The forecast for this Thursday is partly sunny so it's a good day to visit the harbor. We catch the bus for Sleima Ferries. It's a 45 minute ride, much of it along the seafront and very pretty.
After St. Julian's Bay we arrive in Sleima. We pass by the first Sleima harbor and continue on another three stops until we arrive at the harbor used for the ferries and harbor tour boats. As we stroll along the harbor every 30 feet there is another outfit selling tickets for their sight-seeing cruises or one of the three Hop-On Hop-Off Bus operators. Everyone is polite when we nicely decline their service. In the middle of this group is the Valletta Ferry Service. We check the timings and learn that the ferry to Valletta runs every 30 minutes, so it will be easy for us to explore Sleima for a bit before going to Valletta.
We stop for coffee's and a snack at Tony's Bar across from the harbor. After all, it is almost noon! It's a nice mix of locals, expats and tourists in the small bar/restaurant. We sit next to a nicely dressed woman in her early 70's. Her shopping bags show that she's made two or three stops this morning. She sips a glass of white wine and watches the crowd in the bar, smiling occasionally to herself. Once she's finished the glass she hands the waiter €2 (which includes a 25¢ tip). He thanks her and says he'll see her next week. Apparently they have a ritual.😌
After St. Julian's Bay we arrive in Sleima. We pass by the first Sleima harbor and continue on another three stops until we arrive at the harbor used for the ferries and harbor tour boats. As we stroll along the harbor every 30 feet there is another outfit selling tickets for their sight-seeing cruises or one of the three Hop-On Hop-Off Bus operators. Everyone is polite when we nicely decline their service. In the middle of this group is the Valletta Ferry Service. We check the timings and learn that the ferry to Valletta runs every 30 minutes, so it will be easy for us to explore Sleima for a bit before going to Valletta.
We stop for coffee's and a snack at Tony's Bar across from the harbor. After all, it is almost noon! It's a nice mix of locals, expats and tourists in the small bar/restaurant. We sit next to a nicely dressed woman in her early 70's. Her shopping bags show that she's made two or three stops this morning. She sips a glass of white wine and watches the crowd in the bar, smiling occasionally to herself. Once she's finished the glass she hands the waiter €2 (which includes a 25¢ tip). He thanks her and says he'll see her next week. Apparently they have a ritual.😌
We walk a few blocks inland checking out the store windows as we go. After a few blocks we see a church up the hill on one of the side streets. We decide to check it out and come across the parish church Stella Maris. It isn't open, but we enjoy the architecture and the neighborhood, which includes some interesting abandoned buildings and a street mural which catches our eyes.
We stroll back to the Ferry and pay the €1.50 each for our one-way tickets. The ferry boat arrives and we are soon on our way for the 20 minute ride across the harbor. There are great views of the harbor, Maneol Island and Fort Maneol. As we draw closer to we are treated to a wonderful perspective of two of Valletta's churches and also the massive walls of Valletta.
After disembarking we have two options to reach the city center 1) walk 20 minutes uphill or 2) pay the shuttle driver €1. We pay the man and arrive in the city center four minutes later.
We explore further into Valletta, strolling through the side streets and the plazas. We stop by the Carmelite Church, whose massive dome looks majestic, but it not open. Across the street is St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral. It is open and welcoming visitors. It is interesting to see the memorial to the merchant marines and to compare the pews to those we have seen in the Catholic churches.
We explore further into Valletta, strolling through the side streets and the plazas. We stop by the Carmelite Church, whose massive dome looks majestic, but it not open. Across the street is St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral. It is open and welcoming visitors. It is interesting to see the memorial to the merchant marines and to compare the pews to those we have seen in the Catholic churches.
 I take a few minutes and walk around to the terrace behind St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral where I'm able to capture a nice panoramic photo of Manoel Island and Sleima. With all that walking it's time for a late lunch. We find ourselves near Streat Whisky Bar, so we decide to stop in for a bite and a wee nip. |  |
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