Feb 2016 - Week 2

Xemxija Aquaduct

Monday 8th to Sunday 14th February 2016

Monday I had a business meeting in Pieta. I dropped Sam off in Sliema on the way so she could do some shopping. Sliema leads to Gzira which leads to Pieta which leads to Floriana but actually you can’t tell where one ends and another begins. Sliema is up market, Gzira much less so and Pieta looks positively seedy in places! (An estate agent would describe it as having character or authentic charm.) Floriana is a mixed bag and includes some impressive government buildings. I met back up with Sam at Giorgio’s for excellent cappuccinos. For dinner that night Sam fixed us a left over roast chicken dinner. She also made a stock with the chicken carcasses so the flat smelled wonderful!

Tuesday I tried to go to the supermarket but couldn’t get parked. Everywhere was very busy ahead of tomorrow’s public holiday. I did a good power walk to Qawra and back. Sam went to the Post Office and on her way back stopped at the butcher’s so we didn’t starve. She bought pork chops. I’ll not bore you by waxing lyrical again!

Wednesday we woke up after a somewhat disturbed night. The wind got up and something was banging about noisily on the roof. John the handyman is due to visit us tomorrow anyway, so we’ll get him to sort it out.

We went for a walk on Ghardira beach. Today was a public holiday so there were a few people about; families with picnics, friends with BBQs, even some people stripped off and sunbathing. Windsurfers raced back and forth across the water, dodging the water bikes and small boats that seem to appear from nowhere on holidays and weekends. We like to play a game, Spot the Tourists. It’s not hard. Residents are bundled up in proper shoes, long trousers and coats and anoraks. Some even have scarves, hats and gloves. Tourists on the other hand happily wander about in t-shirts, shorts and flip flops. We are acclimatised, I suppose, and forget that our winter weather is akin to an early English summer.

Being a public holiday, the supermarkets were closed. Actually, one was open in Mosta but I couldn’t get to it because there had been a car crash along the way. I raided our cupboards and made spaghetti arrabiata. Sometimes the simplest dishes are the tastiest. I will post the recipe on my food blog. Sam didn’t feel too well after dinner so she went to bed early with a can of lager and a bowl of crisps! Makes a change from Night Nurse, I suppose.

Thursday I finally got to a supermarket! The other night when the wind got up we heard something banging on the roof. Living in a penthouse means that the flat roof is just above us. It is full of water tanks, TV aerials and satellite dishes and goodness knows what else. We called our handyman and he found an old satellite dish had come loose. It doesn’t bear thinking about the damage that it could have done if it had blown overboard. He took it away. It only just fit in the lift, which gives you some idea how big it was. For dinner I made a roasted vegetable risotto; we haven’t had that for ages.

Friday I got home from Italian to find that Sam had baked me lemon cupcakes as a Valentine treat. They were excellent and made a perfect starter before my pizza main course!

Saturday we celebrated Valentine’s weekend with afternoon tea at the Palazzo Parisio. It was excellent; the room was elegant, the service impeccable and the food delicious. We started with raspberry parfaits then had four types of sandwiches – cream cheese, curried egg, smoked salmon and traditional cucumber – and two home-made scones each with cream and strawberry jam. We then had six cakes each! Chocolate cake, coconut macaroon, lemon merengue pie, lemon cupcake, Battenberg and something else I’ve forgotten. The tea was served in little teapots with strainers and china cups and we had a glass of prosecco each (Sam drank mine). All very civilised and a nice change from going out for dinner. Of course we couldn’t manage all the food so we bought the left overs home and had them with a plate of chips for dinner.

Sunday we met Ian and Robin for lunch at Munchies at Ghadira Bay. The food was good; between us we had mussels, Caesar salad, spaghetti vongole, chicken burger, smoked salmon salad, ice cream and chocolate mousse. The beach was busy and a few tourists braved the cold sea. We don’t usually have noticeable tides in Malta but today the sea was higher than normal. Ian and Robin had arrived in their tender. They anchored it and floated in on the tide to the sandy shore. By the time we had finished lunch the tide had turned and taken the tender with it. Ian had to wade out waist deep to get it. Blow that! We had a late supper of roast chicken, Yorkshire puddings and baked potatoes.