Thursday, November 30, 2017

Valletta, Malta: Free Valletta Tour Well Worth Price Of Admission ... And More!

Colour My Travel
Valletta City Gate
Valletta, Malta
Phone: +356 9980 0215
Jennifer (Left)
Hey, there is a FREE 90-MINUTE WALKING TOUR of Valletta that you WILL NOT FIND ON TripAdvisor ... surprise, surprise ... offered by Colour My Travel. TripAdvisor is all about profit and does not care about merchants or reviewers (based on personal experience), so why would they advertise a free tour? I had to go to the company's website to find out about this tour, so do your "due diligence" (or read my blog) if you want to find real TravelValue. Here is more information about the free tour ...

My wife and I took the 90+ minute free Valletta tour last night with Jennifer, a very knowledgable, personable, and friendly tour guide and experienced history teacher. We met at the appointed time and place, a diverse group of tourists from countries around the globe, and were on our way around the tiny, beautiful capitol city of Valletta.





We started in front of the parliament building, making our way past ancient churches, the prime minister's office, beautiful gardens, scenic panoramas, historic statues, the former "red light" district, ending the tour in the square in front of the Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of St John. Jennifer's energetic and detailed history and accounts along the way were both entertaining and educational.










For a free tour, it was very comprehensive, fun, and I highly recommend this tour for those visiting Malta. We will probably take another tour with Colour My Travel before we leave, probably the Mdina Ghost Tour. Finally, you may want to consider amending your name to "Color" My Travel for your American customers so we can find you on the web ... just kidding, just some "Yank" humour, I mean humor.








CombatCritic Gives Colour My Travel's Free Valletta Tour And Jennifer 10 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!
Ten Bombs Equates To:


HOOAH!: "Phonetic spelling of the acronym HUA, which stands for 'Heard Understood Acknowledged.' Originally used by the British in the late 1800's in Afghanistan. More recently adopted by the United States Army to indicate an affirmative or a pleased response." - Urban Dictionary

"The Department of Military Science and Leadership, University of Tennessee claim HOOAH 'refers to or means anything except no' ... Regardless of its meaning ... the term is an expression of high morale, confidence, motivation and spirit." - WarChronicle.com

"The U.S. Air Force stole 'HOOAH' from the Army because we were part of the Army until 1947 and rather than waste a bunch of time coming up with something new and unique like "ROO-YAH" or "HAL-A-LOO-YAH", we said 'screw it, let's go with HOOAH' ... thanks Army ... HOOAH!" - CombatCritic

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

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Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over  1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

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Tabelog Reviewer CombatCriticView my food journey on Zomato!

Title: Valletta, Malta: Free Valletta Tour Well Worth Price Of Admission ... And More!

Key Words: Valletta, Malta, Colour My Travel, colour, my, travel, tour, tours, Jennifer, downtown, capitol, excursions, free, ghost, color, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, review, Yelp

Copyright 2017/2018 - 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC and CombatCritic - All Rights Reserved

Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Valletta, Malta: "Sunk" My Teeth Into This "Submarine" And Boy Was I Glad I Did

The Submarine
Italian, Fast Food, Mediterranean
Triq II Merkanti, 42B (aka 42B Merchant Street)
Valletta, Malta 1173
Phone: +356 7706 4944
Facebook Page
Prices: €€€€

TripAdvisor has this little place listed about four blocks East (toward the fort) on Merkanti, so we had to call to find out exactly where they were. The owners have been begging TripAdvisor to fix the map issue for months, but have been ignored. That is one of the reasons why I resigned as a Top Contributor on TripAdvisor, because they do not respond to customers (merchants or reviewers - aka the people that pay their bills) and because they selectively publish reviews, a practice I found deceiving and dishonest.



The Submarine is run by a very nice Italian couple from Bologna and boy do they make great sandwiches and at reasonable prices. Fresh breads (ciabatta, baguette, ftira and others) and fillings of your choice (salami, prosciutto, mortadella ... you name it ... and dozens of cheeses, toppings and sauces ... all for just €3.50 ... MAMMA MIA ... CHE BUONO ... HOOAH!
If the map is wrong, which like most addresses in Malta is very likely, ask a local where 42B Merkanti Street is. I can guarantee you it is worth the effort.
Salami, Gouda, Mushroom and Tomato with Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinaigrette on Ciabatta

Half of a Finocchiona, Provolone, Olive and Pesto on Toasted Ftira
It is a tiny place, but the sandwiches are big and scrummy. I had a salami, gouda, mushroom and tomato sandwich with an olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette, toasted on ciabatta and YUUUUUUUUM, it was delicious. My wife's finocchiona (a Tuscan salami), provolone, olive and pesto on toasted ftira (Maltese bread) was equally as good. Include a cold pint of beer and an ice tea, and we were satiated and happy as larks for just €13 total. What more can you ask for?

