April 2015 Blog
Monday 27th to Thursday 30th April 2015
Monday John (the handyman) came first thing to do a number of small jobs, including raising the extractor hood so I no longer bump my head every time I use the hob! I picked up a hire car and we went to the Atrium and Homemate to pick up a couple of small items. We had an early lunch at the Atrium café; freshly made sandwiches and fresh orange juice and it was very good. Our only criticism is that the coffee machine was broken, so no cappuccinos today. We also went to Scotts and did our big fortnightly supermarket shop.
We visited the Fiat dealer to look at the Fiat 500L and it is very impressive. I took it for a test drive and it seems very comfy. It doesn’t have much oomph, thanks to a small diesel engine, but that is probably ideal in Malta with its congested roads. After that we went to the Ford dealer. Parking is a challenge in Malta – spaces are hard to come by and often quite small – so a Fiesta may make sense. We will continue to look at other makes before making a decision. For dinner we had left over lamb shanks.
Tuesday we drove to Jardinland then to the headland above Golden Bay to take in the views. It was very windy so we have saved the Peace Garden for another day. We drove on to Ximxija for cappuccinos then went to Mistra Bay. The sea is gorgeous there, full of turquoise, green and blue. From there we drove to Anchor Bay, the site of Popeye’s Village. We bought salad ingredients for dinner from the Ximxija fruit and veg van. After a quick lunch at home we went car hunting again. Today we looked at car imports, principally from Japan. A cheap used Japanese car probably makes most sense for our first car here and we will look more closely now, particularly at the Hondas and Toyotas. We stopped at Piscopos to buy more plant pots and compost, then went to Scotts to grab food for dinner. To go with our salad we chose Scotts pre-marinated BBQ foods from their butchery counter to see what they are like - a beef kebab in a BBQ marinade (good), a lamb Kofta kebab (okay), orange and chilli chicken breast (very good) and spicy chicken wings (tasty but chewy).
Wednesday we made a decision and are buying a used Honda Fit. It is a small hatchback. Hopefully it will prove to be the right sort of car for Malta; certainly there are a lot of them and similar Toyotas about. More good news; the hunting season has been halted prematurely by the Government. The final straw was the shooting of a Kestrel that landed in a school playground in front of the kids. Previously, a Dutch boy had been shot in the leg. The guy who did it is under arrest and it turns out he is already out on bail on an existing attempted murder charge! So, it seems the Government will ban hunting if a bird lands in a schoolyard but not if a boy gets shot! Sounds like someone needs to work on their priorities. Sam cooked us a fantastic dinner. She poached artichokes stuffed with olives, anchovies, breadcrumbs, garlic and parsley. For our main course she baked sea bream and served them with potatoes and fennel.
Thursday I dropped Sam off at art class then dropped off the hire car. Mid-afternoon we headed over to Valetta. Ian met us at the waterside in his tender to take us across Grand Harbour to his boat. However, the harbour was officially closed in preparation for the firework competition and it took a lot of sweet talking from Ian to persuade the harbour police to let us cross. We had dinner at Don Berto’s. This restaurant has been good on our previous two visits but their standards had fallen tonight. I had roasted salmon which hadn’t been properly seared or seasoned and was rather dull. I had to send back the potatoes and vegetables as they were cold; they were pre-cooked and not properly reheated. Sam enjoyed her spaghetti vongole. Ian had fusilli with chicken and, as he put it, he could have done a better job. We returned to the boat and sat on the fly deck sipping wine, eating ice cream and watching the most spectacular fireworks display, with the water in the foreground and Valetta in the background.
Monday 20th to Sunday 26th April 2015
Monday we bussed to St Julians. In Paceville we stopped at Andrew’s Bar and they served us stale croissants and sour coffee. They claimed they had taken the croissants from the wrong place and replaced them with fresher ones. If you like eating somewhere that serves stale food and sour coffee, Andrew’s Bar is for you. If you don’t, go somewhere else. We walked around St Julians, Portomaso and Sliema. Along the way we stopped at Paul’s Seabreeze for cappuccinos and orange juice. It’s a nice spot at the Sliema water polo pitch but the toilets were disgusting so you have to wonder about the staff’s cleanliness. We later had a snacky lunch at Paparazzi on Manoel Island. It was a nice spot and I will go back but it was disorganised and not all the food turned up. For dinner we had BBQed prawns and Sea Bream with roasted vegetables.
