Mini-moon in Malta

It’s been a long time between drinks and with saving for our wedding, as well as setting up house again, travelling has taken a bit of a back seat. Well it had anyhow until May, when we went rather mad. So much so that we have a backload of blogs to update you all on.

 

For the first May bank holiday weekend, Brad surprised me at Christmas with a trip to Malta, which for those of you who don’t know is a small, ruggedly beautiful island in the Mediterranean south of Italy and north of Syria. Using a mini-moon as an excuse, Brad went all out which meant avoiding the usual Ryan Air horror and staying in rather swish accommodation – lush.

 

 

We arrived in Malta Thursday evening and as we sped through the town (crazy drivers) and the driver started to slow down as we approached a golden mansion on the horizon, our hopes soared. Worried it was all a mirage – it was a long time between drinks –we were thrilled when he pulled up outside the Corinthian Resort and even more so when we checked into our Junior Suite. Braddles, the charming wee devil, had arranged for a bottle of prosecco (my favourite) and they’d even done a few wee tricks with turning towels into swans! We were off to a good start.

 

Brad, bless him, did his usual of reading up on the hotel and the amenities available (I think he thought it was timeshare) and after an agonizing discussion as to whether we would take breakfast in the executive lounge, which we had access to as part of our suite, or with the commoners, we settled on the lounge and swaggered on over to dine with the other high-rollers. Good decision and the lounge played a key part in our stay in Malta – free drinks, nibbles and hors d’ oeuvres, as well as a view out over the ocean, what’s not to love?

 

After brekkie we slipped on down to the pool where we were faced with our second crippling question of the trip – which of the six pools were we to lounge by? Decisions, decisions. We eventually settled down to a glorious day of sun and poolside service, where you could Tweet your order (!), mixing it up with swims in the ice-cold pool, which sorted out the men from the boys when I went swimming many times, much to Brad’s resentment, as he sat shivering on shore. It was a lovely day before Brad ‘did a Brad’ and ruined the sun-soaked aspect of the holiday by insisting he didn’t need sunscreen and quel surprise, lo and behold, is shocked come sundown when he realizes he’s lobster red.

Ridden with guilt at wanting to laze on a sun chair again, Saturday we hired a car and set off on a day of action, adventure and exploring. Easily done, we explored every inch of the island, stumbling across some gorgeous sites – such as a grotto in the Cliffside, full of the most tear-jerking prayers and offerings, to Popeye’s Village – the setting for a 70s remake of Popeye, starring Robin Williams! We made it to Valetta at around 4pm and spent the rest of the afternoon and early-evening exploring Malta’s capital city, which was nice, but not a patch on some of the other sites we’d seen that day during our travels.

 

 

 

Exhausted and by this stage, slightly grumpily, we made our way back to the hotel, to make the most of free VIP style nibbles in the lounge yet again (it’s tough at the top) before heading down for a sauna, spa and swim, disturbing a couple who looked to be enjoying themselves a little too much in the spa if you get my drift! After we were all swum out, we set off for a colossal dinner at one of the many hotel restaurants! An American diner style diner in Malta – exactly what the doctor ordered.

Sunday we awoke refreshed after yet another VIP style breakfast, mooched into the town to have a look around at what the shops had to offer, before retiring to the beach to sit on the rocks and watch an old fisherman pull up  a few catches. That afternoon I’d arranged to have a luxury facial and massage, courtesy of a wee bonus at work, so took myself down to the spa for a gloriously long two hours. That sort of pampering doesn’t come around often, so I made sure to enjoy each moment and when I emerged, in a daze, afterwards, there was Brad, making the most of the amenities in full timeshare fashion, sitting in the spa shriveled up like a prune! He hadn’t fancied a few beauty treatments himself, but had given himself a DIY detox by sweating it out in the sauna and spa, whilst I was being tended to like the Queen of Sheba.

 

Monday morning we awoke, a little disheartened to be leaving, but upcoming trips to New York and Romania certainly took the sting out of it! At the airport we managed to stumble across the perfect few ‘little things’ for our collection – all Playmobile figurines, which are made in Malta. We entertained ourselves for the few hours, buying and building these figurines for the collection, with Brad getting the raw end of the deal when his surprise pack revealed a Surfing Santa – not quite the pirate captain or ninja he was hoping for. We got back into central London in record time, managing to squeeze a few more hours out of the long weekend by putting our feet up and ordering in a takeaway – lest we run the risk of exhausting ourselves by cooking our own toast and baked beans!

xx