Malta

Around this time last year Jessell and I were preparing to go on our first holiday together. We chose Malta as our choice of location and were happy that we did. It was one of the best holidays I had ever been on so thought I would do a bit of reminiscing and share the wonderful experience we had!

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. 

We had a large juicy steak for our last meal at Buffalo Bill’s Steak House, again in Portomaso Marina – a lovely last meal.

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