Tuesday Linda and Mick left for home. We have had a fantastic time and it has been great to welcome them here. We cleaned and caught up on work. For dinner we had Goodfellas pizzas and beer!
Wednesday I collected replacement insoles for my North Face boots. I will cross fingers and hope they work. In Valetta I had a cappuccino at the Coffee Garden. It is still the best cappuccino and only EUROs 1.55 to boot. I collected my Residents Card which was ready at last. After that I went to Msida to visit the Nissan dealer. The cars look good for Maltese roads but are a bit pricy. I worked through the afternoon. In the evening we watched The Godfather while for dinner we had pork belly and chuck wagon beans courtesy of our freezer. Very yummy!
Thursday I went for a power walk to try out the new insoles in my North Face boots. So far so good, but it will take several walks before I have a verdict. It is very hot here at the moment, a foretaste of things to come. Sam came back from art class with a great beach scene watercolour. She is definitely a natural.
We went to the St George’s day BRA dinner at the Preluna Hotel in Sliema. I sat next to a very nice Maltese lady, Edwina Brejza, who is a lecturer at Malta’s university. Poor Sam had a Russian lady next to her who spoke hardly any English. We had to endure a welcome speech by the BRA chairman, then everyone stood to sing Land of Hope and Glory, then they stood again to say grace! It is like these people live in some sort of time warp, unwilling to let go of the 1950s. And as for saying a Christian prayer (grace) in a multi-faith environment… The food was passable; think 1970s Hilton Hotel dinner dance and you’ll get the idea. Prawn cocktail with limp lettuce and not enough sauce, lukewarm carrot and coriander soup, bland braised chicken with undercooked roasted potatoes and a cheese plate. At least the cheese was tasty. Red and white wines were included (half a bottle each), Maltese wines from Falcon which I hadn’t had previously and which were quite drinkable.
Friday we met our landlady and her handyman to go through our snagging list for the flat. That took a couple of hours so for brunch we went to Miracles for bruschetta and a BLT. Sam went to art class and for dinner we had Goodfella’s flatbreads – very tasty.
Saturday we went to the National Stadium swimming pool so Sam could have her first lesson. She loved it. She was in the pool for about an hour, swam a dozen lengths at least and it gave her coach a chance to assess her with a mind to preparing a training routine. Her training partners are a guy and a girl, both about 20 odd, who are Malta’s triathlon Olympians! In fact, the girl, Hanna, is the current European champion and she is already encouraging Sam to enter this summer’s 500 metres open water race that is held in St Paul’s Bay each July! Getting to the pool and back on the busy X3 bus is a bit of a haul; today the round trip took nearly five hours. Maybe in future we will hire a car on Saturdays and combine the swimming with other errands. For dinner we BBQed a marinated steak which we had bought from our local butcher, which was delicious. We then BBQed burgers, also from our local butcher. They were a bit dense though, albeit very tasty.
Sunday morning we walked to the Café del Mar via Miracles for our obligatory cappuccinos. There was a large classic car rally on and it was great to see many immaculate Corvettes, trucks, Cadillacs, Triumphs, motorbikes, MGs, Mercs and goodness knows what else. There was even a bunch of Second World War American jeeps. The rally drew a large crowd and we enjoyed the hustle and bustle. Sam cooked a brill dinner of baked lamb shanks with peas, carrots and potatoes.
Monday 13th to Sunday 19th April 2015
Monday we took the bus (the driver was English and shouted, “Up Yours!” to a passing lorry driver) to near the Gozo ferry terminal and walked around the coast past Paradise Bay in the direction of Anchor Bay. It was a fairly steep ascent to the top of the ridge where we cut inland and visited the Red Fort – its official name is St Agnes’s Fort but everyone calls it the Red Fort due to its dark red colour. The views from the top of the fort, in fact the views on the whole walk are tremendous. Comino seems almost within touching distance and Gozo sits impassively just beyond. We stopped for lunch (I just had a cappuccino) at a beachside café curiously called the Costa del Sol. Neither the food nor the coffee were very good and the waitress was sour faced so we won’t be going back there. For dinner we had fantastic fish – baked sea bream, served with wedges and roasted vegetables. The whole meal was fantastic and it’s difficult to imagine anything better.
Tuesday I had a brill result – Piscopos found the missing BBQ parts. Linda and I walked up there and arranged its delivery – it arrived as planned that morning. It is great that shops will deliver things. We went exploring around the area we live in and had a lazier day. We bought Maltese pork belly from The Meat Market, a spotlessly clean and extensive local butcher. I marinated it in oil, vinegar, soy sauce, salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne and oregano, then baked it covered in foil for 2 ½ hours, turning it occasionally. It didn’t need any added liquid because of all the dripping that came off it. I finished it on the BBQ and served it with chuckwagon beans. Delicious!
