May 2016 - Week 2

Quirky Acqua Marina in Buggiba

Monday 9th to Sunday 15th May 2016

Monday we visited Valletta. Wow! It doesn’t matter how many times I see it, it still bowls me over. It’s obvious Linda feels the same. We think its modest size adds to its charm; there aren’t many cities you can see in two or three hours. Venice is the same. Maybe that’s why Valletta and Venice are consistently voted among the top five cities of the world.

After a false start at a useless café we ended up at Fellini for lunch which was very good if all you want is a snack – Linda and I had bruschettas and Mick had a tuna ftira (Mick always has a tuna ftira for lunch – at this rate he will grow gills.) For dinner we went to Benjawan and very good it was too! When we got back to the flat we got Youtube piping through the TV to reminisce about Eurovision songs. We love Eurovision! This year’s contest is next weekend.

Tuesday we walked from Golden Bay to Mgarr which Linda pronounces MMMMMMgar instead of Mjar. Mind you, she pronounces Co-mi-no, Com-in-oh. The walk was fantastic as always with outstanding views. At Mgarr we went into a restaurant that was full of 40 to 50 very smartly dressed Maltese ladies of a certain age, all eating rabbit stew with mounds of vegetables. It wasn’t the sort of food we wanted for lunch so we went instead to the only other eatery that seemed open; a real basic café frequented only by old men. We sure got some strange looks but we didn’t complain at a bottle of coke and a cheese toasty for €3. My feet were very sore so we tried to get a bus back to our car at Golden Bay but the bus didn’t turn up. After something approaching an hour of waiting we gave up and called a taxi.

Sam had another yoga lesson so we were banished again. This time we went to Bognor on the promenade around the corner from us and had the special; a pitcher of sangria with garlic bread for €8. For dinner we had slow cooker cooked pork curry.

Wednesday we went to Marsascala. We had excellent cappuccinos then went for a stroll. It was a baking hot day and our hearts weren’t in it. We stopped at a nice bar/restaurant for lunch. I had a cheese omelette with chips and it was very tasty. We also discovered an ice cream parlour that serves a wide choice of lactose-free and vegan ice creams and cakes. The weather turned very misty. Or so we thought. It turned out to be a shroud of dust and we are forecast to have a “dirty thunderstorm” to clear the air.

We went to Mirabelle’s for a drink then had dinner at Acqua Marina. The restaurant was full and had a great atmosphere. The food was excellent – anti pasta, caprese salad, sautéed mushrooms, pasta with pesto, spaghetti vongole, to name a few dishes – and with wine and drinks it came to €25 a head so it was great value too.

As forecast the thunderstorm arrived overnight and brought strong winds with it; one of Sam’s terracotta plant pots was smashed and the patio furniture was strewn about.

Thursday Mick and Linda flew home. Sam went to art class, I went to the supermarket, we had siestas and ate left over pork curry for dinner.

Friday we went to Mambo at Armier Bay for brunch – bruschette e cappuccini. (Notice the Italian?) There is a lot of activity there clearing the seaweed from the beach and laying out sunbeds and umbrellas ready for the tourist invasion. We took our time, dawdled along the beach and drove home the long way via Manikata. We didn’t do much else – it really was a day of rest – and had pizzas for dinner.

Saturday saw us visit the Farmers’ Market, get cappuccinos, go to the supermarket and, in the afternoon, buy ice creams at Sotto Zero. The weather is perfect again, as you would expect now that our visitors have left. We had a late night watching the Eurovision Song Contest. I didn’t pick the winner because I made the mistake of picking the best song rather than the best political statement. For dinner we cooked Piri-piri chicken and chips.

Sunday I cleaned the car which looked little better than a mound of earth after our dust storm earlier this week. In fact we got lots of jobs done so it certainly wasn’t a day of rest. For dinner Sam cooked delicious stuffed peppers with feta.