Sept 2015 - Week 1

Tuesday Lauren and I went out for the day. First to Sliema where we had very good pain au chocolates, cappuccinos and fresh orange juice at French Affaire in Sliema. Lauren bought a hand bag in Guess. We drove on to Birxebbuga, a rather unattractive industrial town and seaport. We stopped off at the curiously named Pretty Bay for lunch. Although the water is a gorgeous turquoise there, the sandy beach that is Pretty Bay overlooks the commercial port with its ugly, towering cranes and assorted higgledy-piggledy buildings and equipment, not to mention ships and gazillions of containers awaiting collection.

We chose our lunch venue badly, a big tourist place called Edesia Restaurant and Cafeteria. Talk about down-market. The menu was huge, the food poor and the toilets disgusting (the worst Lauren has ever seen). The condiments were a health hazard. The pepper pot, oil and vinegar bottles were filthy and the lid of the salt cellar rusted nearly to the point of collapse. Lauren had a chicken wrap, just about edible and I had a tuna wrap, salty to the point of being inedible. I dissected it to discover slimy, brown lettuce. Yuck! We drove on to Marsaskala for a quick look-see before heading home.

Sam cooked us pan fried prawns and sea bream fillets served with left over savoury rice – delish! We played loads of games again; dominoes, cards and hangman.

Wednesday Lauren and I went to the Café del Mar to roast by, and in, the pool again. For lunch we shared a pizza pazza, that is a pizza flavoured with pepperoni and BBQ sauce and it was good if a bit too cheesy for my taste.

In the evening we went to Cheeky Monkey for cocktails which were excellent – properly made from fresh ingredients rather than bought-in blends. The food was mixed. Lauren had breaded stuffed chicken which she enjoyed. Sam and I both had steak and ale pie. It was tasty and there was loads of meat but not nearly enough gravy so it was quite dry and cloying and I left half of it. The toilets were awful again – the gents was flooded. On a bright note there was live music which was pretty good; 2 guitarists and a drummer. I had bacio and cherry ice cream for dessert on the way home.

Thursday Lauren went paragliding in the morning. The speed boat had to go quite slowly as it was a windy day but the wind made the paragliding more exciting. The guy who drives the boat has a huge tattoo of a young woman on his calf. I asked him who it is of and he said his grandmother! After lunch at home we went to the Red Fort. It was shut but the views are amazing from there and Lauren took loads of photos. We drove also to Paradise Bay, Magdalena’s Chapel and Mistra Bay just for a look-see then went on to Riviera Bay for a swim. The waves were quite high there and we swam for about 45 minutes. As we left we passed an English-looking couple arriving for a swim and I said loudly, “That was the biggest shark I’ve ever seen” and Lauren said, “I know, it was huge!” The look on their faces was a picture.

For dinner we had blackened chicken with chuck wagon beans. We watched the new film of Far From the Madding Crowd which was okay but Julie Christie is a tough act to follow.

Friday we had another day at Café del Mar. The main entertainment was a woman in her late twenties who was there alone and kept taking photos of herself using a mini tripod. She asked various swimmers to take photos of her posing with her back to the camera and bum sticking out. She kept changing her bikinis so we reckon she was planning to make it look like she’d been there on several different days.

For dinner we went to Lovage and it was great as always! Sam had risotto with scallops followed by ravioli stuffed with lobster and served with a prawn bisque. Lauren had prawn and courgette patties, lamb ravioli and apple tartlet with vanilla ice cream. I had baked goat’s cheese, lamb fillets with a pea puree and a nut tartlet with chocolate ice cream. We also had an amuse bouche (pumpkin soup), roasted veggies and potatoes and a complimentary liqueur. Oh, and a half bottle of prosecco and a bottle of rioja.

Saturday we had planned to go on a boat trip around St Paul’s Bay but it turns out the trips are only run Monday to Friday! Instead Lauren and I went to the Aquarium (again, that’s 5 times now but still Lauren is keen as mustard to see it). On the walk home we stopped off at Michele’s for a cappuccino and a fresh orange juice and both were excellent. The waiter couldn’t take his eyes off Lauren and told her he remembered her visiting Malta previously. He’s definitely smitten! Lauren and Sam sunbathed on the terrace in the afternoon while I cooked.

We had chilli con carne for dinner with rice and tortilla chips. I made the chilli using four different types of chilli powders – chipotle, ancho, mulato and pasilla – and it was delicious.

We played cards for a while and then watched one of our favourite movies, Franco Zeffirelli’s version of Jane Eyre. Today was a pretty perfect day really but like a storm bubbling up on the horizon, I am tinged with sadness by the knowledge that it is Lauren’s last day with us. She has no plans to return to Malta this year and it will likely be a long time until we see her again.

Sunday we dropped Lauren off at the airport. Long faces and heavy hearts all around but we will cherish happy memories of another fantastic week together. I count my blessings that I have had two, week-long holidays here with Lauren this year and four in the past 12 months. I guess not many dads get to do that with their grown up daughters so I cheer myself with that thought if I am feeling blue. Today marks the end of our holiday period after three weeks in the IOM and UK and a week off here in Malta. Tomorrow we will crash back to the reality of work and chores!

Flatbreads for dinner – haven’t had those for a while!