You know what they say about best laid plans! Here I was with my excel in hand and plans chalked down to the min - including how much time we could spend on lunch! First - getting out at 9am didn't happen - jet lag is a thing I'd forgotten! Second - most Herotage attractions closed at 4-4:30 pm. Third, lunch is a leisurely affair and no on seems in a hurry to go anywhere! And as I would realize - my perfect planning would very soon go by the way of the dinosaurs - dead and very much extinct.

My plan was to do 1.5 days (Mon night and Tues) in Valletta exploring the city and the Malta attractions in the south and west, spending 2 days in Gozo and Comino (Wed and Thu) amd then back to Valletta (Fri) to explore the north and west! 3 hotels in days and one backpack per person! And out of the hotel by 9am everyday!

Anyway - it was 10am and breakfast at the hotel was a good way of shutting up kids who were never hungry at home but seemed to have suddenly developed a giant's appetite! Fortified with croissants, Parma ham, a mountain of savory aged cheeses and fresh fruit - we walked over to the St. John's Cathedral.

Malta is the land of the prehistoric nen, the neolithic giants, the Phoenicians, the Turks, the Turks, the Greeks, the Roman's, the Sicilians and the British. A cradle of ancient culture where 6000 year old structures stand amongst the modern 1000 year old ones!

The fortified city of Valletta is surrounded by towering walls of heavy limestone blocks built to withstand the armada attacks. It had the feel of Tolkein's Middle Earth where you expected to spot a knight or two. The plain austere facade of St. John's Co Cathedral and the legend of the ancient Order of the Knights building it as the heart of the fortified city belies the grandeur within. I went in expecting to find a typical Italian inspired church with gold foil work and marble mosaic. As I stepped it - I realized it was anything but! While in the Vatican it's all about looking up to marvel at the Michael Angelo paintings- here it was all about the looking down. I have never see such marble work - not even in the Taj Mahal or Agra Fort. The baroque interior design with itrs intricate carvings and rich marble inlay work, by the Maltese artist Mattia Pretti takes one's breadth away!

The entire floor was covered with intricately Carmen tombstones for the Knights who were buried beneath the floor with angels, skeletons, armors, and the family coat of arms in stunning marble colors lying at your feet like a richly women carpet. It almost felt like sacrilege walking with shoes on these 16th century craftsmanship. In American for a 100 year old mud Adobe hut is protected by glass this just felt wrong!

The oratory held more treasures. The centerpiece is a painting by Caravvagio- the beheading of St. John the Baptist with its intricate olay of light and shade - the only painting signed by the artist. This was rhe inner chamber where the Knighthood was granted by the cardinal or punishment meted out.

The balcony gave a stunning view of the altar and the dark stairs to the Crypt reminded one of one's own mortality - no matter how grand life may have been.

And there went my planning again - we had just spent more than an hour inside! As we walked down to the Grand Master's Palace - suddenly the lilting tunes of a Bollywood song stopped us - an old Maltese musician was singing in Hindi! Standing listening to it and with the cafes calling me to stop- I decided to ignore the strict binds of my excel master! Way behind on schedule, as we reached the Palace - we realized that it was closed that day for renovations! And were back on the schedule! It was just 12:30 pm!

So we decided to walk around a bit, go down to the rampart walls with the deep blue sea pounding the walls as we waited for the taxi.