Stunning views of Grand Harbour, Vittoriosa and the historic capital of Valletta.

For availability check out https://www.home-away.co.uk/413710

«VILLA WEDÉNA»

SIREN STREET 24, SENGLEA, MALTA. Local telephone: (+356) 21 8085 31

HINTS AND ADVICE FOR USE OF THIS FLAT AND YOUR STAY IN MALTA.

LOCATION:The apartment is located at the seafront of Senglea (one of The Three Cities) opposite Fort St. Angelo and Vittoriosa on the other side of the bay. It has beautiful views of the sailing approach to the Grand Harbour, the Yacht Marina and the Casino.

ACCESS:By taxi to Senglea or on foot: You come through the city gates up Victory Street. This is the main street in Senglea and runs all the way up to the piazza in front of St. Philip Church. From here, head across the square and slightly down again. Then take St. Angelu Street down the stairs to Siren street no. 24.

WIND:Winds can be strong in Malta. They keep you cool during summer, but throughdrafts can be a problem inside. Keep windows closed, therefore (or doors inside the apartment closed) when you are out, to prevent glass from shattering when they turn in the wind.

CONSERVE WATER:Malta is not blessed with a lot of fresh water. The water in the tap is actually salt water where the salt has been removed. Water and electricity are therefore very expensive. Remember to turn off lamps and please take brief showers. Hot water tank (switch outside the bathroom) has thermostat. During summer you might not even turn it on (!). You can drink the tap water, but it is not very good. Buy Sixpacks of 2-litre plastic bottles of water instead.

ELECTRICITY:Three-pin plugs are used in Malta. There are a couple of adapters (from 3 to 2 pin) and an adapter on the floor in the living room, connected to the continental additional plugs. This can be used to recharge the phones, laptops, iPads, Tivoli radio, etc.When leaving the apartment at night, a switch inside the door of the apartment is used to light the stairs. With a brown old-fashioned switch down at the gate door please turn the light off before you go out. Try to remember to turn this off when you go out at night, and turn it off from the inside of the apartment when you enter again, since the electricity is costly.

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Actor David Niven (above) arrived in Malta 1928. He was warned about «The bells, the yells and the smells». Well, the smells are gone – but the bells and yells remain...

«Il-Gardjola» watch tower on the Senglea Point (left, 3 minutes from flat) is one of the most photagraphed spots in Malta. Senglea City Gates seen from Vittoriosa (former page). Entrance hall in flat (above).

Some of the world’s most prestigeious yachts are moored just under the balcony of the flat. Here one of the Russian oligarch Abramowich’s more unorthodox designs.

COOKING WITH GAS AND ELECTRICITY:A gas stove is installed in the kitchen. On top of the yellow gas bottle on the floor under the kitchen sink is a switch that must be flipped open before use. Both the rings and the oven can be lit with matches after you have turned on the gas (controls in front of the stove). For the oven the gas comes out of small holes in the lower front edge of the oven and ignites in a huge gust (!) Electric cooker/oven, microwave and hotplates are installed in addition and will probably meet most of your needs. Please use this as it is easier and safer...unless you are quite familiar with gas cookers.

INTERNET / WIFI:2 broadband connections are installed in the apartment. Please let the routers remain «on» when you depart. TO LOG ON: Network: Thomson 764973. Password: E1DE34FB4Additional network: 61907e. Password: 245140430

PHONE:A land-line is installed. Telephone number is (00356) 21808531. Receiving calls is free.Buy EASY LINE prepaid phonecards at newsagents and dial your given code before the number you are calling. This is much cheaper than calling with your international mobile phone.

Comfortable, brand new

bathroom in-stalled.

The Rolex Middle Sea Race is on, seen from roof terrace. Each class of boats are started by cannons of the Barracca Gardens, but if you missed it – don’t worry. At 12 noon they shoot again – every day year round! Flat is marked with arrow.

SWIMMING:It’s very nice to swim from the «Senglea Point» (the point after the football field) where there is also a reasonable bar (The Reggatta Club). For swimming, please use the most tired towels (beach towels), not the thick, white, or the thick, dark blue ones. If a sandy beach is a must, see under «BUSES» below.

CLEANING:If you during your stay do not bother to wash clothes and floors and windows yourself, you can call Jane & Sunny Psaila who are my agents, they collect you at the airport and clean the apartment. She charges 20 Euros for 5 hours, and it is worth it!

Jane & Sunny: +356 7755 4142, +356 9988 4600, +356 2788 4600

WASHING:There is a new Blomberg washing machine in the apartment that is easy to use. Make sure the water-handle is turned «ON» on the watertube in the back under the kitchen sink. 2/3 full of clothes is perfect for the washing machine and two tablets placed in the machine in LEFT compartment (no II - main wash). «Quick wash» is usually sufficient and will cover most of your needs, please consult the information booklet on the window sill above the machine. Hang the washing on clotheslines on the roof terrace at the back (the street side) or in front under the roof if rain). The sun and wind dries the washing in no time.

