Romanianflyer

Taking the bus back to Valletta and changing lines towards Sliema got me all dehydrated, so the first thing to do after arrival was to sit down and drink an Aperol Spritz at a seaside cafe.





Feeling much better after the drink, I started to explore Sliema a bit. As I wrote earlier, the Sliema/St. Julian's area is where most of Malta's hotels are located and where most tourists stay. It has a feel akin to the Spanish costas, but of course then with some local Maltese flavours. There ain't much to see as most of the area are high-rise apartment buildings and hotels, but if you walk inland a bit you soon encounter the typical Maltese architecture again.





I got thirsty from the walk, so I stopped at a random pub full of British expats and sunbirds to down a good pint of German Weizen.



Walking back towards the seaside boulevard, I even made some new friends.







During my walk along the corniche I encountered a brewpub, which seemed like the logical place to stop for a few more pints and some food. Unfortunately, the beers were decidedly average, as was the food.







I headed back to the hotel early as the next morning I had to rise early to catch my flights back home.

T8191

Simple rule ... drink Cisk! Support the economy and feel you’re in Malta!

I find Sliema and St Julian’s hard to enjoy ... could be anywhere in the Med! Agree the back streets are better, but even so.

Romanianflyer

Haha the craft beers were locally made! Only the Erdinger was supporting Ms. Merkel instead of the local economy. I did buy a few bottles of local wine and the lovely Zeppi's bajtra liquor to bring home though

You are spot on with your assessment of Sliema/St. Julian's. If I would return I would definitely stay elsewhere, either in Valletta or somewhere inland/else on the coast. Not only because of the better and more unique local vibe that can be found elsewhere, but also because of logistics. Valletta makes more sense as a base if on public transport as you don't have to deal with the overcrowded buses to St. Julian's/Sliema. And if I would get a rental car, obviously somewhere outside the extremely built up Valletta/Sliema/St. Julian's area would be better.

Fredrik74

I went to Malta for the first time this summer and really liked it. I see there's more to see and do.

Romanianflyer

I know what you mean, reading the other Malta reports flooding the forum these days I have the same feeling

It was hard to choose for me what to see in what was only two days. I would loved to have hopped over to Gozo, spend a second full day in Valletta, or to visit one of the other coastal towns just to eat and drink at the seaside.

Romanianflyer

Malta (MLA) to Rome Fiumicino (FCO) on Air Malta, economy class
Flight KM612 - Airbus A320 - Seat 11F - 70 EUR
STD 7.35am - STA 9am (flight time 1h10m)

Public transport from Sliema did not work out this early in the morning as I thought that only arriving at 6.30am would be a slight risk, never mind the risky change of buses the connection would involve. I asked the staff at the apartment complex the evening before my flight about their airport service, but they told me this was completely booked for the morning. They did however provide me with the numbers of some taxi companies, but told that many might also be fully reserved by now. At phone call number two I got lucky as I found a friendly operator who promised that the next morning at 5am a taxi would wait in front of my building. The taxi indeed showed up on time and within 20-30 minutes I was at Malta's friendly little (but quite crowded) airport.

I had checked in online before so could move straight to security, which took about 15 minutes. In the end I had plenty of time to spare for a coffee and to buy some Maltese wine and the lovely Zappi's prickly pear liquor at a duty free shop to take home.







The flight was operated by an all-white plane which did not seem like a standard Air Malta bird at all.



The old A320 [LY-FOX] turned out to be leased from something called GetJet Airlines from Lithuania. The plane has an interesting history, having flown for Iberia, BH Air, Eritrean Airlines and VietJet before GetJet acquired it. Currently, it looks like it is leased to Finnair.



The plane did feel quite old and a bit dingy. The only good thing about these old birds is that the seats are still more comfortable than the bulk of the seats European airlines put in their new aeroplanes nowadays.





The flight was completely full, mostly with Maltese businessmen and students what it looked like. Take-off was smooth and perfectly on time. Like on arrival two days earlier, there were some beautiful views over the island. Unfortunately, it was difficult to make pictures out of the dirty window.







About ten to fifteen minutes in the air and Sicily got in sight, as we kinda flew around the south and west coast of the island. Even though it was fairly foggy, beautiful Mt. Etna was still visible in the distance.



To my surprise, we got all a free sandwich and even a bottle of water on this short flight, which was greatly appreciated.



Arrival to Rome saw some lovely views of the still snow-capped Apennines Mountains and the Tyrrhenian Sea.







After a long way taxiing across Fiumicino, we finally halted at a dreaded bus gate.





Overall, the flight went by smoothly and the crew was very courteous. I would certainly not hesitate to fly Air Malta again.

Romanianflyer

On arrival in Rome I headed straight to Terminal 3 for my TAROM flight to Bucharest, which I booked as a separate ticket. As my Air Malta flight arrived on time I had quite some time to spare, so I walked in a relaxed pace through the modern surroundings of T3. It feels like a world apart compared to the old T1.



As it has been ages that I last transited through Rome's T3, I had no clue where to find the Alitalia lounge. I inquired at the info desk, and was sent to a lounge that had all the charms of a storage room. Only after the trip I found out that just a few feet away there is the vastly bigger and brand new Casa Alitalia Lounge, which is actually a very nice place.

