My blog production remains on the low side… I often think I should talk about this or mention that, but at the end of the day there’s really nothing new to be told. Another birthday passed – yep, a whole bloody year over already. Again!! I used to be not too concerned about my age, but a few weeks ago I made my year of birth invisible on Facebook. Trying to save some face, so to speak LOL! I’m trying to convince myself I shouldn’t give too much importance to the years, but that’s much easier said than done!
Today I had a day off from work, and as usual hubby and I went out with the motorbike in search of some place I hadn’t invaded with my camera before. Sadly the weather today was on the cool/windy side, which hampered our explorer mood a little. Moreover, before setting off into the wilderness, we spent quite a long time (I reckon it was over an hour) at GoMobile, where we acquired my birthday present: an iPhone G3S!
I was considering to get a Windoze smartphone instead, but in the end decided against it. I don’t really need another computer! OK, truth be told, I didn’t need another mobile phone either, but let’s not go there!
When we were finally done at Go, we went to find a path leading to is-Salvatur in Marsalforn. That’s a miniature version of the famous statue in Rio de Janeiro. It’s really silly, but we couldn’t find a way to get up there! And as I said, we weren’t too keen on exploring because it really was rather chilly. So I took a couple of shots (the sky was beautiful, and the clouds seemed to have been summoned by Jesus himself!) – before we continued to Marsalforn for a late breakfast…
is-Salvatur, Marsalforn
Our favourite breakfast place (Pierre’s) was closed, obviously due to the rough sea flooding the space where we usually sit, and so we settled for lunch in one of the restaurants at il-Menqa, where only occasionally a few waves managed to climb the wall.
Entrance to the little harbour of Marsalforn
And now the day is almost over too. A belated birthday dinner with hubby & son tonight, and that’s it. I sure wish there was a way to slow down time!
Woke up this morning at the unholy hour of 5.15 am, to take photos of the Kempinski’s indoor pool an hour before the first swimmers would appear and splash about. By the time I left home thick fog patches here and there and a reddish sunrise sky made me want to change direction and take photos of a different kind. Sadly that was no option. I arrived about 20 minutes before the agreed time, hoping my camera would have enough time to get accustomed to the tropical air of the indoor pool area – but boy was I wrong! I did get a few shots done, with lots of lens-wiping (and sweating!!) but all in all it was a very frustrating task.
Back in the normal climate of the office, I took a couple of pics, just to make sure the camera was still working how it should. And as luck would have it, the palm fronds in front of the window were dripping with morning dew – what a lovely sight! (click to enlarge)
(Translation: Diamond in the middle of the Mediterranean.) Taken from The Tramps’ popular song “Inti Djamant” (you are a diamond), which dates back to the seventies I think. It was a declaration of love to Gozo and is occasionally still used today in descriptions of the island…
Citadel in Victoria, Gozo
Last Wednesday I spent an hour around sunset/dusk in Victoria, trying to get a couple of nice pictures of the citadel, with the aim of illustrating one of Gozo’s medieval heritage gems for a work-related project. It was the third or forth time I went there purposely for taking photos – I really love strolling between those ancient walls! On the website of the Ministry for Gozo the citadel is described as being “… endowed by such a photogenic grace and splendour, that makes its sight unequalled not just on the Maltese Islands, but also practically anywhere.” *snickersnort* (Kathy, that’s just one of the best words ever LOL!)
Deserted alley within the walls of the Citadel in Victoria, Gozo
Apart from the fact that I couldn’t have chosen a much worse day weather-wise (very windy, and the hazy air seemed saturated with desert sand), the whole place is in such a pitiful state that I was wondering whether I should turn my venture into a photo-shoot of the bad and the ugly and send the results to the local press. That’s what I would have done a few years ago when I still erroneously believed that awareness would bring change. Well, I resisted the temptation, mainly because I badly needed that “nice photo”, and tried to concentrate on making do with what there was. Taking great care to shoot around the sorrier sights, I still didn’t succeed in taking the one shot with a “wow” effect that I was after. However, I did get a few nice pics out of it, which I’m showing in this post.
Citadel bastion in Victoria, Gozo - parked cars were bluntly photoshopped away
The first thing you’re greeted with upon arriving are haphazardly parked vehicles that mar each and every angle that you would want to shoot. Just plain awful. As you enter Cathedral Square, the four-wheeled mess gets worse (even at that hour of the day!) and is complemented by the wind and weather-torn scaffolding that has been adorning the Cathedral for… um I don’t really know, but it’s been a long, long time. The following photo was taken on 14th March 2009:
Cathedral in Victoria, Gozo, with scaffolding in March 2009
And this one is from almost a whole year later:
Cathedral in Victoria, Gozo, with scaffolding in February 2010
The above mentioned article on www.gozo.gov.mt does say that “restoration is constantly underway especially through the help of UNESCO.” I guess ‘constantly’ is supposed to be taken literally, and the help of UNESCO will probably have to last a lifetime by the looks of it.
