We were both so excited leading up and I think I spent the
entire week before, shopping and packing enough clothes for all of the
activities we planned on doing – although Jessell’s nine pairs of shoes was a
little excessive! We stayed around Jessell’s sister and brother-in-law’s house
as they were our designated drivers to take us to the airport in the early
hours of the morning! We had barely slept that night – who could blame us!
DAY ONE
We arrived at the airport, slightly worried that our bags
were over the weight limit but everything ran smoothly and we were on the plane
in no time. The flight took us about three and a half hours before we landed in
the beautiful sunny Malta! We waited anxiously for our transfer to take us to
our hotel. With a few drop offs before us, we drove through some enclosed and
busy streets and started to worry as this is not what we had in mind.
Our worries were soon forgotten when we pulled into the huge
driveway of the
Westin Dragonara Resort! It was absolutely beautiful and we
were even more excited to say that our holiday had officially begun!
We checked
in and made our way to our hotel room which would be our home for the next week
and we were not disappointed. The room was huge and the bed was so comfy.
We were very hungry so thought we would get cracking on the
cocktails and grab some lunch in the hotel. We took our seat on the terrace of
the ORVM Lounge and Piano Bar and soon devoured our food.
We then got changed into our swimwear and settled down for
the day in the lovely Maltese sun! It was lovely to finally relax and we were
quick to doze off.
Later we walked around the corner from the hotel to a casual
restaurant called The Avenue which I had sourced as one of the best for
gluten-free food. The food was delicious but we did begin to realise a growing
trend for Maltese portions to be extremely large – we definitely weren’t
complaining!
Even after the first day – we were falling in love with Malta with the gorgeous scenery, tasty food and very friendly locals!
DAY TWO
After a wonderful night’s sleep, we woke up and thought we
would take a stroll to Spinola Bay in St Julian’s. We were very pleased that
everywhere was within a short walking distance.
The bay was absolutely stunning
and we had to get a few snapshots of the famous mermaid statue and the amazing
LOVE signs.
We sat down for a quick bite to eat in a café called Paparazzi before
our walk home, and ended by gobbling down an enormous banana split!
We returned to the poolside for the afternoon to relax
before our night ahead at the hotel’s own
Dragonara Casino. The casino was absolutely stunning
and we decided to have dinner there at the Dragonara Casino Brasserie before
the gambling commenced. The food was amazing - although the service was a little
disappointing which was such a shame as it was absolutely amazing for our
entire holiday.
After making back enough euros to pay off our dinner, we
retreated back to our boudoir for another relaxing night.
DAY THREE
After a lie-in the previous morning, I was keen to get up
and do some more exploring – although someone was not quite as enthusiastic!
We took a short walk to
Portomaso Marina where we
found a lot of fabulous restaurants with beautiful scenery – we knew we would
be returning to try some out! However, for now we had some lunch and more
cocktails at the Marina Terrace. Although the walk was short, it was very hot
so we were happy to have a rest and some cold drinks in the shade.
Later, we returned to our hotel to rent out a jet ski which
was a lot of fun. We both had a turn, although changing over at sea was not
fun, especially when we had just sighted a jellyfish! I have to admit, Jessell was
a lot better than I was!
We spent the afternoon by the pool to relax before further exploring which we had planned for later in the evening. We got changed
and made our way to the small beach up the road to have some cocktails – the scenery
was just as beautiful even at night with the candlelit beach and flaming
torches.
Then, we explored the nightlife of Malta in Paceville and we
could not believe how such a small quiet place could become so bright and lively
at night. There were plenty of bars and restaurants and of course all of the
friendly locals. One of my highlights was seeing the huge St Ritas Steps which
had plenty of bars lined down the edge as you walked up the stairs filled with
people.
We finally arrived at the restaurant – chosen because of
the gluten-free food -
Parapett! We were both very hungry and we had a lovely meal – I was
especially impressed with the gluten-free garlic bread as this is very unusual
to get in most English restaurants!