Wednesday was a real mixed bag. We just missed the bus we wanted so had to wait for half an hour for the next to take us to Mdina. Mdina was packed with coach loads of tourists. We fought our way through the crowds to a peaceful roof-top café we know and had large cappuccinos. They weren’t great, more like lattes. We explored Rabat a bit and found a cake shop that I had seen previously that sells fantastic looking cakes and pastries. Unfortunately although they looked great they were actually pretty horrible. Linda had a pea cake, Mick a spinach cake and I had a slice of pecan pie but we couldn’t finish them. When Mick threw his in the bin it made a loud thumping noise as it hit the bottom. We just missed the bus to Dingli cliffs so that delayed us another half an hour. We tried walking part way but the road was busy and noisy. When we finally got to the cliffs we went into a café to get something to drink but couldn’t get served, so gave up and left after about 20 minutes. We got to use the loos though! On our walk we came across an ice cream van. My vanilla ice cream was tasteless and watery. We couldn’t find the old cart tracks we were looking for, called Clapham Junction, but had a nice stroll around Buskett Gardens. On returning to Mdina to catch our bus ride home, we found the bus stop packed with several busloads of people waiting. After waiting an hour it became obvious that the buses to Bugibba weren’t running for some reason but we managed to flag a taxi. That night we went to Miracles for a drink and I had to send mine back as my glass was cracked. We ate at Churchill’s, a four course set menu for EUROs 13.50 (about £10). For that money it was very nice; bruschetta, pate or prawn cocktails, grilled grouper or brigolli with potatoes and veggies and ice cream.
Thursday we went to Valetta. After coffees and pastries at the Coffee Garden we walked around the Valetta waterfront, then got a water taxi to Birgu for EUROs 2 each. We explored Birgu’s winding streets, had more coffee then got the ferry back to Valetta, then the ferry to Sliema. We cut overland and had a snack at Frescos. Garlic bread for me, a tuna baguette for Mick and bruschetta for Linda. The bus ride home was eventful. We sat in a traffic jam for quite some time and saw a woman do a three point turn, knocking over a parked motor bike in the process. A car overtook us on the inside. It was on fire with smoke billowing in its wake. Bus rides here can be frustratingly slow but they can also be a great entertainment. Sam had a busy day too. She went to art class in Mosta in the morning, hitched a ride home with a friend who took a wrong turn, then did several trips to the shops to load up with foods for our BBQ dinner. She couldn’t decide what to buy so ended up buying everything! We had chicken, pork, sausages, Sea Bream, Mackerel and prawns as well as salad. I BBQed it all and it was fantastic (especially the Sea Bream).
Friday we hiked from the ferry port around the coast to Mellieha. It seemed like a long walk but I’m not sure how long as my watch is broken! The walk took us initially through a fairly ugly area of Nissan huts, apparently holiday homes by the sea. We stopped for cappuccinos at Victoria Bar & Restaurant which weren’t very good. Also, if you eat there you have to use the public toilets next door which were full of flies, had no paper, the soap was watered down and the water pressure was little more than a dribble. The area had the feel of an abandoned film set or leper colony. But it picked up and the second half looking east was lovely. The hills are packed with colourful spring flowers. When we got to Mellieha beach we had a drink at Munchies. We may have eaten there but it is quite pricy. We moved on instead to the Mexican restaurant but couldn’t get served even though it was quiet. It seemed they only had one member of staff who had to do everything and compounded the problem by walking at half speed. So we gave up, caught the bus home and bought pastizzis from the Sphinx Pastizzeria instead. Delicious! For dinner we went to Sun City for fish and chips and chilli and chips. It was back to its usual good standard and value for money. We played darts – Mick won – and on returning home played Bananagram and we all had a turn winning (except Mick). I guess that’s justice for you.
Saturday we walked the road route to Golden Bay. The way is across the valley floor which is packed with various crops. After lunch we caught the 101 which took a scenic winding route to Mellieha, then changed to the 41 for our return home. For dinner we went to Trabuxxu; delicious as always and lively too. I had a pear, walnut and gorgonzola salad, boned chicken leg stuffed with Maltese sausage and pistachios on a bed of lentils with cauliflower cheese and apple crumble with vanilla ice cream. Sam had spaghetti with sea urchins and the chicken; Linda had spaghetti with prawns and courgettes; Mick had crispy pork belly – I can’t remember what else!
