Wed 25th April
My trip began with a night at the Premier Inn, Gatwick North due to being on an Easyjet flight at 06.30 hours (check in 04.30am). I was pleasantly surprised by the size and comfort of the room and it was an ideal opportunity to get an extra couple of hours sleep without the stress of driving early.
The car parking deal included the night at the hotel then transferring your car to summer special parking on airport, where they park your car for you and with transfers every 20 mins to the airport terminal.
 |
| My room at Premier Inn |
Thu 26th April
The flight left on time and we arrived in Malta 5 minutes early. Our transfer was approximately half an hour and we arrived at the 5 star Westin Draganara Resort and Casino in St. Julians. The room was very spacious with two king size beds and a large outside balcony area. Tea/coffee making was provided in the room and iron/ironing board, hairdryer and large bathroom with bath and shower over.
 |
| My room at Westin Dragonara no 132 |
 |
| My exceptionally large balcony with day sofa as well and view |
 |
| My bathroom at the Westin |
We had 2 hours spare to sit around the pool
 |
| Pool at the Westin |
before taking the Valletta excursion run by the tourist office, departing from the Hilton Hotel where many other delegates were staying and the convention centre was situated.
 |
| Valletta |
 |
| St John co-Cathedral |
 |
| Floor at the cathedral was covered in these amazing decorative marble slabs |
 |
| View from the back of the cathedral |
 |
| Harbour view at Vallettas lower Barrakka Gardens |
 |
| A typical street in Valletta |
Evening meal was sponsored by Superbreak and Bourne Leisure at the restaurant La Paranga in St. Julians with superb food and excellent entertainment by the Superbreak staff, as always, based around a Beetles theme. This restaurant was situated over the water with great views of the sandy beach and sea and just 5-7 mins walk from the Westin Dragonara Hotel.
 |
| La Paranga Restaurant and views |
Friday 27th April
Enjoyed an action packed conference including meeting our keynote speaker Bruce Dickenson from Iron Maiden, also a commercial pilot and entrepreneur who is involved in many ventures including a contract to supply the US army with airships. Other speakers provided us with useful information to enhance and promote our business and strengthen our market presence. The conference centre was very well equipped and an ideal venue for this conference of over 400 delegates.
 |
| Bar at the Hilton Hotel |
 |
| Reception at the Hilton Hotel |
 |
| Pool at the Hilton Hotel |
Evening venue was hosted by the Westin Dragonara Hotel on a rocky peninsula overlooking the sea. A fabulous venue.
Sat 28th April
Highlights of the conference today were the futurist Martin Lindkvist and Michael Johnson athlete. A great deal was learnt at the conference about business focus and areas of development and I have returned with new enthusiasm and ideas.
 |
| Michael Johnson 4x OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST |
Evening celebrations and gala dinner was held at la valette (sacred infirmary) and we were entertained with the ritual of the knights of St John and blessing the flags that combine to make up the Maltese flag, a brass band was playing, also a guitarist and maltese dancers. The food was good throughout the stay (especially the puddings so regrettably I have put on a good 4-5 lbs so have recommenced the diet.
 |
| Blessing the flags |
 |
| The Sacred Infirmary where our Gala evening was held |
I have put off flying with Ryanair all these years so decided to try them out for just the one way from Malta to Luton. If it wasn't for the fact that I was saving about £150 one way, I might have made that even longer. The queue on check in was much lower than Easyjet so a good start. People queued for boarding as early as 45mins before departure due to being unable to reserve seating but I sat and had a coffee and settled down to do my blog. I was pleasantly surprised by the Ryanair flight. The leg room was more than expected and the staff friendly. I will use them again but do not like their website or the fact that they add so many fees and £50 for 15 kilos luggage (the most expensive that I am aware of). I then transferred across by bus and train to Gatwick via Euston but this added over 2 hours to my journey.
I am still of the opinion that Malta is a place you love or hate. There is a lot of history and the places I enjoyed the most were Valletta (the Capital), Mdina, Golden Bay for the beach and Sliema is a bit less built up with a smart promenade. I enjoyed Gozo when I travelled there last year as this is less built up and reminds me how Malta used to be. However, the rest, although having several good standard hotels is a concrete jungle of mainly ugly looking buildings. As they explained, Malta is the most densely populated in Europe with over 400,000 inhabitants in just 122 square miles. However, I did find in general that the people were very friendly and the food of a good standard. I do feel that Malta appeals particularly to the retired clientelle, with the English historical naval connection, though they do cater for families and have some areas with nightlife. There are some picturesque harbours and some magnificent baroque buildings (highlight being the cathedral of St John in Valletta - see pictures above) They have many beautiful curches and boast a church for every day of the year, one of which can take up to 600 people.
It was overall a very enjoyable weekend.