ROOF TERRACE:There is a large communal roof terrace for use by residents and their guests. Please show respect for the neighbours. The soundproofing in the house is not very good, so shouting, yelling and music MUST be kept to a minimum. The Italian neighbours upstairs have little tolerance, so please remember this.The roof is covered by a membrane that will keep rain water out, so pointed chairs and spiky heels are NO NO on the roof. Use the deckchairs stored under the roof. I have arranged a small «garden» on the roof. It has an automatic watering system that provides plants with water for a short period every night. Leave the tap open and do not change the settings on the timer.

GARBAGE:This can either be placed in plastic bags in the street (you see where others place it) before 8 in the morning, or there are garbage cans at the end of the steps and at the quay-restaurant Alice Springs, with seperate containers for metal, paper, plastic.

STORES:Opening hours are from 07.00 to 12.00 or 13.00. Because of the heat they are mostly closed until 16.00 (4 PM). They then keep open until 19.00 (7 PM). A small supermarket is at the bus-stop.Nearest shop is RAY STORE in Two Gate Street. There is also a small shop at St. Philip’s Square and in Victory Street. For a really big and good supermarket, though, you will have to go to CHAIN in Fgura (20 minutes walk – or bus). CHEF’S CHOICE is recommended if you are really into cooking.

You can swim off the Senglea Point. If the canon goes off while you’re at it you are a really late riser – just in time for the siesta in fact – when everything closes for 3 - 4 hours. But if you are late for your excursion, you can always take the seaplane to Gozo!

Contrary to popular belief – there ARE sandy beaches also in Malta, although it is quite possible to swim from the many rocky beaches. Or you can just chill out on the roof, watching the racing pigeons do their afternoon exercise..

Master bedroom (above left) has large double bed plus single bed, wardrobe, training equipment. Opens up to balcony above quiet pedestrian street.

2nd bedroom (above right) has expandable double bed and single bed, wardrobe. Window to quiet pedestrian street.

Hallway (opposite) is decorated with numerious interesting photos. A small bust of Christ guards the chest of drawers.

Contrary to popular belief, the film «The Maltese Falcon» starring Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, had nothing to do with the island of Malta. The bird turned out to be a worthless fake, but was in November 2013 auctioned off for $3,500,000 at the Bonhams/TCM auction in New York, making it the most expensive film prop ever.

FURNITURE: There is a sofabed in the living room. If one is unlucky enough to spill on this, it is okay to remove it with a damp cloth (only lukewarm water, not soap).

RESTAURANTS:There are some quite good basic restaurants in Senglea. Most elegant is the Marina Eating Place (further on at the seafront, toward the town gates) and the little tavern Alice Springs nearby which is nice to have your breakfast. THE BEST PIZZA (or Penne Arrabiata) on the island is purchased from Graucho (his nickname) in NEJNA restaurant on the corner of Victory Street and Duluri Street in Senglea. The Regatta Club on «the Point» serves sometimes free, delicious snacks on Fridays and Saturdays in the evenings. Here the drinks are cheap and the sun lasts longer than in any other place in Senglea. Local, good atmosphere (not many tourists, if any).Otherwise, there are some classy restaurants and wine bars in Vittoriosa across the bay (walking distance or the yellow, small ferry): Two and a half Lemon, Tate, Sottovento, Cargo, Del Borgo Wine Bar, The Cave, etc. These are a more up-market.

TAXI :The local taxidriver is Paul Bezzina (he owns Senglea football club and looks like Donny DeVito). His whole family is running the business and he has super cars and reasonable prices. He brings and collects you whenever time and place; for instance Paceville should you want to go where the wildest night life takes place. Phone: 99499024

WATER TAXI (old fashioned gondolas): Will come at the agreed time (for example, to and from Valletta). Embark from Alice Springs. at Senglea waterfront: ANDY 99491291 or VICTOR 7968 6252. There is also a ferry leaving every half hour from «The Machina». Lift is included in fare.

RENTAL CAR: Joe Buwell rent out cars for about 15 euros a day. Required if you want to take a trip

to Gozo for example. 99499512. He delivers and collects. But remember left hand driving and that traffic is dense. The Maltese are friendly pedestrians, but notorious drivers.

BUSES: To get on one of the classic buses in Malta is definitely a «MUST». Are you «lucky» you get one of those really old ones, but unfortunately, they are now only used for special tourist excursions. From Senglea bus from the piazza in Victory Street, goes to Valletta every 30 minutes. For St. Thomas Bay, which is a nice sandy beach near Marsascala in the south & other destinations and times, see www.arriva.com.mt.

