Malta & The Wedding of the Century

Well after 25.5 hours in in the air, that’s right, 26.5 hours in a tiny little capsule above the earth (why do we do these things – oh yeah so we don’t have to be at home) we finally made it to Malta.

I can’t say our journey has been faultless, I will never willingly fly with Lufthansa again, the service, the planes, the misinformation has led to a lot of frustration that we just didn’t need. Maybe Air New Zealand has spoilt us for life, or maybe some companies suck at customer service.

Next time it will be Singapore Air EOS!

We spent 6 hours in Frankfurt Airport, there are worst places. But again, we were tainted as we had spent 4 hours at Changi Airport, which is more like a resort than an airport, with its little calm zones, soft music, theatres, entertainment, soothing colours, ahhhh. Take me back there.

Poor Jason has had a reality check, security process at Frankfurt and the 10 mile hike to get to anywhere you want to go, not quite the same experience as landing at Singapore. BUT, ah hem, told you so.

I have chilled out slightly, says I and no one is polling any other travellers, compared to Singapore. Maybe another week or so and I will breathe and not worry about the plan, or the list, or the responsibility of organising this sort of shite, then again, maybe its my nature. Refer to first blog for details ha, ha.

RIGHT, I have to say, the language of Malta WTAF! Do they have something against vowels? Is it a secret code to ensure tourists can never understand anything or be able to explain where they want to go!!!!

The Transfer

We had organised a transfer from Malta to Gozo, this involves a 45 minute drive across Malta, a 20 minute ferry ride, and then another 15 minutes to get up to the hotel. This was our first introduction to Malta driving, OMG, terrifying yet fun. It appears that the game chicken was invented here and frequently played with vehicles large and small. Our man certainly knew the roads.

Dinner Out with the Big Kids

We arrived slightly late but the lovely Annabel and Alfonse MacDonald had arranged dinner for all guests that had travelled far and wide. So we hardened up, despite being exhausted and slightly delusional and went to the restaurant – Patrick’s.

The food was delicious! Everything was full of flavour, using local produce, and the WINE, the WINE! All local and fabulous, and I clearly had more than my fair share.

Into bed around 1030 PM which felt like days since we left Singapore. Again, a brilliant sleep was had by all, especially Jason!!!

We are staying at the Downtown Hotel in Victoria, Gozo. It is nice, clean, inexpensive, and the staff are very helpful. Recommended for when you guys come to here to visit, which you should, because its beautiful, and warm, and the Mediterranean. Seriously, do it.

Day 1

We recovered well with a good sleep on our slab, the matress is a tad firm, and we were ready to hit the ground running (walking briskly anyway). First we needed to sort out SIM cards so we didn’t have to pay NZ extortionate rates. Vodafone NZ could learn a lot from the customer service offered in Vodafone Gozo. The guy was great, sorted out us, got a phone for the man so he has to “do technology”. We are now online and fancy free.

Hop on – Hop off

The best way to see this tiny island is using the red, double decker, open air, hop on-hop off bus. It was fantastic, with commentary, amazing views, and we chose the day with the best weather – not too hot and not too cold. The bus went to each of the little towns and we were able to get the lay of the land. We stopped and had lunch in the port town of Mgarr – not cheap but extremely declicious at Bella Sicilia.

It was also our fist introduction to the Maltese bread, which they give you at the beginning of every meal, and the bruschetta which is also complementary. By the time the mains arrive you are FULL! But the bread is so GOOOOOD. And of course we had to wash it down with the local wine and beer – had to, it was a requirement.

We spent the rest of the day walking around the beautiful city and taking lots and lots of photos. The town itself, Victoria, has the Citadella which reigns supreme over everything. Its beautiful and at night it is all lit up.

One thing we could not get over was the cost of the drinks, we had gone from Singapore at $24 for a glass of wine, to 3.55 euros for an entire bottle of Gozonian Rose which is quite exceptional to drink. Needless to say we made the most of this.

