Valletta is a busy, bustling, and vertical city. Its main street is the highest point, and it runs down to the sea in every direction. Streets are narrow and steep, in some cases, the sidewalk is steps.I toured the St. John's Co-Cathedral, which doesn't look like much from the outside, but inside, every inch is opulent Baroque. There is an audio tour which is interesting, and a museum which showcases additional art and an amazing collection of vellum Choir Books - illuminated manuscripts with verses from the Mass.
After spending most of the morning walking around - and not finding anything worth buying for gifts - I caught a bus to Paola, to visit the underground megalithing temple Hypogeum Hal Saflieni. Because of its fragile condition, the number of daily visitors is strictly limited, and bookings must be made weeks in advance. On the tour, I met Carolyn from New York City, and a couple from Alberta, Canada. After the Hypogeum tour, we walked to Tarxien, another megalithic temple complex, and then did the bus back to Valletta. From there, we split up, each going back to wherever they were staying.
The howling wind that kicked up yesterday continued today, and by 5 p.m. it had started to rain. During dinner, it was pouring, and then a magnificent electrical storm provided sound-and-light effects for half the night.
The dinner buffet was local Maltese food, and there were a pair of musicians with guitar and mandolin who played Portuguesd and Italian music. The first two pieces were ones Dad used to play on his guitar - "Love in Portugal" and "Back to Sorrento".
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