CombatCritic Gives The Submarine 10 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!
Ten Bombs Equates To:


HOOAH!: "Phonetic spelling of the acronym HUA, which stands for 'Heard Understood Acknowledged.' Originally used by the British in the late 1800's in Afghanistan. More recently adopted by the United States Army to indicate an affirmative or a pleased response." - Urban Dictionary

"The Department of Military Science and Leadership, University of Tennessee claim HOOAH 'refers to or means anything except no' ... Regardless of its meaning ... the term is an expression of high morale, confidence, motivation and spirit." - WarChronicle.com

"The U.S. Air Force stole 'HOOAH' from the Army because we were part of the Army until 1947 and rather than waste a bunch of time coming up with something new and unique like "ROO-YAH" or "HAL-A-LOO-YAH", we said 'screw it, let's go with HOOAH' ... thanks Army ... HOOAH!" - CombatCritic

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17 - 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)


Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over  1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

View my food journey on Zomato!


... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Tabelog Reviewer CombatCriticView my food journey on Zomato!


Title: Valletta, Malta: "Sunk" My Teeth Into This "Submarine" And Boy Was I Glad I Did

Key Words: Valletta, Malta, The Submarine, the, submarine, 42, Merkanti, Merchant, street, sandwiches, sandwich, shop, fast, food, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, restaurant, menu, review, Yelp, Zomato


Copyright 2017/2018 - 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC and CombatCritic - All Rights Reserved

Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Popeye Village, Malta: I Yam What I Yam ... An Old Film Set Turned Low Budget Theme Park

Popeye Village
Triq Tal-Prajjet, Il-Mellieħa
Website: popeyemalta.com
Phone: +356 2152 4782
Prices: $$$$

The leftover film set from the Popeye movie, filmed in 1980 starring newcomer Robin Williams, is now a Malta tourist attraction and theme park minus the rides. 
If you have a couple hours, at most, to kill, it is a charming diversion for film buffs and children of all ages.




We were met by Giullia at the park entrance, a lovely and kind Sicilian from Palermo who greeted us warmly (even giving us a ride into town after her shift) at the ornate ticket booth on the end of the peninsula. Tickets are €10.50 for adults and €8.50 for kids (3-12) as well as seniors (60+), not a bad deal compared to Disneyland's $124/head during peak season, but this ain't Disneyland.







The buildings are original and the park charming, sitting on the cliffs overlooking the beautiful and scenic Anchor Bay. There is a small cast of characters that will pose for photo ops and put on a performance, filming a short version of the movie several times a day with guests as cast members. You can buy the DVD later if you wish.



The inside of some the buildings are furnished with a mish mash of furniture and props, some possibly from the film others are now souvenir shops, snack bars and even a small theatre where you can see how the film set came to be. There are play areas for kids, but the one at the top of the village seemed to be closed when we were there. One area of the park has a Christmas theme (we were there just before Christmas, but it seems to be there year round) with slightly animated elves, reindeer, and other holiday characters in the buildings.















As I said, it is an interesting diversion and a place to spend a couple of hours, but as theme parks go, this one is somewhat lacking. It is a gorgeous location, a small picturesque bay on the Northwest corner of the small Mediterranean island, and that alone may be worth the price of admission.






CombatCritic Gives Popeye Village 6 Bombs Out Of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!

Six Bombs Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16/'17 - 650,000+ Views A Year

Tabelog - Official Judge (Silver)


Zomato - #1 Ranked "Verified" Foodie - Over  1,890,733 Review And Photo Views

View my food journey on Zomato!


... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube

Tabelog Reviewer CombatCriticView my food journey on Zomato!

Mi Famiglia Wood Oven Pizzeria Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Title: Popeye Village, Malta: I Yam What I Yam ... An Old Film Set Turned Low Budget Theme Park

Key Words: Popeye Village, Malta, I, yam, film set, theme, park, Popeye, village, movie IMDB, Robin Williams, Robin, Williams, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, , review, Yelp, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: G2G = "Good To Go"

Copyright 2017/2018 - 3rd Wave Media Group, LLC and CombatCritic - All Rights Reserved