We had a rather lazy morning and didn’t get moving too quickly. Eve, on the other hand, went out to breakfast at il-Gabanna, a kiosk restaurant on the Sliema esplanade. We weren’t checking our messages and as a result, didn’t get ourselves moving in order to join her. But we did make a plan to meet her on the rocks on the sea side of the front near the Surfside Restaurant. This would be a nostalgic “beach” day because this is a spot where we swam back in 1985.
We got ourselves together, packed a little lunch and met Eve on the rocks, who was spread out to hold a spot. It does fill up quickly in this area as there is a little shallow lagoon created by a short wall across an opening in the rocks. There is also a lifeguard station nearby and so families with young children, who can play in the water at the edge of the lagoon, tend to congregate there. Also, just off the rocks in the sea is a popular snorkeling place, although the sea was a little rough today and snorkeling would have been a challenge. Although, we saw several people give it a go.
It was lovely being there. I brought my beach chair and umbrella, and although there was no place to stick the umbrella into, I could comfortably hold it giving Christine some needed shade. People watching is my favorite thing to do and people provided me with lots of entertainment. It’s not funny that getting into the lagoon is difficult due to the rocks being slippery, but it is fun to watch the various techniques employed by those trying to get into the water. Also, the little wall across the mouth of the lagoon is used by many to cross the lagoon rather than walking around it on the rocks. With the rather rough sea, waves were hitting the wall and going over it. That, plus the slipperiness of the top of the wall, made for some humorous crossings. I’m happy to report no one fell down, but a few got a good soaking when a wave slopped water up on them, much to their surprise.
The water was so refreshing and Christine and I paddled around in the lagoon, as did Eve. I really wanted to go out into the sea on the other side of the wall, but that would have meant getting out of the lagoon on the slippery rocks and walking out to a point on the rocks where there was a ladder to enter the sea. That seemed like a little too much work, so staying in the lagoon made more sense.
This is what a Maltese holiday should be!
We lazed on the rocks, read, got back in the water, and thoroughly enjoyed being at this spot. After a while, shade and a beverage were calling to us so we packed up and went to the nearby Surfside and sat out on their covered patio and had drinks. That was a lovely spot – in the shade with a cooling breeze, a stone’s throw from the Mediterranean, the three of us together.
After a while, I decided to finally go get in one of those Victorian ladies’ bathing pools. Over the weeks, every time we passed them by during our walks on the rocks, those pools had called to me, so today was the day. I sampled a couple of them. They are varying depths and sizes, most with a helpful ladder installed, but some with only rough steps carved into the limestone. With the sea a bit rough, the pools were getting foamy waves coming in, which made it necessary to pay attention lest you get slapped in the face with water. It was great fun and I am glad I finally got to visit these pools.
By now, the position of the sun meant that the wall below the esplanade would provide some shade in some areas along the rocks so we staked out a place and spent more time lounging. Shortly, a group of young people came along and plunked down nearby and played their music rather loudly, which annoyed me, but that’s the way it goes in shared spaces.
Down on the rocks at the waterline was a ramp for entering the water. Christine and I went down to the bottom of the ramp and held on tight because the waves were breaking in and coming up about waist high. I couldn’t resist getting in to the water here and eventually dove it. The water is so clear and I could tell that this would also be a great spot for snorkeling with all the rocks and various colorful areas and fish. I spent quite a bit of time going in and out of the water and having fun timing my entrance onto the ramp with the waves. It was a great spot for swimming, but you have to be cautious both because the waves could push you into the sharp rocks nearer to shore, and also you get pulled out farther than you realize fairly quickly if you’re not paying attention. But, I think on a bit calmer day next week, Christine and I will try to swim here again.
After that, Christine and I headed home for our afternoon siesta. Eve stayed on the rocks a bit longer and partook of bathing in the Victorian pools as well.
We had a plan to meet Fran, Carol’s daughter, for dinner. Originally, we were going to be 8 – Carol, Joe, Fran, Julian, Rowena and us 3 – but Carol is ailing again with her back and now foot pain. Rowena has also been ill, and Joe and Julian are working on renovating some flats. Eight turned in to four.
We were meeting Fran at 8:00 and I thought since Eve had mentioned she’d like to see the Cavalieri Art Hotel, that we’d go there for a drink before dinner at il-Fortizza. We hopped on a bus going around the bays and got off in St. Julian’s and walked down the street to the hotel. We passed by the Cat Village, which I had mentioned to Eve. Eve is a great cat lover and always enjoys seeing cats and never passes an opportunity to pet a cat.
We then arrived at the Cavalieri and went out onto their patio. Eve said it is interesting to see across St. Julian’s Bay from a different perspective, which is exactly what we said the day we had our cappuccino there months ago (I think it was during our first week in Malta). We enjoyed sitting out on the patio taking in the sights. We then wandered around a bit looking at the art work on display. We went out on another terrace and tried taking some selfies of the 3 of us together. We have no luck with selfies. I guess we need a lot more practice.
We hopped back on a bus and got off near il-Fortizza. We got seated at a table outside. It has been unusually warm the past week in Malta, 90+ degrees, and it was very hot even sitting outside. Soon Fran arrived and we had a delightful dinner and evening with her. Eve and Fran hit it off and they did most of the talking, comparing notes about teaching, films, books, touring in Europe and many other topics. It was great seeing them so animated in their conversation and obviously enjoying themselves. I know it means a great deal to Christine for Eve to have a connection to someone in Malta, nicer still that it is family.
So a great evening was had by all, but now it was time to bid Eve adieu. She is flying out in the morning. I can’t believe the week went by so quickly, or so it seemed to us. It was a wonderful week sharing Malta with Eve. And I think we struck a nice balance between together time and apart time. We did a lot of fun things and revisited our time here in 1985 via our memories. It has been a very nice visit with Eve, but she’s back to London for a day and then on to Burlington, which she is so looking forward to. She’ll be in Vermont until August 1, then back to London for year 2 at ASL. We don’t know when we’ll see her again.
Again I’ll say it was a very nice week with Eve and so wonderful sharing Malta with her. I think she’s also been bitten by the Malta bug. Who knows, maybe we’ll all 3 be together in Malta again in the future. I hope so!