Day 1
After the long and tiring journey from Stanstead airport to Malta, my boyfriend, Arun and I touched down on Maltese land at around 3:30pm.
We stayed half-board, at Qawra Palace which was lovely, clean and quiet. The food was touch and go, some days it was so yummy and others not so great. But it was great that we could stay out all day and know we have dinner waiting for us at the hotel.
Our Hotel was situated by Bugibba, so we walked there in about 20 minutes and went to an outside bar where we just hung out and talked for hours. Arun had a pint of the local beer Cisk, whilst I had a refreshing lemon ice tea. We then walked along the rocky beach, sat down by the sea and chatted away while enjoying the beautiful vista.
Day 2
We woke up early to meet up with our rep, who wasn't helpful at all. He told us many lies about Malta, such as how its buses don't run properly- DO NOT listen to your rep! Buses in Matla work and run just as well as the ones here in the UK.
On our way looking for the bus station we got lost, so ended up going to the local beach where we played around in the sea and sun bathed. It was so hot so we got tanned after just a few hours of tanning!
We then went to a little cafe near-by, again in Bugibba, where we shared a calzone -which if like me you're Italian you will be left disappointed as it was more like a brioche- and an arancini with the best virgin colada ever!
The evening ended with us relaxing in the indoor pool and jacuzzi followed by a movie and then bed...
Day 3
We used the 'hop-on hop-off' bus which is basically a tour bus which takes you down two tour routes around Malta; From Valetta it goes down a north route towards M'dina and the crafts village or a south route towards the harbour and Marsaxlokk (pronounced marsa-shlock) the fishing village.
We took the South route first as we were told of an amazing and big market located in the fishing village where we could find everything from fresh food to clothing. Well, we were tricked! There were maybe around 10 stalls, all filled with tourist souvenirs that you can buy from any local tourist shop which, believe me there are many! This was very disappointing. So, we went back to Valetta to see what was around as our rep told us it's a must to see but we didn't find it very interesting. Other than a few cool statues it was quite boring as everything was shut so we went and got lunch- a Mexican wrap and chips. How cultural of us...
The south route however, was great! Arun and I loved the glass factory and the crafts village where we saw lots of things such as silver jewellery and glass ornaments being made before our very eyes.I bought myself a silver bracelet which, being the geek I am, reminded me of the Elfin style jewellery worn in The Lord of The Rings, as it is so delicate, fine and yet really intricate. Arun also spoilt me and bought me my own Maltese crystal necklace which is a clear light gold shade and so beautiful!
These tour buses stop running after 5 so we had to hurry out of the crafts village and get the last bus back to the hotel in time for dinner. Followed by going out to watch the Brazil v Mexico football match alongside a cheeky local bottle of rose.
Day 4
On our way to the local beach for a little bit of more tanning, we stopped by the bus stop outside our hotel to look at which buses pass our hotel and whether any go to Golden Bay. Luckily, in that very moment a coach came towards us and a man waiting at the stop told us, if we wanted to go to Golden Bay to get on that coach. Crazily in full adventure mode, we got onto the bus without any second thought! When I asked the driver how much the trip costs he was so lovely and simply said it doesn't matter just get on and didn't charge us! In only ten minutes, if that, we got to the beautiful sandy beach- Golden Bay.
Here we spent most of our day. I had 2 scoops of ice cream in lemon and white chocolate flavours which was delicious! Arun had more Cisk and a packet of over-priced crisps. At around 3:30 we left the beach as we got there pretty early so started to get bored.
We stopped of at Buggiba again to buy a crop top and tickets for a cruise to Gozo with the Hornblower for £25 ahead.
We ended our day with a bottle of Spumante and a cigar on the balcony.
Day 5
We got the cruise which took us to the islands Comino and Gozo where we visited the beautiful Blue Lagoon and Victoria. Blue Lagoon was lovely as we snorkelled in the deep blue sea and jumped into the sea from the boat- until Arun lost his snorkels. It was so beautiful so we sat on the boat deck and soaked the sun while looking at the view.
We then went to Gozo but chose not to get a tour bus and went on a long walk to Victoria where we went to the shops. After a couple of hours shopping we took a bus back to the harbor and had a hot dog and coke to share in the sun.
When we got back to the hotel we watched the England match alongside some more rose...
Day 6
Waking up late for once was relaxing. When we woke up we felt really relaxed and ready for our next adventure so we took a bus to Sliema where there are so many shops! It looked like Paris but by the sea as there are so many little shops down cobbled roads. I bought three belts for £3 in black, white and navy, some sweets for the journey back and Arun bought himself a hand luggage suite case.
Feeling extra adventurous we took a bus to St Julians which was a little more quiet as around 2pm everyone is having their siesta so some shops are shut. We decided to go into a big supermarket to check out Maltese food that we can buy. It turns out they sell the same stuff as here in the U.K. I bought some biscuits which looked amazing, an artichoke which wasn't as yummy and some Kinnie which is a delicious fizzy drink.
We got back to Qawra for 5pm so we went straight to the National Aquarium where there is a huge outside TV to watch the football. Here we watched Italy loose to against Costa Rica which I wasn't to pleased about.
We headed down to a bar and restaurant by the sea called Amazonia which was beautiful!! You can see the ocean while you eat! I ordered a seafood combo with prawns, clams, mussels, squid and other fish I didn't even know existed. It was soooo tasty! Arun had a tapas selection and a side of onion rings and we shared chips and a bottle of white wine.
Feeling a little tipsy at this point from the whine as I didn't eat any lunch, I decided to get a hair braid. It was disappointing as they mainly just plaited my hair with string- I could have done that!
10 euros and a dodgy braid later we decided it was time to go home.
Day 7
The beach at Buggiba is where we went to again, for the final time.
After hours in the sun we went to a bar nearby and got milkshakes and food- I had a chicken and coleslaw wrap and Arun had a BLT. We were so hungry from being out in the sun and in the sea so we munched all our food down pretty fast!
After letting our food settle we spent the day shopping for our relatives in the souvenir shops in Buggiba; which believe me there are many.
Day 8
Not happy it's our last day in Malta we woke up late and skipped breakfast, going straight to the outdoor pool instead. We finally found a ladder we heard people talking about that lead to the hotels own private, rocky beach! We used our goggles to look into the ocean at all the fishes swimming around us and rocks below us which was so surreal as you don't get this in London!
We spent hours in and out of pools and the Jacuzzi. Finally being ready to say good-bye to the pool, we headed to an area of Buggiba we hadn't really visited before, by the bus station and had an open Kebab. It was so good, it had coleslaw, cous-cous, salad and chips with a few little triangles of pita bread on the side- It didn't even feel like we were eating something unhealthy! I then had a pina colada and Arun had a pineapple passion mocktail back at our favourite open bar in Bugibba which we had now become regular customers too...
Our evening and holiday ended at the hotels pizzeria which, although provided an amazing view of Malta along side our food, was gross. The pizza was sloppy and just tasted awful which sucked because we really fancied a pizza!
All in all, we ended our holiday feeling relaxed and rejuvenated, ready to face the fast-paced city of London again.
Love O
x
