Oct 2015 - Week 3

Monday 12th to Sunday 18th October 2015

Monday we went to Mdina. We had very good BLTs and cappuccinos at the Palazzo de Piro. From Mdina we went to look at the views from Dingli cliffs. After lunch we went to Ghadiera beach. Sam and Ben went for a quick swim but much of the water was closed off as there was a series of power boat races going on very near to the water’s edge. Sam and I sat at Munchies and ate ice creams while Ben hired a water bike. Apparently it was a bit disappointing as it was speed limited. When we got back home Ben went to have a look around town and came back with 1kg of king prawns. There must have been over 100 of them. Talk about over catering! Sam pan fried them with chilli, garlic and butter and served them as a starter for her and Ben; I had crisps. For our main course I served a bean chilli which was fab as always. I think Sam and Ben will be living on left over prawns tomorrow!

Tuesday Ben and I went for excellent cappuccinos at Xemxija Café and then on for a hike from Mistra Bay, past St Paul’s Island and back again. We thought we saw a snake skin but it turned out to be a thick shoelace! Sam went shopping and cooked us a wonderful meal of baked sea bream with sliced potatoes and roasted vegetables.

Today was a perfect weather day. Warm enough to sunbathe, cool enough to hike, sea like glass, a gentle breeze as soft as an embrace and an impossibly blue sky broken by scattered clouds. At sunset the bats come out to play and we like to sit on the terrace and watch their helter-skelter aerobatic display, almost close enough to reach out and touch. We sit outside long after dark looking at the stars and watching the planes fly in across the bay bringing visitors from all quarters. There is a quietness about St Paul’s Bay now. The tourists are still here but they seem to keep a low profile as if embarrassed to be seen. Parking spaces, such a premium in summer, are now ten a penny. This really is a favourite time of year.

Wednesday we had a ridiculously early start. I took Ben to the airport at 5am for his red eye flight to Heathrow, connecting on to Newcastle. It is surprising just how much traffic is on the roads at that time of morning, including nutters who think they are invincible. I went for a guitar lesson late afternoon except that it didn’t happen because there was nowhere to park. My guitar teacher had asked that I change the time of the lesson to 6pm. But after I had given up and gone home again I phoned him and he admitted that parking near him was always impossible at that time of day. That’s two weeks in a row that the lesson hasn’t come off and I am pretty demotivated. I think I may just knock it on the head. We had a delicious dinner of blackened chicken (it’s on my food blog) and chips.

Thursday Sam went to meet a friend for coffee and shopping. I took my camera and tripod to the National Park and got a few reasonable photos. It was unusually grey today and very muggy to boot. For dinner Sam had a baked chicken portion. I had a baked pork chop the size of Serbia and I have to own, it wasn’t great. Sometimes size isn’t everything!

Friday we went to Armira Bay in the north of the island. It’s a small but quite pretty bay with a sandy beach backed by half a dozen restaurants. To one side is a village of weekend holiday cottages, a bit like a poor man’s Centre Parcs. To the other side is a small outcrop of rocks beyond which a short walk takes you to a sister beach, Little Armira Bay. Both bays offer uninterrupted views across the water to Comino. These beaches are very quiet this time of year, at least on weekdays, and only a handful of sunbathers sat listlessly on sun loungers. Sam swam for about half an hour while I sat in the shade and read. There are worse ways to spend a Friday morning.

Other than that, our Fridays now tend to follow a regular routine. Shopping, working, Italian lesson, pizza, bed.

Saturday we gave the terrace a spring clean autumn clean. It shows how much it has cooled down here. I worked outside in the sun for over three hours; I couldn’t have done that a few weeks ago. The humidity has dropped off and the temperature in the sun is down to the mid-thirties. It’s perfect. In the evening we sat outside at a bar wearing our ubiquitous shorts, flip-flops and short sleeved shirts. We had dinner at a Maltese restaurant – Malet – and you can read my review of it if you like.

We had dessert at Cream & Co afterwards. It holds itself out as an ice cream parlour. I asked for a Sundae. The lady serving said they didn’t have any cream but I could choose toppings. I had tasteless Maltesers ice cream and tasteless cherry ice cream topped with dried up mini marshmallows and stale pecan nuts. Sam had a scoop of the Maltesers ice cream which she didn’t eat. I didn’t eat it either, which tells you all you need to know. Oh how we wish we had gone to Sotto Zero! We certainly won’t be going to Cream & Co again.

Sunday we had a lazy day which is just as well as the temperature has soared again to the mid-forties and humidity is off the scale. We have had the air conditioners blasting away again as if summer has returned. For dinner Sam had a rib eye steak. I had belly pork. I smothered it in smoked paprika, black pepper and sea salt, covered it and baked it in a low oven for three hours. I then uncovered it and cooked it for a further 30 minutes, turning it and basting it regularly. It was amazingly tender and absolutely delicious. Sam was a bit put off by it as one piece had a nipple on it! That’s taking reality a bit too far!