After filling our stomachs, we retreated
back to our hotel.
DAY FOUR
Jessell and I returned to our adventures the next day and
had planned a day trip to Gozo. We jumped in the bus to take us to the ferry. The
island of Malta is extremely small and we were informed that it only takes
about two and a half hours to drive from one side to the other so the drive to
the North of the island was not long at all and took just over an hour.
We arrived with our group and joined the queue to get on the
ferry which transported us to the even smaller island of Gozo. It was extremely
hot so we were ready to take our place on one of the jeeps which were to be
used to tour us around the island.
There was plenty to see from decorated
churches, beautiful filming locations (including the beach where Troy and Popeye were filmed) and the amazing salt pans.
One of my favourite sports was the Azure Window which was
just a spectacular sight. The crystal clear, blue water also looked very
tempting in the stifling heat but somehow we resisted.
Then, as our day headed to an end we took to the seas and
finished with a relaxing boat trip. The scenery was beautiful and we finally
got a dip in the cool sea. Visiting Gozo was definitely a worthwhile trip as it
really is a lovely place.
After such a busy day, we were very tired but hungry so
decided to eat in another of the hotel’s restaurants (it has about four) which
was The Terrace Restaurant. It was a yummy all-you-can-eat buffet so we really couldn’t
have gone wrong!
DAY FIVE
We weren’t done yet and still had plenty of exploring to do –
it’s always important to have a balance of sightseeing and relaxing! We decided
to have a trip into the capital of Malta – Valetta! It was well-worth it
because it was such a beautiful, ancient-looking city with plenty of sights and
shops.
We stopped to have lunch in an unusually decorated café before
proceeding to a short cinema screening on the history of Valetta. It was really
useful to highlight the main spots of the city.
We visited St Paul’s Cathedral which was beautiful and
photos really do not do it justice. It was amazingly decorated and extremely
colourful and detailed – definitely worth a visit!
We took a stroll around the
city and stopped to have dessert at a cute place called
Angelica.
Later, we returned to our hotel and relaxed by the pool
before returning to Portomaso Marina for dinner – we didn’t realise this would
be one of our favourite meals of all time! We ate at The Spoon which was a Chinese
restaurant and by far the best we had ever had, the food was fantastic! Again,
with the huge Maltese food portions we unfortunately could not manage it all
but couldn’t resist asking for a takeaway box and our waiter was more than
happy to package up the remainder!
We walked off some of our dinner on the way
back to the hotel and suddenly found room for dessert and coffee – yum!
Our night had only just begun and we decided to take a place
in the hotel’s beautiful Bedouin Bar right on the water edge for some drinks.
A
perfect end to a perfect day!
DAY SIX
The next day we woke up for our next adventure to the
Mediterraneo Marine Park which was just a short drive from our hotel. We had a lovely
morning out and got up close and personal with a gorgeous sea lion which was a
fantastic experience.
We returned to our hotel and walked down to the beach where
we grabbed a couple of burgers – yes a gluten-free burger – and bun – and of
course some more cocktails!
We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing by the pool until
dinner time where we chose to eat at the historical landmark venue of
L-Ghnonnella Restaurant. The food was delicious but my pasta was extremely
spicy so make sure you have plenty of water available if you visit! We then
returned for an evening coffee before turning in.
DAY SEVEN
For our last day in Malta we thought we would have a
relaxing one. We had a lovely long lie-in and decided to have lunch in the
hotel, again in the ORVM Lounge and Piano Bar.
We then spent a peaceful day
around the hotel and soaking up the last of the Maltese sun – very sad that our
Malta trip would soon be over.
DAY EIGHT
We were very sad to say goodbye to such an amazing place but
had a plane to catch late morning.
Just as we were leaving, we were to be
replaced by Nelly Furtado who had just arrived at the Westin – clearly a
hotspot and I completely understand why. I would definitely return to the
beautiful island again – it really was a holiday to remember!
Love Always
xx