You can waste numerious hours just sitting on the balcony at night and look at the views and the com-ings and goings of cruiseliners, merchant vessels, fishing boats and sailing yachts.

SENGLEA’S PAST: Originally an island, it’s also called L’Isla, or Citta Invicta (the Unconquerable).The former ferry-point in Senglea (above) is gone, but you can still get a water taxi to ferry you around the harbour or over to Valletta. View of Senglea from 100 years ago seen from Vittoriosa (below). A lot of buildings in Senglea suffered bomb damage during World War 2, but was rebuilt.

Senglea seen from Vittoriosa. During the time of the Knights, their galleons used to moor alongside the building (the bastion with the special crane) on the left in the background of photo above. Here the masts could be removed and refitted. Galleon‘s Creek was renamed Dockyard Creek by the British and you can see why (below). Superyachts and leisure boats have replaced the docks today.

Air France in-flight magazine recently made a big article on Malta, almost exclusively focusing on Senglea and Vittoriosa. The cover of the magazine features a photo of the seafront of Valletta that could have been taken from the apartment’s balcony.

Photo this page is taken from across the bay from Vittoriosa and shows Senglea waterfront with the apartment just outside the picture’s edge on the right.

Air France ends its article again with a photo of Senglea, (the apartment easily seen on the left of the photo). The town has since WW2 been a no-no for the more affluent Maltese, but it is really the essense of original Malta, a sense of originality that this French journalist has captured. Let us hope this remains a secret so this lovely state of affairs remain...

The Oscar-nominated film «Kon-Tiki» (2012), about Thor Heyerdahl’s famous Pacific expedition in 1947 used Senglea as a stand- in for Peru. In fact, I saw this scene being shot from the balcony of the flat, just above the waving hand of the second man from the left.

MALTA’S CLIMATEMalta‘s weather and climate are strongly influenced by the sea and have a very charac-teristic Mediterranean flavour, similar to that found in southern Italy or southern Greece.The climate is typically Mediter-ranean, with hot, dry summers, warm and sporadically wet au-tumns, and short, cool winters with adequate rainfall. Nearly three-fourths of the total annual rainfall of about 600 millimetres (24 inches) falls between Octo-ber and March; June, July, and August are normally quite dry.The temperature is very stable, the annual mean being 18°C (64°F) and the monthly averag-es ranging from 12°C (54°F) to 31°C (88°F). Winds are strong and frequent; the most com-mon are the cool north-westerly (majjistral), the dry north-east-erly (grigal, or gregale), and the hot humid southeasterly (xlokk, or sirocco). The relative hu-midity is consistently high and rarely falls below 40%.Winters are mild with only rare occurrences of cold weather brought by north and north-east winds from central Europe. In fact, daytime winter tempera-tures almost never fall below 10°C (50°F), while night-time winter temperatures never fall below 0°C (32°F). Hence, snow never falls in Malta. Sometimes it gets rather windy for up to 3 days with strong gale force winds blowing either from the north-west (Malta’s most com-mon wind) or from the north- east bringing days of miserable stormy weather. Most of Malta’s rainfall falls during autumn and winter, mostly from thunder-storms which make up most of the rainfall from September to December. It is usually mild in Malta during the winter, with plenty of sunshine, too, with daytime temperatures usu-

ally 15°C (59°F) or above and sometimes also around 20°C (68°F).Summers are warm, dry and very sunny. The weather usu-ally shows signs of warming up in April, heralding in a long spell

of hot, dry weather. It rarely rains from April to August. July and August are Malta’s hot-test months with daytime tem-peratures usually above 30°C (86°F) and quite often also above 35°C (95°F).However,

daytime temperatures in sum-mer are usually mitigated by cooling sea breezes, especially along the coast, but in spring and autumn a very hot and dry wind called the sirocco from Africa occasionally brings un-

pleasantly high temperatures, but in Malta it is usually rather drier because of the short sea track from the African coast.Annual rainfall in Malta is rather low – approximately 600mm (24 inches) and the length of

the dry season in summer is longer than in southern Italy. Malta has a very sunny climate with an average of five to six hours of sunshine a day in mid-winter and over twelve hours a day in midsummer.

MORE QUESTIONS? Contact MORTEN on 0047 22601010 or mobile 0047 920 940 83 morten@tvfilm.no For availability check out https://www.home-away.co.uk/413710

This reproduction in the living room of a mural done some 20 years after The Great Siege, shows the situation during the battle of Senglea (centre of picture) 27 June 1565.

Sunday Fish MarketView from the flat’s balcony