman railway coaches, it allowed a more expansive view of our surroundings. Our street had several, some renovated and others needing a dose of TLC.

We walked along the waterfront of Sliema [pronounced slee'ma] past open cafes with the best views of historic Valletta, eventually grabbing a pub dinner at the well stocked Queen Elizabeth II before returning to the hotel for a night's catchup sleep.

Next: into the thick of a Maltese festival