Twice every year, there is a regatta in Malta—one on March 31, to celebrate the departure of the last British soldiers in 1979, and on September 8, to mark the retreat of the Ottoman Turks in 1565 and thus the end of the Great Siege. So, we thought we’d watch from a nice perch atop Fort St. Angelo, in Birgu.

This was our first time in this city, just across the Grand Harbor from Valletta, and it was a lovely and charming old city, with narrow, winding streets and a quieter atmosphere than we were expecting.

We met our friends, the Buttigieg family, in the early afternoon. The boat races themselves were fun to watch, but pretty short and not so exciting. The kids, however, loved playing in fort, which is huge, and has lots of old cannons to climb and pretend to fire.

The brigade

Inside the fort, watching a video

Ready to fire