A Va-lletta from Malta

There has been a slight change to the itinerary that I listed out the other day. Instead of today being a day at rest, the need, to get reliable internet access meant that we ventured into Valletta, the capital of Malta.

One of the things Malta is known for is it's wonderful bus service and buses, and indeed the Maltese seemed proud of this heritage too as all the souvenir stands seem to have yellow bus fridge magnets aplenty. It is somewhat sad to see that, as far as I can tell, these quaint things have been replaced by soulless Arriva buses.

That said, I could not deny they were nicely air-conditioned and were very frequent and cheap (you can travel the island on the bus all day for less that three Euros). I love travelling by public transport wherever I can as it invariably takes you to places you would never naturally go to, so the journey to Valletta was great fun, allowing us to enjoy the Maltese countryside.

A special mention has to go out to the driving over here, it is very random, especially at roundabouts. Britain was the country which invented and standardised the rules of etiquette when using roundabouts and it appears that to cock-a-snook at their former colonial overlords the Maltesers have dispensed with these rules. When a car is on the roundabout it is usual in the UK for cars looking to join to wait until they have passed before embarking on their manoeuvre; in Malta a car on the roundabout is a signal for flooring it and forcing the other cars to stop on the roundabout to avoid hitting you.........

Anyway, back to Valletta (my tangential witterings would put Ronnie Corbett to shame!). The bus ride was very nice giving us a long tour of some of the towns on the north of the island. There is a lot of rubble and derelict buildings and I wondered if they were a residual hangover from the second world war or not.

We arrived in Valletta and headed down towards the harbour so I could get the obligatory Valletta "money shot" of the forts across the harbour. This was a very impressive view to be fair, but I was slightly disappointed that the access to the fort was restricted so I could only get a few token snaps of the outside. Part of me felt like sneaking in anyway, but my curiosity was soon assuaged by the sound of repeat gun fire coming from the fort. Either they took the act of trespass very seriously here or, more plausibly judging by the sign I found a bit further down the road, the fort was used as a Police academy (only slightly more amusing than the film franchise I would imagine....)

This is Fort Ricasoli as seen from Fort Elmo

In case you are not aware, Malta was one of the most bombed places in the whole war, and its residents proved to be so resolute, that at the end of the war, George VI awarded the whole island the George Cross, the highest accolade that can be awarded to civilians.

This is a plaque on the parliament building quoting verbatim the letter from the king.

Personally, I preferred the language on the American plaque next door, apart from the fact they spell centre incorrectly!

The American plaque......

Another thing that Malta is famous for is for its churches. Being a catholic country, you can't go more than 100 yards without finding one. I like churches (coming from an Irish heritage it would be a sin not to) but I have to admit my real reason for coming here was the megalithic temples. However, here are a couple of church shots with which to feast your eyes.

This is St John's cathedral in the centre of Valletta......

......And this is a church on Merchant's street

Today has been a day at rest, and tomorrow we venture out to Gozo for our first day of templing. I need to dust my fedora down and get my bullwhip out of retirement.....Indiana Beamish returns......