April 2016 - Week 2

Azure Window in Gozo

Monday 11th to Sunday 17th April 2016

Monday we took the ferry to Gozo; fortunately the wind had dropped and the sea was calm again. We found our “farmhouse” in Qala no problem. It’s fine but not great. We spent the day touring the Island stopping at Victoria (also known as Rabat for some reason) for brunch, Marsalforn for cappuccinos, Qbajjar to look at the views and the Azure Window for Magnums! We visited the Craft Village and looked around the up market Kempinski Hotel and Spa. On the way home we stopped at Lidl to pick up supplies. So, we have pretty much done Gozo in one day!

Our first impressions are fantastic. Gozo is quiet and rural and scenic and it’s obvious why it is so popular with walkers and snorkelers alike. In the evening we went to a local bar – 7 bottles of beer for £7, unbelievable – then to a local restaurant, Ta Vestru and had very good food. The portions were huge though, to the point of being silly. It was like eating in Florida. They bought complimentary bruschettas, then bread, my starter was a mixed salad – blood oranges, pears, kiwi, avocado, cherry tomatoes and leaves with a balsamic vinaigrette – Sam’s was rabbit spaghetti (more than enough to serve two as a main course), my main was a Mexicana pizza (£4!), Sam’s more rabbit – braised this time, a whole rabbit with the heart, liver, lungs, you name it and for pudding we shared a Flintstone’s sized portion of chocolate cake. We will certainly go back because it was all so good but we are wise now and will order a lot less.

Tuesday we went all over the place. In the morning we stopped at a village with an amazing church – again – and had breakfast. It was the sort of place where all the locals stopped talking, watched as we walked in and ordered our drinks and then shrugged as if to say we were okay. We had cappuccinos and pea pastizzis. As the day before, we drove all over Gozo. We stopped for a lovely lunch at Marsalforn and saw the astonishing church at San Lorenzo – it has just come out of a 15 year restoration. We took in the views at Xlendi and drove through Victoria goodness knows how many times. Victoria is in the centre of the Island so you basically have to go through there to get anywhere. For dinner we took a bus to Mgarr and had a couple of drinks at a waterside bar then had a Chinese meal which wasn’t half bad. I have to say that Gozo has an unexpected charm and I could certainly see myself living there.

Sam and I are staying in a small village called Qali (pronounced Ali). I have to say, the gene pool is limited! Think Foxdale but with infinitely more charm, plus loads of good restaurants and bars and a ridiculously large church and loads of old men who sit around drinking coffee and talking loudly about God knows what (in Maltese) and cars parked haphazardly and shops that never seem to actually open and empty busses that roar through for no apparent reason. And a few pasty white tourists that stand out like sore thumbs and countless cats and dogs that seem to have free run of the place.

We stopped off at a bar on the way home from dinner for a Drambuie, as you do. Well, the guy measured it out using a double measuring thingie and gave me three shots – so that’s actually 6 Drambuies. And the cost? Three Euros! Yup, that’s about £2.40. Is this Drambuie Heaven? Is this the Yin and the Yang? Is this, finally, the meaning of life revealed? Is this Nirvana? Or Shangri La? Or Paradise? Is this the pinnacle of 48 years existence? (Okay, you got me, it’s a bit more than that.) I don’t know. But of one thing I am quite certain. I’m going back tomorrow!

Wednesday we drove to Ramla Bay and looked at the near deserted beach with its red sand. There is parking provided for hundreds of cars so I imagine the place gets packed in summer. From there we drove to Xaghra (you couldn’t make these names up) and had excellent cappuccinos and a slice of cherry cheesecake at a pleasant café in the main square by the church. Next we went to Victoria and walked around the Citadella which is being refurbished. The approach to it is a sprawling building site but the workmen seem unperturbed by the tourists tramping over their part-laid stone floors. We bought bread and cheese from Lidl for our lunch. In the evening we walked to the town square and ate bruschetta and salads and ribs and pizza and finished off again with Drambuie!

Thursday the heat wave continued. It was the sort of weather where you seek out the shade wherever you can. There is still little or no humidity though, so it’s not unpleasant. By lunchtime the weather started to change and the wind blew up turning the sea rough. We had a good tour around, generally sightseeing and ended up at Marsaflorn for lunch. It wasn’t good. Sam’s mussels tasted okay, or so she claimed, but they smelt foul to the point of making me retch. I had a caprese salad which turned out to be a bowl of lettuce with some sliced tomato and dry mozzarella balls. Never mind! Dinner wasn’t much better though. I had an overly salted chicken curry with dried up bits of chicken in a thin sauce with under cooked onions. Sam had ossobuco which she enjoyed. Some days food just doesn’t work out and today was one of those days for me.

Friday we went down to Hondoq Bay to take in the views and have fairly rubbish cappuccinos. Today was another scorcher. We packed up and returned home to find that the washing machine had also packed up! For dinner we got take away pizzas from Portobello.

Saturday life got back to normal with shopping and cooking. You know what that’s like after a holiday. My hike took me past the Café del Mar and it was busy with people sunbathing, although no one was in the pool; it’s still far too cold for that unles you are a tourist! For dinner we had a fab roasted corn-fed chicken form our local butcher and served it with BBQed veggies.

Sunday I cleaned the terraces. Although we hardly get any rain, even the lightest shower brings red dust and it’s hard work cleaning in the hot sun. It’s a great workout though. For dinner Sam cooked us excellent stuffed peppers, packed with peppers, courgettes, red onions, feta and herbs. Who needs meat when veggies taste this good?