Sunday Sam and I met Robin and Lesley and went to the annual strawberry festival in Mgarr. It was packed and the streets and main square were lined with stalls selling all things strawberry. Between us we had strawberry donuts (yummy), strawberry and cheese pastizzi (yuck), strawberry parfait (yummy) and, of course, strawberries themselves (yummy). While we were out Linda and Mick hiked around the bay to St Paul’s Island and back. For dinner we had beef and prune tagine with BBQed veggies and rice.
Monday 6th to Sunday 12th April 2015
Monday we were busy, busy, busy! Pan fried salmon with macaroni cheese for dinner.
Tuesday I went to Sliema first thing to do some shopping – I bought an apron! Sam had a friend over from Mellieha for coffee. That evening we tried our local Indian, the Ghandi Tandoori, for the first time. It was quite nice in a 1970s sort of way, but surprisingly expensive (EUROs 5 for a beer!). We had poppadums to start then Sam had a lamb Karai and I had a chicken Jalfrezi; it was not anything like a Jalfrezi, more like a sweet tikka masala but I enjoyed it well enough. The naan breads were quite doughy. We’ll go again (and drink wine next time) but I don’t think we will be regulars. We just beat the rain home.
Wednesday was exhausting! We hired a car for the day and visited the Citroen, Renault and Dacia dealers to check out their cars. We also went to the Atrium, Forestalls and Homemate to buy a few remaining bits and pieces we need. We stopped at Piscopo Gardens, a large garden centre in Burmerrad. We bought pots and compost and herbs and it will be interesting to see how long it takes us to kill them. We did a big supermarket shop too ahead of Linda and Mick’s visit. We had Goodfella’s pepperoni pizzas for dinner.
Thursday Linda and Mick arrived! At the airport there were two armed policemen. They both had hand guns strapped to their hips but they only had one machine gun between them. As they walked up and down the concourse, one would carry it one way then the other would carry it the other way. Talk about taking turns to look tough. We went for a wander and a couple of beers in Bugibba Square in the afternoon; for dinner we had blackened chicken and salad – lovely.
Friday the weather was perfect for walking. We went to Xemxija, stopped for cappuccinos, then walked up to the Marfa Ridge and walked through the Cypress groves towards Golden Bay. We saw a lot of hides along the way, clearly a popular spot for hunters. The hunting season is due to start any day now. The spring flowers are appearing in earnest now and the walk was a delight. We took a few minor wrong turns but reached Golden Bay in time for lunch. I had a banana, Linda and Mick sandwiches. We busses on to Naxxar and wandered around the Palace gardens, a haven of peace as always. That evening we went for a drink at a seafront bar but it was freezing with the wind coming off the sea so we moved on to the Elvis Presley tribute bar. We met Sam (after her art class) at Sun City for fish and chips and curry and chips. It was below par – the chips were frozen oven chips instead of their usual proper fried chips but we had a fun evening. Once home we played Bananagram.
Saturday we went to Sliema and had a cappuccino at Georgios before going to The Point and a general wander around. We took the ferry to Valetta and walked around to explore the Jewish Quarter, a bit like stepping back in time – crumbling buildings with wonky walls, narrow alleys, washing hanging from dilapidated balconies and the noise of children crying. After soaking up the sights and sounds of Valetta for a while we had lunch in a Maltese restaurant that was a bit ordinary; okay but not worth rushing back to. I had baked macaroni, Sam had bruschetta, Linda had fish soup and Mick had a tuna salad and we had coffee, water and orange juice and it cost £6 each so we can’t really complain. The bus ride home was interesting. The driver found her usual route blocked so she shouted to some teenagers sitting at the back to ask them to let her know when it was safe to reverse onto a dual carriageway! Somehow we survived and came home to enjoy chill con carne with rice, tortilla chips and salad.
Sunday we hiked to Ximxija (for cappuccinos), then to Mistra Bay, then St Paul’s Island, on to the Selmun Palace, on to Mellieha, down to the beach and then we bussed home. Along the way we got lost (!) so our plans to find “the most beautiful beach in the world” fell short. We were barked at by a ferocious looking beagle and given unwanted walking directions by the world’s most boring man (a Scotsman). Summer has arrived early in earnest and we have to get into the habit again of lashing on the sun tan cream.
