When coming up with a bucket list of places you’d like to travel to, you may picture the beautiful architecture of France, the warm beaches of the Caribbean or the awe-inspiring Great Wall of China. These places have a lot to offer, but after spending a week in the 122 square mile island known as Malta, I would recommend that you include Malta in your bucket list as well. 

Although I know a lot about Malta now after visiting it, if I’m being honest, I had no idea that Malta even existed until about a year ago when my grandparents were called to serve a year-long mission there for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They invited us to come visit them any time, and over spring break we finally had the chance to be with them for a week and see everything Malta has to offer. 

One of the first things you’ll notice when arriving in Malta is that not only do people drive on the wrong side of the road (the left side), but their roads are also extremely narrow. There were several times we were driving down a countryside road when I thought we would surely run into the cars coming our way, but we somehow managed to make it through every time. When I wasn’t too busy worrying about my life being in danger, I got to see one of my favorite parts about Malta as we drove down those roads: the yellow flowers. Everywhere I looked, there were huge fields of yellow flowers extending in every direction, so much so that it seemed almost as common as the grass at times. Yellow is my absolute favorite color, so I loved being surrounded by all these beautiful flowers everywhere we went. 

Another one of my favorite parts of visiting Malta was getting to meet people from literally all over the world. We used a transportation service similar to Uber, and we met drivers from Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Italy, India, Nigeria and more. My grandparents said that within the congregation of people that come to their church service every Sunday, there is at least one person from every continent (besides Antarctica), which is amazing, and I learned a lot from talking with them and listening to their stories.

Malta is a desert island, which sounds like it doesn’t have much to offer in the scenery department, but there was a surprisingly extensive list of beautiful places we visited. One location, known as the Blue Grotto, was a series of caves and cliffs surrounded by extremely clear and blue water. We had the opportunity to take a boat tour through these caves and see the water and vast caves up close which was stunning. Another beautiful place we got to visit is known as St. Peter’s Pool. This included a pocketed rocky shore where people once harvested salt, a bay with waves crashing through, and of course, yellow flowers surrounding the area. 

In addition to scenic landscapes, there are many beautiful cities to visit in Malta. Especially while exploring cities such as Mdina and Valletta, I really enjoyed seeing lots of old architecture and art everywhere I went. I’ve lived in Texas my whole life, so this was my first time getting to enter buildings that were thousands of years old and walk through cobblestone streets that had been worn down from generations and generations of people passing by. 

Of course, while we were in Malta, we had to try some of the Maltese food. It seemed as though every restaurant and stand we passed had almost identical menus, so it wasn’t too difficult to try a bit of everything. I had all kinds of food ranging from BBQ pizza to pastizzi filled with peas and ricotta cheese (which was surprisingly good), but my favorite Maltese food that I had was a Ftira. This was basically bread with a hole in the middle that was stuffed with cheese, vegetables, meat and sauce. We ate this while dining at a busy outdoor restaurant, and despite the 20-minute wait for the food, it was 100% worth it. 

Amidst all these new and different foods, we also often found ourselves at fast food restaurants like Burger King and McDonald’s since they are some of my Grandpa’s favorite places to eat. Even eating at these was a new kind of adventure, and I got to learn more about how the fast food in the United States differs from other countries. For example, in Malta, paper straws are used instead of plastic straws, you must pay for each packet of sauce (including ketchup) that you use, and refills are not allowed, much to the dismay of my family and me who are practically addicted to Diet Coke. I enjoyed our fast food excursions because it was nice to be somewhere that felt familiar again and to be able to just sit and talk to each other after a full day of walking and exploring.

There is so much to explore in Malta that I feel like we only just broke the surface. One of my grandparents’ good friends believed the same thing when he said: ‘You’re only here for a week? That’s not nearly long enough! Next time you must come for a month at least.’ So, if you’re planning your senior trip or a family vacation, consider adding Malta to your list, and you may meet some of the most caring people, eat some of the yummiest food and see some of the most beautiful places the world has to offer.