Not so much for the lounge I was in, which was just plain ugly. Ground floor had some seats, a manned bar and a smallish buffet, while on the upper floor were some more seats, the toilets, and a shower room.







I ordered a glass of the lovely Ferrari sparkling wine at the bar, which it about the only nice feature of this lounge.



Even though the buffet was a bit limited (especially compared to the nice offerings at the Casa Alitalia lounge I would visit shortly after this trip) it was all fresh and tasty. Italians do know how to do food. I filled my plate with bacon for a second breakfast, and took one of the sucky seats without any privacy.



Some time and glasses of Ferrari later, I headed towards my gate, which was located at a drab extension of T3.





Top tip: when in Rome, do like the Romans and don't visit the broom cabinet but the proper Alitalia lounge

Romanianflyer

Rome Fiumicino (FCO) to Bucharest (OTP) on TAROM, business class
Flight RO404 - Airbus A318 - Seat 1A - 110 EUR
STD 12.15pm - STA 3.30pm (flight time 2h15m)

The gate area was almost completely empty, and it indeed turned out to be quite an empty flight. Priority boarding was neatly observed, and I was the only one to step forward, something which I have never seen before on a Sky Team flight where seemingly everyone and their uncle can use priority boarding (at Silver status already). I turned out to be the only passenger in business class, and I guess not more than 30 to 40 percent of economy seats were taken.



Flying in the front of the cabin was a no-brainer for this flight as the difference with economy at the time of booking was just 40 EUR. TAROM has a weird fleet, and some aeroplanes do have proper business class seats, but unfortunately that was not the case on this old A318. Just your average Euro-business cabin with adjustable curtains and an empty middle seat. For a change, the FAs on this flight where actually rather pleasant and not the usual grumpy as on most of my previous TAROM flights.

Service kicked off in true TAROM style: a glass of champagne sparkling wine and towel service. To fit with the allure and quality of a pre-packaged towel, TAROM serves something called Angelli – which you can buy in a supermarket for 4 EUR. Needless to say, it's barely drinkable.



Departure was on time, and again we were treated to some nice views of the Tyrrhenian Sea just after take-off.









We were not even ten minutes in the air and meal services kicked in, with everything delivered on one tray. At this time I had a gigantic deja-vu as the meal was exactly the same on my TAROM flight a good two months earlier from Paris to Bucharest. Heck, even the plastic cups which had the lids still on them had exactly the same salad, cheeses and dessert.



Just like on the previous flight, it again tasted like your average meal from a cheap Chinese takeaway. Utterly disappointing. To drink, I asked for a white wine, which was served straight from the galley. When I asked which wine they serve, the FA was kind enough to bring out the bottle.



I'm not saying that Budureasca is a bad wine. Romanian wines can be anything from decent to excellent, and this is basically an OK wine for the 4-5 EUR it costs in a supermarket. But is it business class quality? Hell no! To make matters worse, it is the exact same wine they serve in economy class – they just put the bottle on their cart and run it down the ais

There are dozens of superb premium wines in Romania, I can't understand why TAROM doesn't cooperate with a few wineries to take them on board as it will really elevate their premium product. It wouldn't even have to cost too much extra, as there are many good wines around the 8 to 10 EUR mark which I know from first-hand experience get rave reviews with foreign experts. It would be superb marketing for Romania and for Romanian produce. I just hope that one day TAROM's CEO would fly with Aegean Airlines and see how they cooperate with Greek wineries to create a wine menu that changes every one to two months. What Aegean has is an excellent soft product. What TAROM has now is just plain embarrassing in many aspects.

Some more premium touches in TAROM's soft product include sponsored wet towels.



The only good thing about the meal service was that it was done fast. I had my plates cleared within twenty minutes after departure. Great, as there was more time left drinking to forget about the bad on-board product.



Of course, the nuts with the G&T came with pre-packaged nuts, the same as they hand out in economy class.

Three gin tonics we commenced our landing into a cloudy Bucharest.







After an on-time arrival, I was past passport control and in an Uber back to my house within fifteen minutes.

It was a great little escape and I can highly recommend Malta as a quick European break, as it has tons of unique history and local character. I would certainly love one day to visit again, but then I'd rather stay elsewhere on the island (either in the capital of Valletta or somewhere in a smaller town, getting a rental car).

As for TAROM, the business class product is really in bad need of an overhaul. I don't mind flying it at all when the difference with economy is just 40 EUR like on this flight, as it is worth it for the extra miles and the G&T's. But on most days and routes, the difference can be as high as 6 to 10 times the price of an economy ticket, and that is not worth it for a service which pretty much is the same as in economy, where TAROM also serves a snack or a hot meal (depending on flight length) and the same wine as in business class.

Thanks for following, and hope to see you all again reading along with the next travel adventure!

T8191

All good stull, and a nice balance of good text and photos!

Where next?

Romanianflyer

Lads holiday to the Oktoberfest in about a week from now!

But as I travelled way too much in spring/summer and have still a few trip reports to finish/sort out pictures, I think I start with posting one of those trips on FT.