Valletta & Casa Rocca Piccola

On Saturday, Dan and I ventured out for our day of sightseeing- this time in Valletta, the capital of Malta. We didn't know much about it before going except what we found on Wikipedia, but Dan mapped out some places to visit and we learned a lot.

Our first stop was (obviously) lunch at a cute little restaurant that had great reviews called d'Office. It was a small little place with hearty warm dishes and lots of wine. I had a mushroom risotto with chicken and onions, while Dan had a beef pasta dish that was tasty!

After our cute little lunch we headed down to Casa Rocca Piccola, "last remaining unconverted palaces currently inhabited by the nobility, in this case the de Piro family. The palace is open to the public; it is the only occupied aristocratic residence in Valletta open to the public." *via Wikipedia.

One of the cases in the chapel room

 We were given a tour of the house and underground bunkers by the wife of Marquis de Piro, whom we also had the pleasure of meeting. It was insane that they were just there giving tours around their house. I couldn't wrap my head around the fact they still lived there. One, because it is old and very cold inside right now. Two, I can't imagine touring people through my house all day every day. Three, it hasn't been redecorated...maybe ever...so that must get old. Lastly, I kept trying to imagine people living in Graceland that are relatives of Elvis. It doesn't seem like that would work.

Different sets of chess pieces at Casa Rocca Piccola

Regardless, the Marchioness was incredibly knowledgeable, kind, humble and quite frankly a fantastic tour guide! We learned a ton about Malta, Valletta, the Knights, why Catholicism is so prevalent here and more. Our group was just Dan and I and one other older couple from England so we were able to ask questions and have one on one conversations with her. It was really nice.

The Marquis and his pet parrot

Our favorite part of the house was the tour of the underground WWII bunkers. They are over 100 ft. underground and have different spaces for the family and the public. The public bunker is a bell shape and can fit over 100 people. There were various bunkers around the city. The family had a private bomb shelter made that had a separate escape up to the garden in the event of an emergency. The de Piro family also had a private well built for water directly for the house, but it has been empty for some time now.

Dan in the WWII bunker

The stairs from the bunker to the floor of the well

The date the bunker was built

Picture time in the family bomb shelter

It was a great day of touring. I will save the churches in Valletta for another post. Tonight we are headed to the bar formerly known as Bubbles to watch the Super Bowl. It starts around 12:30 am here so we are hoping to stay up for the first half. I met the other group of American poker players the other night at the store so hopefully they will join the group tonight as well. Mike and Laura met a Canadian couple at the coffee shop today so we may have an actual party at Bubbles tonight.

Hope everyone has had a great weekend! Enjoy the big game...or at least the commercials and half-time :)

Until tomorrow...xo