December 2017 - Week 4

Monday 25th to Sunday 31st December 2017

Monday – Christmas Day – was hot and sunny. We did a walk of about four kilometres along the busy promenade, stopping for cappuccini at Miracles as usual. Boy, there were some strange sights about. Pensioners dressed as elves, tourists dressed for summer, one woman dressed as a bumble bee, leather-clad bikers; you name it, we saw it. For dinner we had roast duck with roasted potatoes and parsnips and green beans.

Tuesday we followed our usual Boxing Day tradition and went to Pretty Bay for a walk and cappuccini then drove on to Terrone in Marsaxlokk for lunch. My starter was excellent – super-soft burrata with pistachios, pomegranate seeds, basil and dill in a lemon dressing – and for my main I had a wood oven baked aubergine stuffed with tomatoes and mozzarella. Sam had home-made linguine with clams followed by calves liver in a cream sauce. For dinner we had a repeat of last night; left over roast duck, potatoes, parsnips and carrots.

Wednesday we were supposed to have a Spanish lesson but our teacher begged off as her ante natal appointment overran. For dinner we had left over beef casserole with chips.

Thursday was pizza night!

Friday was busy and we had our Spanish lesson that had been deferred from Wednesday. I went for a beer at O’Reilly’s before dinner which was a plate of mixed Indian starters, Frosties and cheese and biscuits! That will teach us not to plan ahead.

Saturday I did a long walk around the area, stopping off to get some passport photos taken; I need to send a couple with my application to register my birth in Ireland. I had a good cappuccino in Clara May’s. It was hot out today and a lot of people were out walking in shorts and t-shirts. In the evening we went for a drink at Fat Harry’s then went to recently reopened Al Sultan for dinner. The menu hasn’t changed and we had our usual mix of dishes; pitta bread with hummus, falafel, zaatar (a wafer-thin and crispy flatbread with thyme and sesame seeds), a Lebanese salad (lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, cucumber and olives in a fresh lemon dressing) and a flatbread stuffed with minced lamb. Apart from that last dish the food was all vegan and it was all delicious. At the end of the meal we were served complimentary sweet pastries with tea. The service was friendly and the meal was cheap too; €37.50 all in including a bottle of wine and a bottle of Perrier water. We will certainly be regulars there again now it has reopened.

Sunday I did a great power walk for about an hour but again it was very hot work. We were supposed to be having Chris and Tina around for New Year’s Eve dinner but Tina is sick so that’s on hold. Instead I made a superb vegetable lasagne and there is plenty left for tomorrow’s dinner too!