Malta in motion

This is my island, a small rock in the middle of the Mediterranean which is so precious to me. 

The bride to be

In exactly one year it will be my wedding date. It's still a long way to go but from now on it's just a few months left which  will now start rolling by quickly.

We are one of the few couples I know (and I'm talking about the Netherlands now and not Malta) who have a very long engagement. We've been engaged for more than half a year and there is still a year to go. This means though that we can take the wedding preparations easily and we save a little bit more cash. People at work expected me to be marrying this summer when I mentioned that I was going to get married next summer. Many colleagues have come up to me and asked me about my wedding expecting it to be in a few weeks time!

There's been quite some progress and while in Malta next week we're meeting a lot of the vendors. It's really exciting but unluckily this will eat some of our beach time.

A trip to Malta

Every day I think that I should post something on this blog but somehow I never get around to actually doing it. I'm not much of a writer but I think I got an episode of writer's block. I will try and change that and will try to show some more regularity on this space.

On the day of my last post it took me 23 hours to make it on a flight that took me back home to the Netherlands. The flight itself was just 45 minutes and by the time I reached home it felt as if I had traveled around the world.

My luggage didn't remain unpacked for long though since the day after I had a week trip to Malta. Usually I look forward to such trips, to escape the cold up North and get to see my family but I actually didn't feel much like traveling. However when there I had enough time to relax and did enjoy the days amidst all the election chaos.

Late winter weather in Malta

A white Mediterranean girl!

With my parents

Once back in the Netherlands I was really happy not to have any more trips for a while.

Delayed

So here I am, sitting at an airport waiting lounge for the second time in a row at the same destination without actually having set foot on a plane. Fog has been the cause for cancellation of 3 of my flights and I'm suspecting the fourth delayed flight might also be cancelled.

I'm rather gloomy and exhausted, clean but still using a day old underwear. You see I have become a very light packer and this means extra panties didn't make the cut. Now I'm wishing that I was less rigid. I did happen to shop a bit while in London so I have ample new clothes to wear.

The airport staff have been very nice to the stranded passengers but the frustration level around me is very high. I got to hear quite some loud discussions while waiting.

Now the waiting game continues, knowing that once I make it home I have to start packing again for my trip to Malta. The question is will I make it on time?

Season Greetings

I want to wish you all a great time during these holidays.

We spent Christmas week with my family in Malta. I hadn't been over at Christmas time for around 4 years so I was looking forward to it. I had been waiting to spend some quality time with my parents and enjoying Mediterranean home cooked dinners. That wasn't just it though, living in a cold country I had been waiting to spend time outdoors and feel the mild winter sun on my skin.

We spent most of the days outside going around the islands, doing the final Christmas shopping and filling our tummies with pasta! The weather was mostly good so we managed to go jogging as well, as missed that at home since I have stopped once it got colder. On Christmas day we had family over and stuffed ourselves with more food! It was great fun especially since it's not often that I get to see my dad dancing to the Gangnam Style song.

I was also very lucky on the gifts I received, having satisfied my girly side with receiving 2 hand bags and my techie side with a tablet. Maybe the tablet will help to post more regularly because lately I haven't really been giving a lot of attention to this blog!

In sickness and in health

A week ago, just before my cousin's wedding,  I started feeling uncomfortable. My apetetite dissapeared and my head started hurting. Seeing that I was the witness for the wedding I decide to take a nap and luckily I felt pretty good afterwards.

Little did I know that less than 8 hours later I would be very sick.  The next 2 days were spent sans food, fever and general exhaustion. My timing was perfect for the wedding, but horrible for the flight back home. In fact for the first time in my life I didn't make it for my flight and had to spend an extra couple of days in lovely Malta. 

That did mean I got to spent more time with my niece, who I don't get to see very often.

When back at work I discovered that 5 people had been sick with gastric flu. And I kind of managed to find patient zero.  Maybe I should direct my travel insurance to him!

Even though I was sick during my stay in Malta I still had a great time. Got to meet most of my family (from one side at least) and just had a blast of a time. Here's some pictures.

The beaches were lovely and not busy.

My family.

My niece was enjoying all the attention.

I'm back!

The summer vacation has been long over. Somehow my daily rhythm is messed up after some time away and I tend to take long to manage to get back in the day-to-day routine. Obviously I was already back to work and the normal day cycle but I have been avoiding doing certain things. For one I have been avoiding going out jogging. I did manage to go once since back but that's definitely less than planned. I've also been eating like a pig and if left alone in the evening I start scavenging the cupboards for anything that can satisfy my need to pig out.

Now I think I want to take control back and that means also updating here.

The trip to Malta was jam packed with activities. With a wedding of a close friend who lives in Holland, a lot of beach days, good food and family. I won't go into much details since photos can explain better.

