Tue 07.Sep.2021
Valletta, Malta
The little land of Malta commands the passage between Western and
Eastern Mediterranean. As long as there have been sea powers in that part of the world,
Malta has been strategic, its spectacular harbors fortified.
Valletta itself is what you would call the Old City in any other town. Like any
respectable Altstadt, it is largely pedestrianized.
The outer
districts have their own names. We'll get to some of them in a minute.
An artsy chandelier from a short splurge in a boutique apartment.
Please be sure you have all your belongings with you.
Valletta gives the impression of a neighborhood once gone to seed, now renewing and
well into gentrifcation.
West from Valletta run miles of high-rise box towers - towns with names like Sliema,
St Julian,
Pembroke - a continuous sprawl.
Is
it less ugly than the Costa Del Sol?
A low bar, folks!
This is the night club and riviera district. Fifty years ago, I might have have hung
out here some. As it is, I came mainly for a covid testing clinic, required for my flights
home.
The fast catamaran ferry churns the harbor, as it waits to depart for the smaller island,
Gozo, of which more later.