November 2016 - Week 3

Monday 14th to Sunday 20th November 2016

Monday we went to Gozo for the day. We visited Qala, Qala Point, Rabat, Marsalforn, Xlendi, the Craft Village, St Lawrence, the Inland Sea, the Azure Window and Mgarr, so basically all points north, south, east and west! It was a great day out. Sam had made us an impossibly heavy picnic which included ceramic plates and bottles of oil and balsamic as well as all sorts of foods; hummus, carrots, tomatoes, lentils, courgettes, leaves, bread, jam, crisps, yoghurt, biscuits and goodness knows what else. We sat at a picnic table in the bay near Xlendi with only a passing cat for company.

For dinner I made us a pinto bean and pepper casserole with roasted potatoes. We played Bananagram, then sat on the terrace for ages talking and watching a lightning storm out to sea.

Tuesday morning Sally flew home. She’s great company and we’ve had a lovely time with her, albeit brief. The rest of the day we caught up with work. For dinner Sam roasted a fantastic corn-fed chicken which we had with chips.

Wednesday we worked, walked and ate braised pork cheeks for dinner.

Thursday we left the apartment before 9am so I could take Sam to Mosta to meet her friends for coffee. There is a bar opposite our building called The 23 New Steps and as we left we noticed two 65ish English women there drinking beer. It’s beyond us why anyone would want to drink beer before nine in the morning, let alone two English women pensioners! After dropping Sam off I went to the Apple’s Eye at Golden Bay for a cappuccino and sat on the terrace reading my Kindle. I have finished Animal Farm and am now on to The Thorn Birds, a rollicking good read.

For dinner I had a divine pork chop with Lyonnaise potatoes; Sam had left over pork cheeks.

After dinner I went for my usual walk. From now until mid-April is the time I love best for after dinner walks. The streets are virtually deserted and although the odd bar can be noisy, everywhere is mostly peaceful. Walking the quiet streets and promenades, hearing and smelling the sea is almost therapeutic. Not that I need to de-stress. If I get any more relaxed I’ll probably fall over!

Friday we awoke to the gentle sound of rain splashing against the windows. That’s kind of unusual as we don’t get drizzle. Normally the rain thunders down intermittently for a few moments, sparring with the sunshine. Today was grey and damp, almost like an English summer’s day. I went to Xemxija Café for a toasty and a cappuccino. The streets were quiet because of the rain but the cafes and restaurants were busy with tourists at a loose end.

In the evening we went to a local bar for a beer then to Portobello Pizzeria. As always the pizzas tasted great but were soggy in the middle. If it were me I’d prepare them like giant polo mints so that there were no middles to go soggy.

Saturday we went to the Apple’s Eye at Golden Bay, planning to have breakfast there. But it was full of flies and noisy with building work. So instead we went to Xemxija Café and had very good full English breakfasts. The day was strewn with thunderstorms hanging around like an unwelcome guest so we didn’t do much; we built jigsaws, watched movies and chilled. Frozen pizza for dinner for me; just snacks for Sam as she wasn’t too hungry.

Sunday the weather was perfect and I did a couple of walks. I passed Sirens pool which abuts the shoreline. The recent storm all but destroyed it with great slabs of broken concrete the size of minivans tossed about haphazardly on what used to be its terrace. I had a fantastic cappuccino and a slice of tiramisu at Eatetna; it really is the best café in Malta. For dinner Sam had a pizza; I made macaroni cheese.