4. Malta - Saint Julian's & Valetta

Well, we're in Malta.

We've been here 24 hours. The best thing so far is the strawberries, but I am sure it will be wonderful once I relax into it.

We have settled in to our nice little apartment on the main strip in Saint Julian's opposite the town swimming pool, which is on the waterfront.

The entire area is either a construction zone or a demolition zone, depending on the stage at which you encounter the consrtruction.  Our stage is demolition - jack hammers and great chunks of concrete crashing into tip trucks. And someone keeps blowing a very loud whistle; I'm not sure if that is coming from the demolition or the traffic warden directing chaotic traffic around a house removal.

From our tiny balcony we look across Saint Julian's Bay.

The weather has been very unpleasant - clear blue skies but only about 17 degrees and incredibly windy. No-one ventured out yesterday except to find dinner at 8.00pm and by that stage everyone was in boots, puffer jackets or parkas and woolly scarves.  Except for one guy who was in shorts and thongs.

Today was much better. Sunny, 22 degrees with only a light wind.  So we bought a weekly bus ticket, which will take us anywhere on the island we want to go, and set off for ancient Valetta, ten minutes along the coast road.

I'm sure this was the most popular lunch spot in Valetta for local CBD workers, not many tourists here. The locals must be happy to see the warm sun again after a stormy beginning to Spring.  

They lost one of their national treasures - a rock bridge similar to one of the Apostles in Port Campbell. Demolished in a big Spring storm.

We admired the handsome Maltese veranda/balconies on the sandstone buildings in the main square. 

There were many less salubrious but equally elegant ones in the side streets.  

I honestly don't know if they are considered to be balconies or verandas .... obviously more reading is required on my part.  

However, I do know that they are temperature controllers.  It gets into the 40s here all Summer,  so I am guessing that means these constructions act as air coolers in Summer as well as clothes driers in Winter.

We opted for the 90 minute harbour cruise in place of our usual choice - the hop on-hop off city bus.  After all, Valetta is a city with an extremely deep harbour and an exceedingly long Mediterranean waterfront, one that it has needed to defend for all of its existence.

The harbour is therefore encircled by ancient fortifications and bastion walls that have been maintained for 2,000 years, firstly by the Knights of Malta and subsequently, by their allies.  Malta was a major British and Allied base during WWII.

Somewhere on our walk we passed Paul's Store.  "Old, fading and rough around the edges".  His words, not mine.

There were many horse drawn vehicles. While replicating past modes of transport, travelling mainly quite streets and resting is some modicum of shade, it is surely a practice we should not sanction or support.

And while I'm on my soapbox, Malta is very close to Africa with Algeria and Libya its closest neighbours. And yet there appears to be no recent immigrant/refugee population here. There are no beggars or street sellers at all.  I have not once been approached in the street and asked to buy something or asked for money.  All of the obviously African population that live here are working, as evidenced by publicly visible albeit low-level jobs and/or have families, as evidenced by the number of women in the supermarket and on the buses with babies and children. However, the numbers are surprisingly small for a wealthy community so close to Africa.  Once again, more reading required on my part.

We finished the day with a beer in the sun on the Saint Julian's waterfront near Paceville. So nice - so warm - so gentle.