Lately we're flying with Ryanair since Air Malta flights are ridiculously expensive. This means that our luggage is limited. My skills of packing have improved dramatically and we managed to take only one luggage of just 15kg between us and a couple of carry on bags. I'm proud of myself!

The view from my sun bed in Ghadira bay. Not first row to the sea but that's because we prefer to have more space. We spent so many days at this beach since it seemed to be the cleanest this summer.

My boyfriend celebrated his birthday while in Malta. I think it's great to celebrate your birthday while on holiday. Mine usually is just another normal day at work in freezing weather.

We spent lots of time with my parents. Here's the boys.

And here's the girls.

Malta by night is just spectacular. This is the view of Valletta from Tigne' Point.

 Here's the most important men in my life. My boyfriend looks like he towers everyone in Malta!

I'm looking forward to be back in less than 2 months!

The island I grew up in

My summer trip to the rocky islands has finally arrived. My visit to Malta in summer is always much awaited. I'm definitely a summer person and somehow the Netherlands is just a not a country famous for it's summers!

But there is something that really fascinates me about Malta. It's all the blue it has: the sky, the sea. The colour is such a fresh colour that seems to put me in a good mood. And in case you don't know what I'm talking about here's some photos of the lovely islands I grew up in.


You can check out more of my photos of the beautiful islands here.

The Holidays

In a bit over a month we'll be off to celebrate New Year in Malta. I'm looking forward to spending it there since I haven't been over for the holidays for a couple of years now. This year though there's also a cute addition to the traditional holiday celbrations. My niece will also be celebrating with us. Each time I meet her she's looks so much more grown up, blame that on all my close family living in a 3 different countries. I guess in a blink of an eye I will be giving her dating tips! And who would not want to date such a cute girl!

How are you going to spend your holidays this year? Will you be spending them with your family and those dearest to you?

Back to business

My vacation to Malta has been over for a couple of weeks already but my blog stayed on vacation for a little while longer. It was decided to spend my free time away from my laptop.

This is what I have been up to a month ago on my trip to Malta.

Quality time with family.

Mostly with my niece who was the spotlight of this trip

The weather wasn't always what we expected but we did manage some days at the beach.

On the days when the weather was not perfect we spent our time finding places which offered good Mediterranean food.

A trip to my island

It has been around 10 months since my last visit to my island, the tiny rock in the Mediterranean sea that I love so much. This has been the longest span of time in between my visits to Malta. I think it's time for me to taste pastizzi and Twistees.  We're off to a couple of weeks to Malta to get to see my family, practice being an auntie, enjoying my mother's food and to spend some time at a beach where the sea colour is blue rather than green!

So I will leave you with some of the views that I will get to see in the next 2 weeks.

You can get the recipe for home-made pastizzi from here.

Maltesers (not the chocolate) High Tea

When you move abroad, especially from a small island such as Malta you don't bump into lots of other Maltese people. So when you hear someone speaking Maltese on the road, you start scanning who are the other Maltese people. Most of the time you end up stopping them and just chatting them up. It sounds crazy but it really happens. That's how I met some of my friends I have in the Netherlands.

I did find quite a large Maltese community and throughout the years we had a number of fenkati (a traditional dinner with cooked rabbits). This weekend I got to meet many other new Maltese faces at a high tea. It was lovely chatting in my native language while eating delicious cup cakes.

Looking forward for another such event!

Reasons why I love Malta and the Netherlands

These are a couple of reasons why I love Malta.

The Mediterranean blue seas & weather that matches

Old & new side by side

And these are a couple of reasons why I love the Netherlands. 

The green all around

 

Tulips all over the country

Lyla's Baptism

This weekend we're off to Malta for the baptism for my cute baby niece.  I will be her god mother and I have the job to give her a middle name. It's a tradition that the god parents give middle names to babies on their baptism. These names won't be used anywhere official, apart from the baptism certificate. Many people have horrible middle (baptism names). I just hope that my choice won't make Lyla flinch when she's grown up!

Home Sweet Home

I'm back home after 2 weeks of vacation in Malta. Two weeks that flew by quickly, as all vacations seem to fly by. I'm looking forward to having my routine back. As much as I love traveling and do have a chronic travel bug, I also love my boring life in between holidays very much. After a few weeks of vacation I always start missing home cooked meals and cuddling up in relaxing evenings in front of the TV. Pity that this routine includes a 6am wake up call and a 40 hour work week!
 
[Image Credits: Dreams Time]

Holiday Season

Holday season has started. Kids have finished school and are enjoying their free time. While parents are thinking of intelligent ways to keep their kids busy while they're at work. For me this period just means a shorter car journey to work, since most traffic disappears for two months.

Today I'll be leaving to Malta for a couple of weeks. I will spend my time lying down on a beach with the company of family and friends, eating lovely Mediterranean food and just relaxing for a while.

The blog might be quiet in the meanwhile.

