We have rented the Aqua Apartment in St. Paul's Bay, Malta from Paul and Josanne. Prior to finalizing the arrangements Paul let us know that another party confirmed their reservation and would not depart the Aqua until two days after our arrival in Malta. If we were willing, they would put us in another comparable or better property for the first two nights. No issue, we still booked the Aqua.
Paul picked us up from the airport and on a sunny Saturday drove us to an apartment of one of his associates located on St. Paul's Bay approximately 2km from the Aqua. The apartment is comfortable and the view is marvelous.
Paul picked us up from the airport and on a sunny Saturday drove us to an apartment of one of his associates located on St. Paul's Bay approximately 2km from the Aqua. The apartment is comfortable and the view is marvelous.
Monday morning at 11 am Paul transports us to Sea Cliff #4, which he and Josanne have named "The Aqua." The elevator requires a key as we are the penthouse apartment and the elevator doors open directly into the first floor of the flat. What fun!
There's a living space, dinette, kitchen, toilet with shower, and a bedroom on the first floor. The living space has sliding glass doors onto a balcony and directly overlooks St. Paul's Bay and St. Paul's Island.
The second floor is accessed via a circular stairway. It has a second bedroom, toilet with shower and living space with couches and a single bed. The sliding glass doors lead to a nice sized terrace with an outdoor table, lounge chairs and a grill.
There's a living space, dinette, kitchen, toilet with shower, and a bedroom on the first floor. The living space has sliding glass doors onto a balcony and directly overlooks St. Paul's Bay and St. Paul's Island.
The second floor is accessed via a circular stairway. It has a second bedroom, toilet with shower and living space with couches and a single bed. The sliding glass doors lead to a nice sized terrace with an outdoor table, lounge chairs and a grill.
We will be very comfortable here.
Paul shows us the basics of the apartment and how to operate the gas heater and hot water tanks. We discuss where to find groceries, restaurants and transportation. It doesn't take long until William and I are unpacked and settled in.
As with every flat/apartment we have rented there are some interesting quirks we learn in the first few days. The first morning we realize that the shower is smaller than the one we had on our last cruise. That's not entirely a problem, but there is absolutely no place other than the shower floor to place soap and shampoo. When leaning down it is too easy to bump the handle and end up with scalding or freezing water.
Paul shows us the basics of the apartment and how to operate the gas heater and hot water tanks. We discuss where to find groceries, restaurants and transportation. It doesn't take long until William and I are unpacked and settled in.
As with every flat/apartment we have rented there are some interesting quirks we learn in the first few days. The first morning we realize that the shower is smaller than the one we had on our last cruise. That's not entirely a problem, but there is absolutely no place other than the shower floor to place soap and shampoo. When leaning down it is too easy to bump the handle and end up with scalding or freezing water.
We walk to the local housewares store in search of a shower caddy. The only one they have will not work in our shower. We buy a kitchen dish soap caddy with suction cups and hope it will at least hold the bar of soap. Oy! It will not stick to the wall. Using a plastic hanger, dental floss and duct tape I come up with a design, and we try it out. As is typical a few days later William has applied his engineering skills and has come up with an improved version.
The other quirk is the oven. Apparently the cleaning staff has been so diligent that the paint on the settings have been wiped away. Upon close examination at the right angle in the right light I am able to see the under layer for the settings. Of the eight options I have been able to reconstruct three settings 1) normal - I.e upper and lower heart elements with no fan, 2) upper heat element with fan, and 3) upper and lower heat elements with fan. The 100, 150 and 175 (C) temperature settings are still visible. God only knows what it is , but the middle of 5 buttons above the door handle is more worn. This enough to get me by. I set the temperature to 175 and the option to upper and lower heat with fan. Nothing happens. Hmm.. I touch the more worn middle button and this gas oven begins to preheat, beeping approximately 15 minutes later. Victory!
The other quirk is the oven. Apparently the cleaning staff has been so diligent that the paint on the settings have been wiped away. Upon close examination at the right angle in the right light I am able to see the under layer for the settings. Of the eight options I have been able to reconstruct three settings 1) normal - I.e upper and lower heart elements with no fan, 2) upper heat element with fan, and 3) upper and lower heat elements with fan. The 100, 150 and 175 (C) temperature settings are still visible. God only knows what it is , but the middle of 5 buttons above the door handle is more worn. This enough to get me by. I set the temperature to 175 and the option to upper and lower heat with fan. Nothing happens. Hmm.. I touch the more worn middle button and this gas oven begins to preheat, beeping approximately 15 minutes later. Victory!
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