More or less the first thing I noticed in Malta was its general pace of life: laid back. No frenzy in speech, action, attitude or mannerisms of the locals that one chances upon and gets the opportunity to make friends with. It’s like how the world was about twenty years ago, I reminiscenced. Happy and easy. Not confused and on the go, go, go!

The average Maltese is calm, friendly and philosophical. But not if you encounter them at a nice seaside eatery, which I discovered at my very first night out, with friends Alison and Andrew, both as Maltese as possible. Driving to Marsaxlokk 45 minutes away in a stretch limo with great music and a first class bar was a fun experience and interacting with the locals at the restaurant even more so. They laughed loudly, heartily and shouted at each other across tables, gay and abandoned. Guess the Latin streak takes over the subtle British conditioning of over 150 years that Malta was subjected too. Yes, the British were an integral part of Maltese life from 1800 to 1979 and that explains the many English touches prevalent in the current scenario. The red phone booth being one of them.

Malta is pretty and at the same time an imposing country, a Republic to be accurate. Sitting as it does bang in the middle of the Mediterranean; it’s warm and sunny with the bluest of waters and skies, with the best and most hard-working gardeners of the world, judging from works of green art in all the public places. With predominantly limestone buildings glistening and shining with a golden hue, the cityscape makes for beautiful pictures.

Out of the six islands that form the Maltese archipelago, the main island after Malta is Gozo and to a lesser extent Comino, which is just one square mile in area. The other three, Cominotto, Filfla and the Island of St. Paul’s are just tiny inhabited rocks.

As I was being driven from the airport to my hotel in the upbeat area of St. Julian’s, I learnt with amazement that the island measured just 13 miles wide and nine miles deep at its furthest points and some 17 miles from corner to corner. And Gozo was smaller still, nine miles by four miles! For me that became the most wonderful aspect of Malta, its tiny-ness. I guess big city people, always stuck in traffic jams would certainly find driving in such a place, a pleasure.

It’s not often that I opt to stay at a hotel bang in the middle of its entertainment hub, but I chose to do so in Malta just to experience the buzz. Paceville, the entertainment hub, was just across the road from my hotel and I heard the drubbing of the music till late at night, every night, not just the week-end. Some nights I sat on the verandah and watched all the crazy fun and enjoyed myself from a distance and other nights, drank a glass of cold milk, went to bed, buried my head under four pillows and fell off to sleep, grumbling to myself ! But I guess c’est la holiday vie!!

It is not difficult to get by in this tiny island. You could take a taxi very easily from anywhere to anywhere, but a bus is much more fun. Just listening to co-passengers you learn quite a bit. Remember they speak English around here most of the time, specially the youth. Of course, Maltese is also spoken and even Italian.

From St. Julian’s Bay the bus goes hugging the coast all along past Sliema, to Valletta, where you hop off and walk through huge walled gates to the Republic Street, which is certainly the heart of Malta.

One long pedestrian plaza, it is a spectacular sight. It is the true centre of Malta without any doubt. Busy and always crowded, the street is also the longest, widest and most typical of the city. A fascinating area stretching from the City Gate to Fort Elmo, it has the most prestigious and beautiful shops, the most important offices, numerous monuments, restaurants and famous cafes located on this, what could also be one of the most well-known plazas of Europe.

As you enter the street from the City Gate end you find the Auberge de Provence - a museum and the Grand Master’s Palace - the office of the President of Malta, as well as two churches almost facing each other. On one side is the Church of St. Barbara and on the other the Church of St. Francis. In the central section is the National Library of Malta and lastly the 16th century Casa Rocca Piccola, a fine aristrocratic residence that the owners have opened to the public with an exhibition of all the household treasures and rooms furnished in period style.

Auberge de Provence is worth a visit. Built between 1571 and 1575 to a design by the Maltese architect Gerolamo Cassar, its appearance has remained largely unchanged with Doric columns and Ionic pillars. From 1820 to 1954 it housed the British officers’ Union Club following a complete restoration carried out recently it now houses the National Museum of Archaeology with a valuable collection of prehistoric artifacts such as pottery, statuettes (including ten headless statues of fertility goddesses), stone implements, ornaments recovered from Malta’s prehistoric megalithic temple sites.

But Valletta named after its founder, the Grand Master Jean Parisot de la Vallette, is more than the Republic Street, as important as it may be. Lord Byron called Valletta ‘a city built by gentlemen for gentlemen’. The gents in question were the Knights of St. John who built this honey coloured stone city some 430 odd years ago. Remarkably it was built in just five years, following the Great Siege in 1565, as the Knights hurried to establish a new fortified capital before the next Turkish onslaught. Malta has a history of 7,000 intriguing years.

