Marsaxlokk

This village with a tongue twisting name is on the south coast. The guide warned that it would be difficult to get to on a Sunday as the Maltese have family seafood lunches there. But I was determined to have a go. The warning seemed to be true, every bus to Valletta terminal was packed. I resigned myself to crossing by ferry and spending a Sunday in Valletta, or perhaps the Three Cities. But once in Valletta I thought, why not see if I can get onto a Masaxlokk bus. In fact I scored an express service. Never give up prematurely.

There is a bric-a-brac market and all the restaurants by the harbour offer seafood menus. Lots of people were seated and eating.

The fishing boats are traditionally colourfully painted, to the delight of photographers.

I walked the length of the waterfront and finally settled on this restaurant near the church.

I asked for the aljotta and spaghetti mare. The aljotta was even better than the previous one; even though the portion was small, it was full of flavour. The spaghetti was also excellent.

Back in Valletta I explored the Upper Barrakka Gardens. These cannons are fired at certain times. The need for the timekeeping function is long gone but the ceremony has been preserved.

Spotting a queue at the Amorino geleteria, I decided to join. It was worth the wait, their gelati were very smooth.

And this is what I bought, caffè and nocciola. Very artfully scooped to look like a flower with petals.

Valletta

The hostel is quite comfy. I have a 4 share room but there is air-conditioning (essential for Malta summers), an onsuite bathroom, and my roommates are out most of the time. I self-cater breakfast with food from the supermarket up the road.

I crossed over to Valletta by ferry at 0930 to be punctual at the Segway tour start, which happened to be the Malta 5D Experience cinema. More about that later. I am the only one on the tour. My guide is Blue, an Irish girl born in Botswana but who now lives on Malta while her parents live in Portugal. She is pleased that I have experience with a Segway and that also means less training and more tour time for me.

She took me on a tour of Valletta's sights, the peninsula from head to toe, both inside and outside the city walls. This is St.Georges Square, the main one. Facing it is the Grandmaster's Palace containing the Palace Armory and Palace State Rooms. On the wall is a reproduction of a letter from King George VI dated 15 April 1942 awarding the George Cross to the island for withstanding the siege by Axis forces. Today the cross is woven into the flag.

Part of the harbour entrance can be seen here.

And the impressive fortifications.

I also quizzed Blue about the Maltese economy, the attraction for ex-pats, industry, employment and so forth. The impression I got is that the industrious Maltese are avidly seeking opportunities in the EU to advance the economy. The university rates highly in Europe, the Mater Dei hospital is state of the art, and many young people are involved in support work for the electronic gaming industry due to their facility with languages.

Part of the reason for Malta's competitiveness is the low labour cost base. I think it was the Norwegian on Gozo who quoted a figure of 70% of northern Europe. Partly due to the hidden labour market he added. I saw quite a few young middle Europeans working to gain a foothold in the English speaking job market.

Of course the Maltese must ensure that tradition is not needlessly sacrificed for modernity. A delicate balancing act.

And Malta still has a lot of the old, which appeals to ex-pats of a certain age. It's been a long time since I saw that HMV dog.

A free viewing of Malta 5D was thrown in with the tour. Besides the 3D movie, the chair moved according to cue (explosions, etc.) and a couple of times water spray was used. The film was an entertaining and selective recounting of parts of Maltese history, including the sieges by the Turks and the Axis. You get a inkling of the fortitude of the Maltese people.

For lunch I found a bar serving ftira sandwiches matched with Amacord craft beer. Mine was the Mora, dark because it was brewed with coffee. Nonetheless it was very potent at 9% alcohol. Not sure if the caffeine enhanced or counteracted the alcohol.

Valletta was holding Notte Bianca (sleepless night) that evening. I made plans to come back in the evening.