On the other side of Sliema is St. Julian's, the main resort area. Aki and I are not really resort kind of people, but when the bus to Mdina took us through the area, we decided it would be worth a walk. You'll find yourself restaurants, hotels, cafes that serve cake and coffee (oh yes indeedy), and a beautifully blue coastline.
One of the interesting things about Malta is that people always seem to be bumping into friends. Often you'd see someone just stopping the car and hollaring across the road to "Hi-di-ho, neighbour". Although it's not always friendly: we overheard a few heated arguments being hurled across the road, from one shop owner to another. Nonetheless - it felt like a real community.