A New Bike

In my childhood I never owned a bike. Not many kids owned one in Malta. My cousin did have a bike which she lent me every now and then. So I learned to bike in a straight line but nothing else. I could not turn around without needing an area as wide as a football pitch.

So when I moved to Holland around 5 years ago I was faced with a problem. A twenty-something girl with no idea how to ride a bike having to start using a bike in the busy roads of Amsterdam! When I got my first bike I didn’t use it for ages. I think secretly I was hoping for it to be stolen, like most bikes in Amsterdam. Unluckily I had good locks and nothing happened to the bike. At some point I decided to teach myself bike riding. So I did; it took time and a couple of falls but now I can cycle a couple of kilometres without serious accidents.

I’m still not a proper Dutchie. The Dutch, while cycling, can answer calls, hold an umbrella while having a couple of kids and a dog on their own bike.

Hints of cycling in the city:

• Avoid tourists. No matter how much you ring your bell they will not move from the bike lane
• Be careful of wet tram lines
• Always carry wet proof clothes
• If you’re a beginner never answer your mobile phone while riding the bike



Since my last move over six months ago I didn’t have a bike. Last weekend we finally found a bike that I liked (and that also fit my height). There’s no more need for my boyfriend to piggyback me everywhere. Unluckily for me it’s time to make my own pedalling.

My Puch Limited Trendy purple bike:

[Image Credits: Bakfiets, Puch Limited Tendy]

Vacationing with the in-laws

Summer in Holland was here last Saturday but it seems it was lost in transit. It has left us all once again and might or might not make an appearance again. I learnt long ago that if I want a natural tan I have to make plans that take me out of here. Coming from a Mediterranean island makes this easy. I can get my tan just by visiting my parents. I cannot even call a trip to Malta a holiday; it’s a child duty to her parents!

So in a month I will be doing my duty and going for a fortnight in Malta. Only this time there is a difference. My in-laws will be joining my boyfriend and me. The timeless question is will the in-laws and my parents hit it off? Or will it be like a scene just come out from the film Meet the Fockers where all hell breaks lose when the in-laws meet the parents for the first time?

There’s going to be a culture difference, an age difference and also a language difference. However I’m sure they will get along well. And if they don’t I’m sure they will pretend to get along well. In the end they will only be together for 10 days.

Weather: Here and There

Having grown up in Malta, a tiny Mediterranean island, I spent my summers at my grand parents summer house. Every day I would wake up; eat breakfast; put on my swimming suit and just cross the road to reach the sea. Hours were spent daily playing in the water, only being disturbed for lunch and an afternoon siesta. I actually want my childhood back and am jealous of myself in those years.

When I moved to Germany and then later on to the Netherlands I realised that the summers I was so accustomed to were not the same further North. Winters are much colder so when spring arrives I’m already really waiting to be able to shed some of the layers of clothes. The hours of daylight start increasing and my mood starts getting better. Up till now everything feels like back in Malta, until come May the weather doesn’t continue improving to a scorching heat. Spring continues on well into summer and I doubt it ever backs away. You never know ahead of time how the weather will be. Bbq’s planned ahead might be carried out under the rain, days at the beach might turn out as a day spent in a pub. Summer is just a combination of seasons dispersed in a single day. You can wake up in the morning to gloomy weather and by afternoon their might be stunning blue skies.

Once you get used with this sporadic behaviour you can actually really enjoy the summer months. Sunsets happen at around 10 in the evenings, leaving you ample time to spend at the park or for romantic dinners in front of the sunset (which takes freakishly long to happen here!). Temperatures are in the gentle twenties so you can actually manage to do something apart from lie down under the air condition.

I miss the freedom of summers in Malta so I always make sure to have a beach holiday when it’s the hottest but I learnt to enjoy this gentler period here and it has made me become more spontaneous.

Who am I, what am I doing here?

Welcome to my blog!

After years of regularly details about my daily life on an online journal I decided to create another blog. This blog will contain posts about random information mostly related to my life, topics which you might or might not like.

I’m a 29 year old Maltese girl, who has moved from the lovely island of Malta to live in the Netherlands. Previously I had also lived for some time in Munich Germany but decided that even though I loved the scenery in Germany, the lowlands had something better to offer.

Having lived in Amsterdam for 4 years I got used to the international community and love the fact that it so easy to make friends. Last year I moved to Den Haag (The Hague) with my boyfriend and finally I’m back close to the sea. I had missed the sea (and the warm weather), now I’m just a bike ride away from kilometres long beaches. Just looking at the sunsets one will definitely feel happiness.



For a living I click-click-click with a mouse and tap the keys on the keyboard all day long. I’m a techie at heart, although I'm not the traditional geek; the ones with glasses, crazy hair who are never more than 2 metres away from their computer. Like a traditional geek I do wear glasses, but only when my clothes/shoes/bag matches with the frame; I also have crazy hair but mostly only right after I wake up; and also am never away from my computer, but that's due to the fact that our apartment is not that big!