Our Last Day in Malta, Day 20, June 9th

We walked around to Fort St. Elmo this morning because we heard there was a short tour, despite the fact it is being renovated.  The fort was virtually destroyed by the Turks during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.  It commands the entrance to both Marsamxett and The Grand Harbour. Interestingly, it was used as the jail in the movie Midnight Express. Along the way, I got some nice pictures of an unusual fog that was rolling in. Unfortunately, there was no tour so we walked back to the main square to the Grand Master’s Palace and Armoury, which is also the temporary location for Malta’s parliament. 

We toured the palace and armory and were educated as to how the knight's armour changed throughout the times as well as the weapons used.  Then it was time for lunch and we found a nice spot to celebrate our last meal out in Malta.  We made our way back to our apartment for a snooze before our host came over to say goodbye and read the electricity meter.  We were responsible for our electricity and delighted to find out that we only used 28 Euros of electricity in 3 weeks.  We never used the dishwasher or air conditioner and were very careful with the lights. He estimated we would use 30 Euros per week so a nice deposit-refund is coming our way. 

Our Air Malta flight leaves for Rome at 8:30am and hopefully we will make our 45 minute connection on Alitalia. I hope you have enjoyed my blog and pictures as much as I have enjoyed chronicling our day-to-day adventures during one of the best holidays of our lives.  Malta is well worth a visit if you are looking for a laid back, very affordable European holiday steeped in history amongst the happiest people in the world. Cheers! 

The Hilton Tower, the tallest building in Malta surrounded by fog

                                                         Fog rolling into Fort Saint Elmo

                                                      Fog rolling into Marsamxett Harbour

                                                            The Grand Master's Palace

                                                 There must have been some small knights

                                                                Beautiful ceilings

                                                    The Grand Master's Palace courtyard

                                                             A grand doorway in the palace

Fancy armour for the Grand Master's horse

                                                                 Fancy chest plate

                                                    New designs allowed for more movement

                                Opened in the front and designed to look like the fashion of the day

                                                                         Helmets

                                                                    Helmet with comb

                                                               Early helmet with visor

                                                             Elaborate shoulder armour

                                                          Gilded Grand Master's armour

                                                           Goofy looking Italian helmets

                                                                Nice powerful Cannons

                                                                     Mortar cannon

                                   No longer wondering where the lions are.  In the palace courtyard...

                                                              guarding this elaborate door

Cheers!