Oosterdam European Adventure, Valletta, Malta... Part 2 of 2

As always, it was a beautiful sail into the Valletta’s Great Harbor. Unfortunately, on our sail in the MSC World Europa ship with its huge size, got priority and made us a bit late.  It was interesting taking photos as it sailed in with its massive size against the city walls.  With 4 ships in port, we docked at Boiler Wharf in the town of Senglea.  We took the water taxi to the Valletta side of the harbor to meet our guide, Trudy.  Once we met Trudy, we walked along the water to get the elevator up to the Upper Barrakka Gardens.  We lucked out we and had no lines for the elevator or crowds in the gardens.  The vantage point from the garden offered excellent views across the Grand Harbor to the three cities of Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Cospicua.  Leaving the gardens we made our way to through the streets of Valletta towards our guides favorite church, St Paul’s Shipwreck Church.  Parts of Malta look like they could be in the Middle East, North Africa or Europe…some buildings are crumbling and many have been are beautifully restored…a photographer’s dream.  We arrived at Collegiate Parish Church of St Paul's Shipwreck and mass was being conducted…we were allowed to enter as long as we were discreet…we sat through the end of mass and then toured this spectacular church.  Not far away was St. John's Co-Cathedral, including the oratory which houses Caravaggio's masterpiece "The Beheading of St. John the Baptist".  This is known to be one of the prettiest churches in all of Europe and we certainly agree. The church was built by the Knights of St. John in 1577.  Much of the inside of the church is decorated in gold gilt and the floors are paved with inlayed marble mosaics.  Our walking tour continued St. George's Square, past the Grandmaster's Palace, New Parliament Building, City Gates and Triton Fountain where we met our driver.  We left the city via the harbor front passing the Quarantine Hospital and St. Elmo’s Fort.  Our next stop was the Mosta Cathedral, Assumption of Our Lady, commonly known as the Mosta Rotunda is dedicated to St. Mary. The dome was hit by a bomb in 1942 and pierced the dome but luckily there was no major damage…. this is such a beautiful church.  Next, we went to the town of Rabat to visit the Mdina.  We entered the Mdina through the Greeks Gate.  The Mdina was once the capital city of Malta. The streets, which have not changed much in the last 1,000 years, is like something straight out of the pages of a historical novel.  It is no surprise that it was used as a movie set for the first 2 seasons of the Game of Thrones!  Leaving this well preserved fortified walled city, we headed to Marsaxlokk.  Marsaxlokk is a quaint fishing village which is located in the south of the island.  We had a delicious lunch and strolled through the market as well as the harbor which was loaded with fishing boats painted with eyes to guard against evil spirits.  We headed back to the ship after spending another fantastic day touring Malta. And, since it's Malta, I have taken way too many photos, and the blog is broken into two parts...