In malta with mine
Malta is never somewhere that had massively appealed to me. I had this idea that it was really quiet and full of old people, with nothing much to do. A very wrong idea, as it turns out. After my mum and dad went in the summer, the photos made it shoot right to the top of my list (paired with the fact that it's still warm in the autumn months and the fact that you don't need any additional covid tests to get in). So we booked a last minute deal (as has been our style this year) through loveholidays and it worked out as £500 each for return flights from Manchester and 4 nights in the Intercontinental in St Julians. I did quite a bit of research before choosing where to stay and settled on St Julians as it's the area where everything happens; restaurants, bars, nightclubs, everything. It's also nice and close to the capital, Valetta, to be able to easily take a trip there to explore. And given that Malta is such a small island, we were on a mission to hit all the hot spots!
After setting off horrendously early, we had landed in Malta by around 10:30am! Unfortunately, our hotel room wasn't ready until 3 but we were quite happy sitting in the 28 degree sunshine, drinking cocktails on the beach. The beach was an exclusive one for guests of our hotel and was set in the loveliest little bay. Then we had a wander round the local stretch of restaurants and had lunch with a sea view; honestly it's a hard life but someone has to do it!
When we did get checked into our hotel, we couldn't have been happier! I mean, the service was fairly terrible (I don't think the poor check-in staff had a brain between all 3 of them) but the hotel itself was amazing! Gigantic bathroom, lovely big bed, balcony and rooftop pool. Everyone should know by now that I'm a sucker for anything on a rooftop - a pool, a restaurant, a bar, whatever you can fit on there!
We did a bit of googling for where to go in the evening and there seemed to be loads of restaurants at the next bay round so we made the 5-10 minute walk and were met with so many options. We ended up choosing an Italian/Mediterranean place that was right against the water and dripping in fairy lights. It was also dripping in aperol spritz not long after we got there because our waiter spectacularly dropped my whole drink on the floor - oops. I was clearly feeling adventurous food-wise, because I went with a spaghetti vongole (never tried it before, would definitely have it again). Maybe it was the new country prompting me to try new foods. It also prompted me to wear new clothes, as I went with this botanical print skirt that I got recently in the new look sale (for only £9!). I paired it with a black milkmaid top, black lace up shoes and kitsch red lip bag.
We woke up the next day to gorgeous blue skies and 25 degree sunshine so after a quick coffee and breakfast muffin stop, we headed down to the shore for a beach day. It was a beach club (technically, although it wasn't exactly very similar to Ocean beach) so we had cocktails brought to us all day, in between reading, chatting and paddling in the sea. Even though I didn't order any pina coladas, we still managed to get caught in the rain! There were a few freak showers which didn't last long but it was funny watching the whole beach suddenly crowding under their parasols. When it looked as though the rain was really starting to brew (at around 4), we packed up and had a wander round the shopping mall across the way!
Ollie and I love a good steakhouse so we tend to always go in search of one when we go on holiday. This time, we didn't have to search very far at all, as the one we'd had recommended to us was right next door to our hotel! It was a really nice restaurant and was supposedly one with a difference, as they prided themselves on having no menu and being a completely unique concept. WELL, 3 and a half hours later when we'd finally eaten, we came to the conclusion that there's probably a reason that most restaurants opt for menus! Despite the super long time it all took, the meal was lovely and we got to enjoy some complimentary shots before we left to have a few more drinks. The dress I wore is one I fell instantly in love with when I first saw it online (shein), and in love with again when I first tried it on. And in love with it I've stayed! This time I paired it with cream heels, cream bag and dangly gold and pearl earrings.
