Today we have to leave our Airbnb flat. It was not available for the whole time we wanted, so we took what we could get and booked the last 3 nights at a nearby hotel, the Plaza Regency Hotel. We spent the morning organizing and packing up. We then carried our luggage down the street a block to the hotel. Our Airbnb check out was at 11:00, but our hotel check in wasn’t until 2:00, so we decided that in the interim, Christine might swim. Today’s wind, although brisk, is out of the ENE, so it is blowing toward Spinola. That means that where we could swim, we’d be protected from the wind by the buildings and the sea would be fairly calm. Last night we staked out the hotel looking for a way to shower after swimming. There is an indoor pool at the hotel that is kind of off the beaten path and seems little used, and voila, a shower room was near that pool. So, we knew that if we did swim, we’d be able to get showered and dressed before check in time.
Christine is a swimmer. She swims at the Y three times per week at home. Here in Malta she has been longing to swim. Her visit to the pool at The Imperial was not quite satisfactory because the pool was small and was full of kids having a swimming lesson, so she really wasn’t able to swim laps there. She’s been longing to get into the sea, but with the very brisk winds over the past several days, it hasn’t been very conducive for swimming. Besides, the sea temperature is 62 degrees and the air temperature is 65 degrees so that’s pretty chilly. However, conditions today were the best for swimming to date.
We dropped our luggage at the hotel and headed down to a fairly sheltered little beach across the street. Christine thought she might be able to get in the sea there and the area was a bit shallower than that at our customary spot a bit farther down the rocks. She thought the water might be a bit warmer in the shallow part.
So she checked it out. Will she, or won’t she, take the plunge?
Still considering . . .
And she’s off!
Christine had a lovely little swim and loved every minute. I wanted to get in the sea, but it was too cold for me, although I regretted my decision later. After her swim, we had a picnic lunch sitting in the sun down by the water. This little area is where a lot of families with small children come so the kids can be close to the water, throw stones in the water, and pick through the detritus washed up on the beach. It was fun watching all the kids.
We then went over to the hotel to shower. By the time we were showered and dressed, it was time to check in. The hotel is apparently totally full, and it’s a big hotel. When we dropped off our luggage, a busload of people were going into the hotel, so the hotel must be on a tour route. Our room is on the 3rd floor, equivalent to the 4th floor since the ground floor is 0. We do have a sea view room, just a bit obstructed by the top of a tree across the street. The room is small, but comfortable, but the balcony is great. The view is pretty much what we were accustomed to at our old flat that we stayed in several times over the years. So, Christine was happy that she can see the Dragonara Palace. At the Airbnb, our view to the right was blocked by a building, so we couldn’t see the Dragonara.
At any rate, we settled into our room, rested a bit, and then had an early dinner at Peppi’s across the street. It’s one of our favorite places to eat and we had a nice dinner of Lobster ravioli and spaghetti with seafood.
It was an early night for us as we both were tired. Only two more days in Malta. It’s going by too quickly.
