Malta and the big 5-0

A couple of years ago my youngest kiddo was in the twelfth grade and applying for university. 

While out running errands in the late winter/early spring he casually slid into the conversation that he might want to study in Malta.  My ears pricked.  He had come across it while researching places to study on exchange.  By the time he brought it to me, he had worked out the details, to show me he could do it.

The next thing I knew we were flying across the ocean for university drop off.  Pablo dropped us off at the airport with multiple suitcases and we tucked into an overnight flight.  We ate dinner, watched movies and dozed.  I remember traveling with the kids when they were tiny and tried not to be too nostalgic as I looked at this capable, young adult beside me about to fly the nest.

After a multi-hour layover in Frankfurt, we flew south.  I gave a wave, and a wink, to Italy on the way by.  Malta is as far south as you can get in Europe – a tiny Island nation that resides between Sicily and Tunisia. Out of the sea, the rock that is Malta, appears. 

With jitters we went through customs and immigration, picked up our luggage and found a taxi stand.  I booked accommodations in Sliema, a town with a promenade by the sea, where we could walk to the university.  The taxi pulled up to an old building with an elegant grey door and a brass knocker in the shape of a bee, on a hilly street.  We rode the tiny elevator in two shifts with our many bags, up to our apartment.

Not only was I dropping my kiddo off for university; it was also my birthday.  I was turning 50. This was an epic day. My son had thought ahead and made a reservation at a Maltese Restaurant, called Ta’Kris, farther down the promenade. We napped, showered, dressed up and walked to dinner. 

As dusk began to emerge on our way, I realized what a tremendous decision he had made.  The promenade in Sliema overlooks the capital city of Valetta, a UNESCO world heritage site.  It is a sight to behold. The sea, the boats, and the utterly impressive stone fortified architecture in the most beautiful shade of what I will call sun-bleached champagne make your brain and your tummy do loop-di-loops. 

Dating back to the neolithic era in 5000BC, Malta has been inhabited for eons. It has been ruled by the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Arabs, the Normans, the Sicilians and the Knights of Saint John, then came the French and the British. This has created a place that is uniquely Maltese, a place that became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1964. In 1974 they became a republic.  I had a huge lump in my throat as we walked and tried to snap a few nervous pictures to commemorate the day. 

The restaurant was lovely.  We ordered plates of delicious pasta, a Spritz and a beer – our first legal drink together.  Neither of us could eat much due to nerves, asking for leftover containers.  Part way through dinner the skies opened, and it started to pour rain, like a river of rain, which is relatively unusual, and we ran home in puddles, our feet soaked.  He still makes fun to me for tying a plastic bag around my hair, but I had a fresh blow out. One must maintain priorities.

In the morning, we would go to the university for orientation but what a memorable first day both of moving to university/50th birthday that neither of us will ever forget. As for leaving him a week later, well that's another story.

Views from Sliema overlooking Valletta, the capital of Malta