Valletta
Day 2:
From the hotel, I jumped on one of the Arriva buses and headed to Valletta.
I got off at the main terminal, a locale dominated by the Triton fountain.
From there, I headed down the main street, essentially the spine of the town, stopping for a litre of beer with an American called Fred who offered to let me stay should I ever make it to Boston. Say what you will about Americans, they are a hospitable bunch.
From my stool, I was able to see the outside of St John's Co-Cathedral, but as I am unwilling to give money to the Catholic Church I did not go into the magnificent building.
I then headed to the National Museum of Archeology.
It is a small but remarkable collection of primarily local archaeological finds. A great deal of them are from the Temple Period, when the Maltese megaliths were created a thousand years before the Great Pyramids were erected in Egypt.
The island’s population who built the megaliths had all mysteriously disappeared by the time the bronze age peoples of the mainland migrated to Malta. No one is sure what happened to the original inhabitants.
It is always incredible seeing items created so much before anything we experience or can truly understand.
After the museum, I headed further up the spine and found a musical fountain, its jets timed to the open-air music playing.
I then reached Fort St. Elmo, at the end of the peninsula, which was undergoing significant re-construction.
I followed the road around to reach the Siege Bell Memorial, commemorating those who lost their lives in WWII convoys.
Climbing to the top, I had spectacular views across the bay to Vittoriosa.
There are so many pleasure boats in Maltese water that it can seem crowded, but with weather like theirs, can you blame them?
I stopped for a beer in a local café, situated below a rooftop that was being used for a wedding. The music spilled out, filling the streets, though perhaps the choice of “No Woman, No Cry” was inauspicious.
I then followed the road around to a point and could see the three cities.
A small courtyard held the elevator to the upper Barrakka Gardens. There is a small charge for using the elevator rather than climbing the long way up, but with my camera bag on me, and having walked a long way already, the cost seemed well worth the convenience.
The gardens are lovely, and due to their height on cliffs above the water, they give a 270° panorama over the sea. Everyone was particularly crowded around the three cities’ view, as that is perhaps the most spectacular.
The sun was setting, however, So I encamped at a table facing the waning sun with my camera setup and ready to shoot as the sun went down.
Regrettably, the cloud cover meant that the spectacle was very poor.
With night descending, I decided to try a recommended restaurant.
After re-walking the length of Valletta, without finding it, I settled back into the place I earlier met Fred for dinner.
Sat reading my book, I ran into Fred and his wife again! I had a lot to drink and a fairly large amount to eat. The garlic & chili pasta was surprisingly good.
From there, I took the bus home, but got a little lost and ended up at the Intercontinental Hotel for a couple of cocktails and regrettably, emailing work people.
I then headed back towards my hotel but got side-tracked at a bar with live music. I stopped in my tracks as I was walking by as I heard them performing a cover of Axis of Awesome's “4 Chord Song”!
Day 6:
I started one afternoon with lunch at the famous Caffe Gordina on the main plaza.
I then headed to the Manoel Theatre, to see the world’s third oldest operating theatre.
In the style of a true artist, the tour guide explained the old-fashioned special effects equipment and how it was used and told us that “If all technology fails us, we will still be able to simulate a storm for our plays”.
During the war, the building was briefly used as a homeless shelter, an image difficult to accommodate when you see the carefully placed seats and ornamentation.
After the theatre, I headed to the Armoury to see the collection of weapons of the Seafaring Knights of St. John.
Some of the equipment was really quite impressive.
I then went and found “the Pub”, frequented by many celebrities, and where Oliver Reed his epic last drinks before passing away in the pub.
My final stop was dinner at Guala, a Maltese place overlooking the bay. I had pizza on local bread, with a starter of peppered goat’s cheese. It was excellent.