The entire area of this district stretching half a mile along the hilly peninsular is easy to negotiate on foot since it follows an easy grid pattern, but it is best appreciated by taking a harbour cruise. The grandeur of this walled city and its enormous bastion is best seen from afar.

Sundays are special at Valletta, when the Sunday Market is put up near the Triton Fountain and the Central Bus Depot, just outside the City Gate. It attracts bargain hunters from across the entire island and both buyers and sellers make for a merry atmosphere. Off Republic Street and parallel to it is another market which sells fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, pork, fish and rabbit which is almost a national dish of Malta. In the various bylanes you find innumerable little road side shops selling every conceivable goody from watches and bags to liquor and lace.

However what is really an outstanding feature of the Valletta is the Barracca Gardens. Just a two minute walk away from the Republic Street, here is a quiet green haven from where you get an awesome view of the golden harbour and the city beneath and across, what is known as Vittoriosa.

Specialties of Malta include various dishes with rabbit (fenek), the most popular being a stew,Styffat Tal-Fenek. There is also Timpana and Mqarun fil-forn (baked pasta with macaroni, meat and cheese). Lampuki, a pie made from the local dorado fish and vegetables, it is one of the country’s best loved dishes. Aljotta is a famous fish soup with marjoram, tomatoes, garlic and rice.

Maltese bread is something of an institution in itself. Traditionally the bread is made from sour dough, left over from the previous day and is renowned for being crisp and crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle. One must try and taste the hobz biz-zejt, which is leavened bread, cut into thick chunks, or else baked unleavened and served drenched in olive oil.

Pastry which is used a lot, both in savoury and sweet forms, as also tarts are eaten on a regular basis by the locals. Sweets are an integral part of Maltese eating. Nougat is popular, as are macaroons and the Italian influenced dessert Kannoli – fried pastry rolled up and filled with ricotta and either chocolate chips or fruit.

But Da Pippo, on Melita Street is simply superb. It is a small family owned restaurant frequented predominantly by locals, which is always a good sign. There are just 10 tables and I believe they don’t take reservations. If you walk in there and the restaurant is full they will ask you to return in 45 minutes, and they will have saved a table for you.

The menu at Da Pippo changes daily and includes a variety of Maltese and Sicilian dishes. Depending upon what is freshly available they select five or six main courses. As you arrive, one of the owners will take you to the glass case/ counter and show you what is on offer that day and explain how it will be prepared. It took me just a few seconds to decide I would eat Vongole, clams in pasta, an absolute favourite of mine.

In addition to the main courses, there are a variety of breads, local cheeses, salads, olives, cooked potatoes and other hors d’ oeuvre brought to each table. The wine list is ample and they help you with selecting the appropriate one, if you request them.

Da Pippo is decorated like a traditional trattoria with stone floors, checkered table cloths and wine racks covering the lower half of the walls. Paintings of local artists’ hang on the walls and are for sale.

You find no short comings at all on the service front. Everyone is incredibly friendly and you can’t tell the difference between owner and staff. The overall atmosphere of the restaurant is delightful and exudes a village charm. To the extent that you forget you are in the middle of Valletta. From the manner in which the patrons greet each other it is apparent they live in the vicinity and know each other. That really does lend to the charm.

Last but not the least, the prices are quite reasonable. Unlike other tourist-oriented restaurants, where the food is mediocre and the prices sky-high.

But a must visit place on Republic street is Café Cordina. This is a Maltese institution in the culinary world. It is probably the oldest and the most famous café of Valletta.

Located in a picturesque setting, facing Piazza Regina and the impressive Biblioteca, this café is the best place on the Republic Street to sit and ‘people -watch’. There are rows and rows of tables under huge sun umbrellas which are almost always full, particularly in summer. However a visit inside the restaurant is a must. The café’s interior is ancient, with arched ceilings and elegant fittings, frescoes and mirrors.

I had an espresso sitting at the coffee bar and got chatting with the chef. I learnt they have more than 40 types of cakes on the menu, in addition to ice cream, pastizzi (which is the most ordered item at Cordina), sandwiches, baguettes and salads.

So famous are the products of Café Cordina that a whole range of them are packaged and sold world-wide through their web site. These include Assorted Sweets, Caffe Italiano, Honey Rings, Almond and Chocolate Krustini, Nougat Delights, Pastini, Sugared Almonds and Perlini.