VALLETTA (Days 7 & 8)

We got up before the crack of dawn in order to see the first sun of the new millennium.

In the afternoon we took the bus to Valletta. Most everything was closed, so we did a small walking tour of Floriana, a nearby suburb. When we went to catch our bus back, we learned they had stopped running for 3 hours. Instead of waiting, we decided to walk the 1 1/2 hours back to Sliema. Once we got out of the city and along the coastal boardwalk, it was quite pleasant. We strolled past colorful marinas, churches and bays.

When we got back we were quite hungry but still had to wait another hour or so for the restaurants to open. We then spent the evening resting and watching Italian game shows and dubbed movies.

DAY 8

Again, most things were closed. Fortunately the performance of the guards at Fort St. Elmo was still going on. We sat along the edges of the center square surrounded by old beige buildings and were returned to the late 1500's. Several groups of men wearing tights, metal vests and silver pointed helmets with large colorful plumes marched about carrying old muskets and long pikes. They did small military drills and then demonstrated their weapons such as vicious pike jabs and firing their muskets. They even fired several cannons including an especially large one which literally shook the fortress walls!

We walked around Vittoriosa, one of the oldest cities on the island, with its with charming hilly streets lined with closed balconies. Eventually we caught the bus back at sunset.

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