Malta, Day 2

A quick breakfast, then up steps again to find our way to the bus station (blipping the impressive central fountain while waiting). We bussed to Mdina, former capital of Malta and now a wonderfully preserved self-contained town where motorised traffic is strictly limited to its 400-odd residents. We spent a really pleasant few hours wandering through its narrow streets and admiring its impressive architecture and fine views. We had a pleasant snack in one place and then a more extended lunch in another before getting the bus back to Valletta, fitting in some shopping also, and a few beer stops.

It was noticeably windier at the beginning of the day than it had been yesterday, and it began to rain as we got back to Valletta. By the time we met at 8.00 to go out for our evening meal we'd had a fair bit of heavy rain and some thunder and lightning. Once again, one of the guys who's more in to checking guide books and tourist literature then we are had selected a place to eat, and this proved to be not too far from our rotten hotel. We were already used to the low prices (only 47 cents for the bus ride to Mdina, ridiculously little for food and drink), so it came as no surprise that this rooftop restaurant offered a set meal for just 18 euro. It was enjoyable, if not especially great food.

Once again it was difficult to find a bar which was open (perhaps because we weren't looking in the right part of town), so we decided to take a chance and ask about getting a drink in the hotel. This consisted of being taken upstairs to the grotty restaurant and being given cans of beer out of the fridge, but at least it gave us an opportunity for some good old-fashioned chit-chat.