Valletta

We took the water taxi from Vittoriosa across the Grand Harbour to Valetta. Here you can see some of the city walls and fortifications. 
Apparently the first stone of the city was laid in March of 1566 and the whole city was completed in 5 years by 8,000 men. It was built as a response to having been besieged by the Turks in 1565 for four months during which many people died. The Turks were defeated and then the fortifications were built to ensure that nothing like that could happen to them again. 

We walked along the waterfront for a while, had lunch in one of the many cafes, their tables all sprawled out in the sunshine, where hibiscus and bird of paradise plants were flowering. 
Then we walked back and took the lift up into the old city, gentlemanly stately Valletta where the car doesn't go and the buskers play classical clarinet. 
You can see the lift in the shot, the vertical metal shaft. The lift goes very quickly up to the highest level of the city walls where there are beautiful gardens, and a spectacular view of the three cities, Senglea, Vittoriosa and Conspicua, and of the gigantic ship repair yard. 
We found a food store and stocked up on a few things, and wandered around taking in the atmosphere. It seems a real cafe street culture, but not many shops, which we liked. 
For such a small island country everything is on a grand scale. Big churches and so on, squares and plazas and statues etc. We really like it. 
The weather is very pleasantly warm, so that we wore t-shirts and sun hats. The locals are all in winter coats though and think we are hilarious!