We, and the islands of Malta, have survived this year-end 'winter' storm. Today the sun is shining, the sky is blue and the green sea has calmed down somewhat. All the rain soaked towels are hanging on the back railing and we are getting ready for a day out. Not sure where we're going yet.
The first bus that came along was the direct to Valletta.....problem solved, that is where we will go. It's a long bus ride so it's important to have good seats. We have made this trip a few times mostly standing up and it isn't fun. So the travel gods are with us today and we arrive at the main gate to Valletta about an hour later. It was a different route for us today going through Mosta around Matre Dei, the main hospital for Malta and into Valletta terminal. I chose not to wear a scarf today and as soon as we started down the windy pedestrian streets of Valletta I was cold around my bare neck and almost hairless head. So first stop I get a new scarf....lucky they are so cheap, I don't feel bad at all about maybe having a dozen or so.
A street sweeper for the narrow car-less streets. So many unique ways of doing things.
Recycling bins for glass, paper and plastics. It's good to see these because I don't know how the trash disposal situation is dealt with on the islands. Garbage pickup is everyday, you just put anything outside your door and it will be picked up on any given day. I asked our landlord about recycling and he said just put it all out. We try to keep our plastic water bottles and glass and cardboard separate but we don't really know where it goes or what's done with it.
We walked the shopping streets for an hour. It is very busy and we are hoping that this is the end of the two week Christmas vacationers, mostly from Britain. It really isn't that warm for Europeans to think of coming here for the winter. We had lunch at the Bad Ass Burger Bar again:(.... Along with a beer and a prosecco before we started to go downhill to the water to see all the ancient walls that make Valletta the beautiful fortress it is.
Lucky me! I found another pen shop. Added a new fountain pen to my collection. I'm not really happy with the ink cartridges because they don't seem to be water proof and run when I add paint no matter how long I let it dry.
Coloured doors and balconies. It is hard to imagine living in this ancient city. Yet it is just everyday life to so many people. There is the beautiful Carmelite Dome which I sketched while standing in the most appreciated sunshine, set behind a balcony with laundry drying. I love the contrast of today and yesterday side by side all constructed in varying shades of yellow and gold limestone. Sometimes gritty with the dirt of the ages and other times golden in the glow of afternoon sunlight.
We are so happy to be out travelling again today after our three days of being pretty much house bound with bad weather. I sometimes start to hyperventilate thinking how fast our time here is going. We need to see these special places over and over again to really appreciated their beauty and historical value. I would love to be doing more painting but there just don't seem to be enough hours in the days. So my photos help me capture everything and one day I will do more painting from the memories of our time here.
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