Back in Malta

For those of you who did not know, I am now back in Malta. Whether if it is for good, or for a long while, I do not know yet.

As such, I have decided to try and keep this blog alive. Instead of writing about my adventure in England, I will now write about things in Malta, about Malta, events, my photography and writing; whatever I can think of...

Do feel free to drop by and give me topics or areas you'd like me to explore.

I will leave you with a panorama of the lovely Sliema... Almost on a daily basis I get to walk the promenade on my way to work... Lovely view, isn't it?

Steffi
xxx

Sun or Rain - Only God knows when.

So, 

One of the main reasons I left Malta, and decided to live in the U.K. is due to the fact that in Malta we get approximately 5 months of Summer -  starting end of April and lasts until around mid September. 

Though summer is nice, it's very humid and sweaty in Malta; with a temperature averaging 35 Degrees Celsius and during heatwaves, over 40. Though in the offices or at home, it's nice and cool thanks to airconditioning and fans, as soon as you go outside it feels like you just walked into an oven. 

In contrast to this, summer in the UK has been horrible this year. In the past month, I can hardly remember any days rain-free. Even though it is a nice change to summer as I know it, I’d rather have last year’s English summer. I think summer here will have the highest rainfall since record.

Hoping August will bring more sun to this summer-less island...

A day in lovely Gozo

During my last visit to Malta, less than a month ago, I took Mark for the first time to Gozo. For those who never heard of Gozo, this is the sister island of Malta. It was mid-June, and the temperature on the islands is around 25 Degrees Celcius; Sunny, with the occassional breeze. Gozo is smaller than Malta, and is less populated and it tends to be more quiet, and greener.

I think that the perfect time to visit Malta is either in June or in September, when the weather is good and yet not too hot and humid.

My dad offered to drive us to Cirkewwa, and so it didn't take long until we were waiting for the Gozo ferry. Mark and I managed to find a seat outside, and so we could appreciate the views better.

When in Gozo, we visited Rabat (also known as Victoria), the capital city. I took Mark to my favourite cafe in Gozo (and Malta too!), called Cafe Jubilee. Although Cafe Jubilee is also available in Malta, the first shop was open in Gozo, and as such the owner is Gozitan. If you ever have the opportunity to go to this cafe, I suggest you try their Rikotta pastizzi, which are home-made. Their bread is also a must-try - especially the 'ftira'.

After a nice snack and chilling at the cafe, we took a bus and made our way to Marsalforn, which is one of my favourite spots in Gozo. The beach was so inviting and it was a shame we didn't have our bathing suit on! There were barely any people around...

However in the bay close to Marsalforn we encountered my biggest enemy... the Jellyfish...

It was a shame that we could only stay for a day.

I would love to live in Gozo one day. It's just so beautiful and quiet.

All Seasons in 1 Month

When living in England, one of the advantages is to live on island, yet you wouldn't endure the heat the summer brings. But it is also a known fact, that weather in the UK is very much depressing for any Mediterranean peeps living there, due to clouds and rain during the majority of the year.

This is true.

I would say that I enjoy the fact that I don't sweat like a pig 24/7 for four recurring months, but at times - not seeing the sun for weeks makes me want to go hysterical. It is not the heat that I miss, it is the opportunity of wearing summer clothes, sandals, and not carrying a jacket wherever I go.

Since the first of June, until today the 25th of June, I could say that here in Stoke we had weather from all seasons. It started off really cold with drizzle, freezing nights with temperature just above 0 degrees and hail during the days, and for the past 5 days, a heatwave with temperature of 20 to 25 degrees during the day. Last night the temperature at 1am was at 18 degrees, with no sign of breeze.  It was pretty much pointless leaving my bedroom window fully open all night. But, no mosquitos - yay! It was so warm, that I thanked my lucky stars that I do not share my house with anyone else and I could run about wearing (or not wearing!) anything I want.

Though I am complaining about the heat, I must admit that it is a lovely change to see a constantly blue sky, and wearing summer dresses. As such, I'm planning on taking advantage of the situation and visit a park this weekend :)

So, fingers crossed on this... and prepare yourselves for some blog posts with photos... Not just from this weekend, but also London and Holland.

Steffi xxx