The Cathedral's bell tower
It’s the same at every corner you turn. Scaffoldings, rubble and construction paraphernalia, accentuated by cables and wiring criss-crossing alleyways, not to forget the huge antennas gracing the highest spots. Ah, and a special mention goes to that hideous wooden structure that provides shelter to patrons at various functions throughout the year. It’s been there for longer than the Cathedral’s shabby dress and looks a bit like John Wayne might arrive in a moment to tie his horse to it. How on earth did the permit for this thing materialise?? I just about avoided that structure intruding into this shot:
Canons on the citadel in Victoria, Gozo
People have accused me in the past for being too critical. But this is the kind of stuff that just makes me mad, I just can’t help it. Such a little island – a beautiful one at that… And yet it seems mission impossible to get it up to scratch. It’s really sad! Diamond? Ma nafx jien. Well, maybe a rough one, lacking lots of polishing…
Sentry (I think?) on the citadel in Victoria, Gozo
Here are a few impressions (um… quite a few LOL!) of how the week ended. Home at 2 am on Saturday morning. And yes, that is late if you’re my age! Keith and Julian from Noise Studios moved their “Noise@…” events from Connection to Brookies, also in Victoria, three weeks ago. The setting is great (think typical converted Gozitan farmhouse, with a few modern touches thrown in), and thus offered some nice atmospheric fodder for my lens. Before moving upstairs for the music, we ate at the restaurant downstairs (which Brookies is mainly known for), and the food was great too!
Because the workshop that I mentioned in my previous post took place over two days, I had the pleasure of sampling one of the finest rooms at The Palace, venue of the seminar. (Thank you to Kempinski for the voucher, and to Mario for the allocating the lovely room!) I literally had Sliema at my feet and the only sad thing about it all was that I didn’t really have much time that I could spend up there.
Woke up to the kind of grey, wet and cold Sunday morning that justifies a lengthy lie-in. I hoped to even sleep much longer as the second half of this week sported a serious lack of that. But Simba has made it a morning habit of lying right across my feet, presumably to annoy the hell out of me so I’ll wake up: his weight of nearly 10kg are no joke!
Wednesday I got up at 5 in the morning to go to Malta, where I attended a 2-days’ workshop about social media marketing. It was pretty intensive, and an eye-opener too: thinking I knew it all (well, almost, anyways), Twitter and its ramifications really brought me down to my knees… I had signed up a couple of years ago (I think) but only out of my usual curiosity. I quickly discarded it again because I found it plain boring (and I really didn’t need another social platform to spread out on!). Well, now I’m forced to be back in the twitter fold, if only to learn everything I can about it, so if you like, you can follow me here. I’d be really happy because out of the four followers I have at this moment, one is my dear friend Kathy, while the others are spammers, which I’ll eliminate before YOU even get to see them. So back to one follower…
Of course you could also follow the Kempinski Hotel San Lawrenz… after all, our hotel is the reason why I’m doing this in the first place, so might as well try and get a little fan-base going there!
And while you’re at it, check out Sockington the cat! A million and a half followers can’t go wrong, can they?? But seriously, Sockington’s tweets are a hoot! Please do forgive me the pun…
Disclaimer: I absolutely refuse to assume responsibility should you find yourself lost in the vast twitter world!
Out in the garden the first fresias made their appearance this week; a couple days more and there will be a riot of colours. And now even the sun came out to play… Spring’s on the way! I’m only telling you this because I’m so happy I actually noticed…
PS A post with pictures will follow soon, stay posted!
When life’s quirks puzzle me, I often venture into the garden – at least on a sunny day like today, to shake off silly thoughts from my head. We had a pretty strong storm last night, so I was taken aback by the incredible blue of the sky when I looked up towards our roof (where the planter in above pic is located)! The wind has almost died down, but it still is a bit chilly, so after a few minutes of gawking at the first signs of spring (I’ll spare you – I already posted so many similar photos over the four years of my blog’s existence!), I quickly returned to my sofa and the relative cosiness the heater affords us.
When I woke up this morning, I found myself in one of those pensive moods that come to me from time to time. I wanted to blog about it, but I still had the unfinished task of this week’s post for the Kempinski’s Discover Gozo blog, and after that I normally don’t feel like writing anything else… and to be honest I still don’t. It always boils down to the same subject anyway. Becoming suddenly aware of time’s passing, of being focussed on nothing but work, of side-lining life itself – and consequently being sidelined by it, too.
In fifty years you get to know yourself pretty well, though it’s a process stretching over a long time and involving a lot of hindsight. And so I am just now coming to terms with the discovery that when I find myself craving for gadgets (Apple’s iPad springs readily to mind) and/or other material stuff (such as new lenses for my camera), then more often than not it is because I feel such things would return some meaning to the life I’m leading… no matter how transient that “meaning” would be. That is the thought I woke up with today and that kept spinning in my head thereafter. I went as far as imagining a huge garage sale, including the cars, and followed by selling the house itself. And then what…? Living the rest of my life on a little island, far away from anything. Wait a moment… I’m doing that already!
Will someone please show me the way beyond square one?!
Forgive me for the vulgarity, but it just tickled me… I’m stone-cold sober when I shouldn’t be, while I’m in urgent need to vent my anger – which need probably wouldn’t have arisen, had I managed to drown it!