In Mellieha we gave up waiting for service in a newly opened café and went for lunch instead to a beach bar and it was very nice too. I had a cheese salad (lovely and fresh but the cheese was tasteless). Linda had a feta cheese salad and Mick had a baguette stuffed with king prawns in Marie Rose sauce. Our walk was about nine miles and my feet bore it pretty well. Sam stayed behind and enjoyed a quiet day “pottering”.
We got home to find the promenade road noisy with pick-up trucks packed with celebrating hunters. They have won the vote so are free to kill defenceless sparrows etc. for another year. We really don’t get it. What pleasure can there be in blowing defenceless little birds to smithereens? Traditions are important as they help distinguish one culture from the other, and avoid us falling into the trap of standardising everyone, everywhere and everything, but murdering little birds for sport is beyond me; I can’t see how its adds anything useful or cultural to Maltese society and it most surely must be a massive PR disaster.
Wednesday 1st to Sunday 5th April 2015
Wednesday I met Joseph, our landlord at our old flat, and handed back the keys. He is a charming and generous man and I believe his offer to always be available to give us help or advice is genuine. Later that afternoon we went to Birgu, via Valetta, and met Ian at his boat. His boat is docked at the head of the marina facing back towards Valetta and we sat on the upper deck with fantastic views across the water to the Upper Barakka Gardens. We walked into Birgu and had dinner at Tal Petut. This is an unusual restaurant in that it doesn’t have a menu. The chef brought us a wide variety of starters, a bit like Meze. We had bean paste, pureed aubergine, Maltese sausage, fresh beetroot, ravioli, pearl barley, bread, tomatoes, cheese, candied figs, roasted peppers and goodness knows what else. For our mains they brought twice-cooked boneless stuffed Rooster legs which had a texture akin to corned beef, and perfectly tender roasted pork shoulder, served with cabbage and some sort of mash. It was all very good and I look forward to going there again, albeit it’s not the sort of food I would wish to eat very often. Birgu itself was a revelation; beautiful winding streets with a medieval feel, beautiful churches and buildings, and virtually no traffic (or people, come to think of it). We are planning a trip back there soon to explore some more.
Thursday it was still windy but I managed a walk to Ximxija and back. We worked and played and for dinner Sam cooked Sea Bream stuffed with fennel and served on a bed of sliced potatoes and onions.
Friday was quiet – Easter Friday is the major Christian festival of the year here – except for a Captain Morgan boat that circled the bay for eight hours blaring out beat music. We subsequently found out that there is a music festival on in Malta this Easter weekend and that some 6,000 teenagers have flown here for it. The weather was windy so we assume that the boat was stuck in the bay because of rough seas. It was warm and sunny though; I had a good long walk and Sam sunbathed. For dinner we had pan roasted skinless and boneless salmon fillets with cauliflower cheese. I love salmon pan fried in butter with lashings of ground black pepper (it should look almost black) and a generous covering of salt. The outside goes very crusty but the inside stays soft and juicy. As for serving it with cauliflower cheese, that’s how they served it in Trabuxu, and it worked, so why try to change a winning combination? On my after-dinner walk I saw and heard quite a few young, drunk people – all British – so I didn’t stay out too long.
Saturday we met Sam’s new swimming coach for the first time. His name, believe it or not, is John Lewis. Swimming is hopefully an exercise that will suit Sam as it shouldn’t hurt her foot. The weather was beautiful and Sam took full advantage to sunbathe on our terrace. I went walkabout and found a promising looking butcher’s shop. For dinner we defrosted chilli, a real win, win as it tasted great and cleared some room in the freezer!
Sunday was another lovely day. It started at 8am with a one hour walk during which I passed the Café del Mar and adjacent National Aquarium. The car park there and outside areas are set up for the music festival – temporary food outlets (think burgers and pizza), bars, including a yellow Cisk beer tent and ranks of wonky port-a-loos. The huge outdoor video screen that is usually there has disappeared and been replaced with a stage. I imagine it all gets pretty noisy at night.
We had a lazy morning, just as you should on Easter Sunday. Ian came by and we sat on the terrace, soaking up the sun and the view and the sounds, sipping Prosecco. Very civilised. Sam cooked a delicious late lunch/early dinner of slow roasted lamb shanks with potatoes, parsnips and carrots, all flavoured with rosemary and garlic. For pudding we wandered down the road and bought Italian ice cream. There are lots of scantily clad young women about. Perhaps I’m getting old but I reckon most of them would look better covered up!