We arrived tired and exhausted into Malta and were met by our Aunty Rose and Uncle Ken from Australia, as well as Dad’s cousins, Tony and Grace, who live in Malta and were taken to their apartment with a view of Marsaskala bay. After being force-fed a thousand pastizzis washed down with the local beer, ‘Cisk’ we decided the best way to settle the stomach was to take a relaxing swim in the Mediterranean. We spent the afternoon with the family before waiting the arrival of my friend Adrian from Australia.
Day 2 we went on a day trip to Comino, famed the ‘Blue Lagoon’ by the locals. Situated between the Island of Malta and Gozo this tiny island is merely 3.5km in area. Comino was also the set for the film Troy, not Greece!! There are some facts for you! We spent the afternoon lazing around in the turquoise blue waters and laughing at majority of the Italian tourists and their choice of what to wear at the beach!
After an amazing day in the sun we were very dehydrated and decided we needed some beers to cure this. We went to Saint Julian’s bay for a feast of rabbit stew and octopus casserole prior to an unplanned night out in Paceville. Now imagine the Gold Coast’s strip of generic bars, millions of young and under-age drinkers and rows and rows of promo girls trying to entice you into their club with free drink cards and free shots. I think you can gather how this night ended, and it was when the sun came up!
Our final day we were not spending sleeping on the couch as we were awoken by Nazi Lauren and ordered to get onto the bus and discover the wonders of Valetta the Island’s capital. We spent the afternoon wandering through this open-air museum named a UNESCO world heritage sight in 1980.
After our Maltese treats of ricotta ravioli we jumped back on the bus to meet the relatives in Ħaż-Żabbar the town where my Dad grew up. They were hosting their annual Festa in honour of our Lady of Grace. The whole town is blocked off to traffic and is traditionally decorated with the feeling you have just stepped into the set of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet. The church was covered top to bottom in brightly coloured lights, which gave this romantic feeling to the town. I would have to say the inside of the church is the most impressive that I have ever laid eyes on. The decorations, from the most amazing crystal chandelier to the intricate detailed statues of the saints made this over-the-top-look work well.
We stepped away from the festivities and took Lauren to the house our parents grew up in. As we were standing out the front and taking photos of a house, which may have seemed slightly unusual, the new owner of the house asked Lauren if she was Carmena’s (our grandmother’s) grandchild as there is a big resemblance in the two. We all started to get emotional with this and Lauren felt the need to call her mother in Australia, which worked out to be 0330am! We left their house on a high and spent our last evening in Malta drinking beer, eating pastizzis and enjoying the Maltese life.
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