Malta

[Gemini]

We wanted a holiday somewhere warm this summer. We are going to Majorca in September but I wanted something before that.
It has to fit in around all the summer golf fixtures, which was no tall order! We finally booked a week in Malta, in a hotel right on the beach, so we can have pool and sea for swimming.
I have never been to Malta and OH only once 30 or more years ago.

We fly on Tuesday morning. I will write about it when we get back

[Oma]

You will have a lovely time Gem and it’s always better weather there than here 😁🌞

[Lizzie48]

Have a lovely time both of you.xxxx

[Gemini]

Thanks everyone

We left home at 4.15am yesterday when it was raining but daylight. We arrived at the airport, about 45 mins drive to driving rain and semi darkness. Fortunately I had read the weather forecast so took my lightweight mac which folds into a little bag. I was very glad of it! It is now in my suitcase until we land next Tuesday afternoon, when more rain is forecast!

Our flight was fine and uneventful ( good old Jet2) We had a bit of confusion finding our transfer mini bus, but once we did we were soon on the way.
The hotel is lovely, and to see some sun and look out at the sea is a tonic in itself.

We have swum, read by the pool, shared a sandwich and chips lunch at the pool bar and are now relishing the room aircon for a while, and OH can watch Wimbledon of course

[Daisy]

Gem, it sounds idylic. Please could you bring that sun back with you, though! xx

[Gemini]

I wish I could send you all some Daisy!

[Oma]

Oh it sounds ideal a lovely warm weather 😁

[Gemini]

We are having a lovely time, and sadly not long left of our holiday now!
We are on half board and the buffet breakfast and dinner are really good. We have the choice of sitting inside or outside which is nice .
We have found that even sharing a sandwich at lunch is too much, so we now just have cheese, crackers and fruit in our room to see us through between breakfast and dinner. We have a kitchenette with fridge so it's easy

Each day we have had 2 swims in the pool. The smaller pool for over 16s is quieter so we usually swim there. Today we went to the beach. As I mentioned on Chat we hadn't been to the beach so far as there are an incredible number of steps. Today we found out about another lift in a separate block of the hotel which takes you right down to the beach

We gingerly made our way over rocks into the sea and had a lovely swim and float about. There are sunbeds and parasols for hotel guests so we relaxed there too .

I feel so sorry for everyone at home the weather sounds dismal. DD3 sent us a picture of their very rainy garden.

[Daisy]

Gem, your holiday seems to be speeding by, so thank goodness you are enjoying yourselves. I'm sure all those steps down and then up to the beach would be very hard on your new knee, so great that you've found a lift. xx

[Gemini]

That was a lovely holiday

We will certainly hope to return to that hotel, not in July though, a slightly cooler time of year, so we can see a bit of the island. It was 34 degrees all week so we were happy to chill out and relax.
We couldn't fault anything about the hotel and the staff are so lovely.

We had a very long sea swim on our last day. I'm glad we had our Factor 50 on as it was a long time to be in direct sun! Shade the rest of the day apart from swim in the pool.

Our journey home was quite tedious! Our transfer from hotel to airport, got us there much earlier than was necessary. I know its better than being late but it was too early. Our check in desk wasn't even open for some time. Then the flight was delayed due to some problem with the time slot for that plane on coming into Malta. We were in fact not very late in boarding but then sat on the tarmac for ages! We were over an hour late in landing. This had it's good and bad points.
It meant we missed the thunderstorm we were due to land in. It was very wet underfoot but no rain and a bit of sun peeped through for part of the drive home. The bad point was traffic was heavier than it would have been earlier. This plus the hour lateness meant as I mentioned in Chat, out Tesco delivery came and went away again with my order cancelled!
We had fish and chips for tea, caught up on some recorded TV and talked about our holiday

[Clover]

Sounds a lovely break Gem. We had a brief visit to Malta on a cruise a few years ago.You must go back when it is cooler. It’s a beautiful place.
Sorry you were delayed ,especially missing your Tesco delivery! I often wonder what would happen if I wasn’t able to be home when the delivery came. Did you reschedule it?

[Gemini]

Yes, Clover I got a delivery slot between 4 and 5 today.

[WeeGranny]

We stayed in the sister hotel nearer the town when we visited Malta a few years ago. I seem to remember we were encouraged to visit the other one as they were trying to sell timeshare apartments there!