February 2017 - Week 1

Wednesday 1st to Sunday 5th February 2017

Wednesday I did my favourite drive to Pretty Bay and back, everything looking gorgeous in the bright sunshine. For dinner Sam cooked stuffed peppers.

After dinner I did a fantastic walk across to Qawra and back. I haven’t talked about these night-time walks for a while but they are amazingly relaxing. The streets are deserted this time of year – where does everyone go? Probably half of all restaurants and bars are closed but of the ones that have stayed open, many are empty. Their lights are on and I can see staff lurking among the tables, but I think they are living more in optimism than reality. There is something strangely satisfying about walking along quiet streets past empty restaurants. Perhaps part of that is the contrast to the busyness that I know summer will bring. Occasionally I pass teenagers – mostly girls – sitting on the pavements talking quietly and sipping red bull. Busses go by, empty, as if their passengers have been abducted. If you are lucky you’ll see a policeman as you pass the police station; you’ll never see one anywhere else. And if you do pass anyone, it is never a Maltese, it may occasionally be a Brit but, most often, it is an African or Asian. I like that too. It makes me feel that not just borders but barriers are being knocked down. I may be naïve but a world without borders seems a pretty good idea.

Thursday Sam went to art class and came back with an amazing triptych she’d painted. She met Tina and went to lunch at Munchies at Ghardira Bay and then went for a two hour hair do, so I didn’t see her all day! I did a long walk – our weather remains fantastic – and for dinner I made a slow cooked pork vindaloo.

Friday I went out hiking; it’s real shorts and t-shirts weather now. In the evening we met Chris and Tina for a drink at The 1930s Carpentry, then we had dinner at La Buena Trattoria del Nonno. It was excellent again – ribs, suckling pig and a burger between us, all served with a mix of salad, chips, roasted potatoes and roasted vegetables. And of course we bought half of the food home for our next day’s lunch. Actually the owner stopped by our table and said that they tailor their portion sizes to match their customers, so I could expect a very big portion!

Saturday we went for cappuccini at Eatetna, sitting on their terrace enjoying the sun and people watching. We drove on to Armier Bay for bruschette for brunch at Mambo’s, sitting on their beach terrace. A twenty something woman came along, stripped to the waist, and put on a bikini top which was quite entertaining. Then she went to the changing rooms to put on the bottom half! Go figure. The weather is stunning and I did a fantastic 5km power walk mid-afternoon. For dinner we had left over pork vindaloo.

Sunday locals were out in force for their family Sunday lunches. For dinner we had spaghetti arabbiata.