Juuls – The Place to Chill
I went back to the reggae bar last night, Juuls in St Julians. I have been sick these last couple of days with a cold and cough, so I haven’t accomplished a whole lot. I’ve wanted to go scuba diving, but it’s hard to put more pressure on your ears when they’re already clogged, and coughing underwater sucks also. Also, I’ve noticed that it’s one thing to keep touring and power through an illness when you’re only traveling for a short time. However, when traveling is your lifestyle it makes it more difficult to use the “I’ll get better when I go home” mentality. You actually have to stop and get better where you are or you just keep getting worse.
So anyway, I needed dinner and Juuls serves vegetarian food, which I’d heard was good, so I thought I’d go listen to some reggae and eat something healthy. I got there later in the evening and got a delicious hummous and mozzarella wrap – it was warm! I found a seat outside the bar where I could still hear the music coming from inside.
Stairway to Juuls’
Juuls is located in an alley off of Spinola Bay, in St. Julian’s, Malta. The number of people who crowd to this bar is astonishing and absolutely cannot fit into the actual bar. People spill out of the bar and onto the street and staircase out front. There is no car traffic, which is good, just another restaurant across the alley. Most people go inside, get their drinks, and then come outside and sit on the staircase or stand around and socialize. The best part about that is that most of the drinking and socializing is done directly in front of giant signs saying no loitering or open alcoholic containers are allowed! Love it.
The people-watching here is great. Since I came here before, this time I was able to tell that much of the clientele is the same as on the other night. Clearly, this bar attracts regulars. They are local – not necessarily Maltese, but local. When you listen, you can hear Maltese, Italian, Spanish, English, and Swedish, among other languages.
Shantha and Jessica at Juuls
Sebastian and some Bomboklaat Mojitos
Last night, I met two couples from Sweden, who had just met one another as well. We all got along quite well and had some great conversation. Ari and Isabella both live and work here, however, so they left earlier in the evening since they had to get up in the morning. Sebastian and Jessica are on vacation, and we had really hit it off, so we stayed talking until the wee hours. We had a great time! They had met the owner of the bar, Nicholas, a few nights earlier (when Jessica unfortunately lost her phone!), so we even spoke to him later on in the evening for a while, and he gave me some good suggestions of beaches to visit and some info about a scuba company here on the island. We all exchanged numbers and I’m hoping to see them again.
Yay Magic Rasta Drink!
This bar is awesome (clearly – what reggae bar isn’t?)! It plays reggae music all the time, serves vegetarian food – which is delicious, I might add – and has awesome decor. The bathrooms are rasta colored! There is even a swing out in the front of the bar! In addition, they serve a bunch of great drinks, which are quite strong, unlike many of the watered-down drinks you find elsewhere in town. The absolute best is a drink called the Bomboklaat Mojito. I personally kept calling it the Magic Rasta Drink because…it’s Rasta Colored!!! And it’s a strawberry mojito. Amazing.