The next day was already booked ahead of time. In Cyprus, I'd felt really disorganised and like we could've had an even better holiday if we'd planned certain things (boat trips, excursions etc) in advance. So I was determined to learn from that this time and booked an island hopping day trip pretty much 5 minutes after booking the holiday. Malta is made up of the main island, the smallest mostly uninhabited island Comino, and then the medium one Gozo, where there's lots to see and do. We wanted to make sure we ticked off all 3 so while there are plenty of boat trip options that offered swimming around Comino, we chose one that visited both. After our slightly traumatic boat trip in Cyprus, we were a little apprehensive but this one was one of the best days I've ever had! We got a taxi to the pickup point (about 15 minutes around the coast from our hotel), and then the boat travelled the rest of the way around the coast until we reached the crystal lagoon on Comino. The whole trip had already been beautiful (with some interesting facts over the tannoy to boot) but the waters at the crystal lagoon were insanely clear (I wonder how it gets its name?). We were meant to have an hour there to swim but when we got there, they said the weather meant it was too dangerous (given the rockiness) so we would have an extra hour at the blue lagoon instead. And there were certainly no complaints about that! The water at the blue lagoon was again, perfect, and it led up to a tiny little beach with food vendors, ice cream trucks and even one serving cocktails out of cored pineapples! Our boat was really cool as it had sun lounger seating all over the top deck, a massive slide off the side, two smaller slides off the bottom deck, and cocktails and food on board. After jumping in for a swim, we sunbathed on board with the most ginormous cocktails that were essentially the size of a large drink from McDonalds and about 50/50 alcohol to mixer! Naturally, we had to get the one called Blue Lagoon, because when in rome and all that. By then, we were in the cocktail mood, as well as in the mood to have a wander up to the beach so we ventured off the boat and I got mega excited when I spotted the pineapple cocktail truck. We got one each; I got pina colada (duh) and Ollie got sex on the beach, and then we took our prizes back to the boat for more sunbathing and more swimming (we went down the big slide that time). When booking the excursion, the trip to Gozo was optional. So you could stay at the blue lagoon all day if you wanted, but it wasn't that big so I don't know if I'd recommend staying there all day even if you weren't all that bothered about exploring Gozo. Which obviously we were, so after a 20 minute journey on the boat, explore we did...
We hadn't been enticed by any of the food on the boat or at the blue lagoon so our first mission when we got dropped in Victoria (the capital of Gozo) was to find some lunch. I got worried at first because there didn't seem to be that many restaurants that were open (loads of them seemed to close at like 2 and then reopen later for dinner) but after a bit of googling and a bit of walking, we found a lovely open piazza area with a selection of restaurants. We shared pizza and pasta, I got an aperol spritz (1 a day keeps the doctor away) and then it was time for some sightseeing. The thing I loved most about Malta (which was especially apparent in Gozo) was the crumbly, beige buildings. I love historic architecture and quaint little streets and both were in plentiful supply. We wandered around to 2 of the main churches, went up to the castle, admired amazing views from the top of the hill, and enjoyed every street and building in between. After finishing the afternoon with a gelato, we caught the mini bus back to the harbour, and then the boat back to the mainland, passing the beautiful sea caves on the way as a way of really putting a cherry on the whole day.
You can't very well visit Malta without visiting the capital and Valetta was a city I was really excited to explore. We were about 20 minutes away by taxi and Malta have their own version of Uber so it was generally our preferred method of travel (but mum and dad said the buses were really good too). When we got to Valetta, it was love at first sight. For me, with the crumbly buildings and streets that very much reminded me of Venice. For Ollie, with the full English breakfast that we started the day with! And after breakfast, it was time for a Jenni-led walking tour of the city. We stopped by all the major churches, wandered through the gardens, round the coast to peer over the impressive harbour, into the main square (where we stopped off for cocktails to refuel) and then to the fountains by the gates of the city where our tour was complete! You could easily spend a lot longer in Valetta if you wanted to but given the length of our Malta trip overall, we were satisfied we'd seen it after a few hours and headed back to the hotel for some down time. Some very well deserved down time, I might add, as Valetta is a seriously hilly place! There are millions of steps on every street so you can definitely expect those thigh muscles to be burning by the time you've finished exploring.
And then it was finally time to enjoy our rooftop pool! Obviously we'd gone at a weird time of year but there was no shortage of sun loungers and being on the roof meant no shady spots. So we enjoyed the rest of the day with great cocktails, great nachos and great views. FYI, I didn't match my bikini to my towel on purpose but as you can see, I could've practically used it as camouflage!
I'd saved my favourite outfit for the last night (as I always do) and this one caused a bit of havoc (it took both me and Ollie getting blisters on our fingers to get the zip over the bulky seam) but was worth it in the end. I love the asymmetric style, both on the shoulder and the hem, and I got it from missguided a few weeks ago. I added the red lip bag for a splash of contrast and then finished with black lace up heels and dangly earrings. We'd also saved our favourite cuisine for the last night and were heading out for Latin tapas at a place called Hammett's Mestizo. The food was all incredible (as per usual, we ordered way too much) and we enjoyed a few cocktails too before ending our night in the casino. An apt place to finish up seeing as the trip, and the person I spent it with, already made me feel like I was on a winning streak.
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