Dinner in Marsalforn

Annabel, the amazing travel adviser, recommended we try Pierre’s in Marsalforn. So Jason, Berry, and I booked a taxi and off we went. The food fabulous, surroundings to die for, wine SUPER, and service was great. Everyone is just so friendly and nice especially the staff at the restaurants.

I had a tuna steak which was cooked to perfection, Berry enjoyed her king prawns, and Jason covered all his bases with the seafood platter. All this was washed down with great wine and beer, and the complimentary spirit at the end of it. How do they make money!

Day 2 – WEDDING DAY

Well the day that inspired this entire trip finally arrived. The wedding day for Dani and Adam. The weather was perfect, warm, but not too warm, overcast, but not raining, and windy enough to keep us all cool.

It was an evening wedding so we had the whole day to explore, whichg we did in our usual way of walking for miles! After the obligatory, and included, cooked breakfast se hit the ground and walked 3.5km out to the craft village. This is where you can see the locals do their thing. I was speicficially interested in the Gozo Glass factory. Having seen some of their works I was determined to get some. Mission accomplished.

We walked back to Gozo where we spent the day exploring the Citadella, eating, drinking, and blowing up balloons for the wedding train!

We at in St George Square at The Grapes. We though, just a wee platter and a salad, because of the wedding. MY GOD the size of this food was nuts! We did not have enough room on the table. Oh well, we made do.

We finally got all dressed up and ready for the main event. The little train carried us through town and down to Inland Sea where the ceremony was set in this amazing little inlet, you could not ask for better photos. Dani looked stunning and Adam very handsome. It all went well and was followed by the most amazing feast! Seriously I don’t think we ever stopped eating and drinking!

The little train took us all the way back again. The locals must have hated us as the music, conversation, and drunks blared throughout their quiet little island. Fun times with fabulous people.

Congrats to both Dani and Adam xxxx

Day 3 – The Day After

We both felt remarkably well, but tired, after the party. So we did the usual and went for a walk. This time we walked the 5.5 kms down to the port town of Mgarr in the hope we could get a boat out to Comino and the caves.

SUCCESS! The boats were running and we paid extra so they would take us out to caves – normally they only do this in the afternoon but I explained we had no time. So, god bless Gozo everything is possible for a price, we went out to the blue lagoon and then a private ride out to the caves. They are truly spectacular and you see the force of nature that created such gouges in the rocks.

We also saw Elephant rock which was very cool.

Back to Victoria for more walking, a little shopping, and yes more food. This time we ate at the Citadella at Ta Rikardu. The place is so cute and inside the walls themselves. The food very nice and the booze, well the theme continued.

Annabel, god bless her madness, decided it would be a great idea to host everyone for lunch after the wedding. So we regrouped and went for a visit, more food, and wine. We may have a problem. It was lovely to see everyone one last time before we, with Dani and Adam, caught the ferry back to Malta.

We had a great driver, who had been transporting us most of the time, and he picked us up and took us all the way to our accommodation in Malta. Madness, so much traffic, I guess it is a Friday night but we had gotten used to our sleepy little Gozo. Malta was a bit of shock to the senses. We stayed in Sliema, coastal, pretty, and busy. We got in late and we were all so tired.

Dani and Adam headed off to Valletta where they were resting up before their honeymoon in Sicily.

Off we went for our last dinner in Malta. The receptionist at the hotel, good service continued, recommended Anciova. A Sicilian seafood restaurant by the waterfront. Again, the food was amazing, the wine delicious, but not quite the same service as you got in the little restaurants on Gozo. All the same it was a nice way to finish the trip.

A super early start for the beginning of our next leg to Italy. Gozo, a must see, little known, and underappreciated gem. I highly recommend a visit, drink the wine, and eat the tomatoes, they taste different. You can taste the sun.

Thanks Gozo!