November 2016 - Week 2

Monday 7th to Sunday 13th November 2016

Monday I made a Puy lentil lasagne for dinner and it was FAB-U-LO-SO!

Tuesday I made a lovely trip to Sliema. I had a cappuccino and a cheese and ham toasty at French Affaire, both of which were excellent. Then I went into the Point and bought a polo shirt in Debenhams sale – 70% off – and bought vegan wine in M&S in preparation for Sally’s visit. It’s very difficult to find out if wines are vegan or not but M&S is helpful and tells you on the labels of their wines whether they are vegetarian or vegan. I went on to my favourite bookstore in Malta – the Merlin Library – and read their cook books for ages but I resisted buying one on this visit. For dinner we had left over Puy lentil lasagne.

Wednesday was rainy in the morning. After lunch Sam met Tina for a coffee at the National Aquarium. For dinner we went to HOS for very tasty Indian food; papadums, lamb chops, lamb rezala and a biryani.

Thursday I walked to Xemxija and back. The weather is perfect for walking now; sunny and warm without being too hot or humid. We had hamburgers for dinner.

Friday I went to the Apple’s Eye for a cappuccino then on to Pama to shop ahead of Sally’s visit. For dinner we had pizzas.

Saturday we went to Acquatica, thinking we would have a cappuccino there but didn’t stay as it was smelly. We have noticed that there a few times now – we think they have a problem with their toilets – so I don’t think we will be trying it again. We went instead to The Donut Factory which serves good cappuccini with friendly service but the food, including the donuts, is fairly rubbish. In the evening I went to the airport to pick up Sally who is visiting for a few days. Sam cooked stuffed peppers, roasted tomatoes, garlic bread and homemade hummus with carrots and it was all delicious.

Sunday we decided to drive to the Craft Village which, apart from a couple of shops, turned out to be closed! The traffic was awful; it seems that half the population go on the move on Sundays, which is why we normally don’t drive on Sundays. We thought we would go to Dingli Cliffs but the roads around Mdina and Rabat were gridlocked. Instead we headed to Mgarr but the roads there were at a virtual standstill. We managed to fight our way out of Mgarr and went to Golden Bay which has ample parking. Surprisingly the Apple’s Eye wasn’t too busy and we sat on their terrace with good coffee, good conversation and great views. Some hardy tourists were even swimming.

We drove on to Armier Bay and had drinks at Mambos and had a short walk behind the beach. You can’t walk on the shoreline there any more due to the tons of seaweed and rock dumped there by the recent storm. It’s the same with Ghardira beach at Mellieha.

For dinner I made an Indian feast; pineapple curry, courgette curry, Puy lentils with Indian spices and sweet yellow rice. It was delicious as always.