From boutique to palace

If my previous stay in Valletta was at a boutique, my return is to a palace. Maybe not as we know it, but it must have been the town house of a prosperous family centuries ago. The owner has sent me a video with complicated instructions on how to gain access to the building if he's out, but as it happens he's in and shows me around his 5-storey mansion. After climbing seemingly endless spiral staircases, I see daylight with a view across to the Three Cities and an attractive roof garden. When I want to breakfast out, the Museum Cafe is one of several tiny holes in the wall with more seating outside than inside. Full English breakfast for 8 euros---perfect!

With most of Valletta's streets being narrow and intimate, it's best to get up close with the camera. The bendy buses, London rejects that were palmed off on Malta, have thankfully gone, while every doorway and seems to be different. There's a nice street sign in Strait Street to show it's shaken off its once sleazy reputation. Many street corners hold small statues of saints while St. Paul himself gave his name to the Anglican Cathedral. The final picture covers two comparative religions.

And then it's time for me, with regret, to leave Malta. There's a whole lot more to it than beach resorts and my ten days there have hardly done it justice.Read more