The motivation to blog today came straight from the hand of some pencil-pusher inside the Inland Revenue Department, asking me to pay 233 EUR tax due for 2008. That includes 11 EUR late payment fee and interest… WTF? In 2008 I ended up with two FS3’s because I’d quit one job and started another – albeit with the same employer. The IRD took into account my earnings from the second FS3 – but conveniently overlooked the tax that was deducted. Is the country in such dire straits that they need to resort to robbing us “little ones” of a few euro, in order to boost the economy? I have no doubt that there could be people who would pay up out of ignorance.
But the real reason why this makes me so mad is that of course it’s me who’s forced to waste my time and energy to prove my case. And believe me, I don’t have time to waste. Nor energy, coming to think of it.
Then there’s the little matter of our washing machine that conked out a few days before our holiday. It still was in not too intensive care by the time we returned, and was finally delivered back to us yesterday – only to break down once more during the first of 6 wash-loads that have been gracing our bedroom floor for the past week!
Now it seems to be fixed… and we’re drowning in washed clothes that can’t be hung outside because of constant rain. (Yes, rain!) Let me rephrase that: washed clothes that shouldn’t have been hung outside. Because that’s what hubby did when he thought it had rained enough for the day. Then he scurried off to Malta for a dinner with friends, while I arrived from work in a particularly mesmerizing downpour – mesmerizing because I was sort of willing it to not be true, which seemed to cause it only to pour harder. I think I actually had my mouth open in wonder, while sitting in the car in our drive way…
I’ve been back to work for just one week, and it feels a little as though I’ve never been away. Now I’m sitting here, trying to make metaphorical lemonade – and I can almost – almost! - laugh at the lemons life is throwing me. The last one (well, hopefully!) for today: I chucked a glass of mulled wine into the microwave and obviously pressed the ‘hot drink’ button three times instead of twice. Judging by the lack of fog around my head, that not only left a dire mess in the oven but effectively destroyed the alcohol content. So I’m even too stupid to get plastered on a Friday night. If that isn’t depressing, what is?!
Oh well. If you’re still with me, I’m honestly impressed. Oh yes, I know what a yawner of a post this is. But I do already feel slightly better for it. So bite me, as my dear friend Kathy would say. Speaking of Kathy… the garden gate gang is going to meet for the Tollwood Summer Festival in Munich on July 21st – and yes, I already booked my leave – and my flight! I have a feeling that knowing that will be going a looong way to keep me sane in the coming months…
And now, folks, I’m going to attempt another boost of my blood booze level. Watch this space…
It came… and went, in a hurry! Our long awaited holiday in Ireland, is what I’m talking about. Thanks to a very kindhearted and generous person, who arranged for our hotel accommodation in four different places, we finally got to see the country I’ve been very keen on visiting for a very long time. Added to that our equally kindhearted friend Mick and his girlfriend Sharon made us feel at home by sharing their home with us.
I had meant to write a little bit each day of our holiday, but that just didn’t work out. Instead, I posted photos on facebook on a regular basis, and if you wish you can see them here. Alternatively, you might enjoy the video I’ve put together, which is at the end of this post. By the way, Ryanair is by no means the worst to travel with. Having had the worst expectations – because of rumours and the harsh tone on their website – I was pleasantly surprised. In particular, it’s quite relaxing to be able to sleep without having to worry about missing the food delivery LOL! The only snag is that 15kg luggage limitation – and the awkwardly small size for cabin luggage (which is smaller than the IATA recommendations). Especially when packing for the return journey – who goes on holiday without a decent shopping spree?? – you’ll find yourself in panic mode…
We set off on 28th December and spent the first four days in Dublin, where we stayed at the Mount Herbert Hotel, a charming hotel on the outskirts (Dublin 4) but only three train stations from the city centre.
The amount of rain that came down on us in Dublin was phenomenal. For two full days it actually never stopped! We tried our best to ignore it, though, and even went on a bus tour (you know those double-deckers with open top?). It’s quite a good system; you hop on and off wherever takes your fancy. In theory, that is. Our first stop was the Guinness Storehouse (naturally) and by the time we came out, the weather had whipped itself into a frenzy. We were extremely grateful to finally board a bus (albeit without a seat for most of the journey!) that had leakages all over the place… we didn’t even dream of stopping anywhere else after that!
Eventually the rain stopped and was replaced by freezing temperatures. New Year’s Day was a bright and crisp (read: bone-chilling!) day – probably just perfect for the traditional New Year’s Day swim in Skerries… Are these people crazy??
New Year's Day in Skerries - air temperature ca. 1°C, water 3 or 4°C!!
Ardgillan Castle
On the same day we received our hire car and, with some trepidation, set off on our way up north – which really was a piece of cake, compared to what was lying in wait for our return journey! Our first stop was the Europa Hotel in Belfast. What a beautiful place! Although each of the four hotels we stayed in was beautiful in its own right, the Europa was top-notch, and our room was fabulous, overlooking the city of Belfast. Although it’s “only” a four-star property, it was no different from the best Kempinskis in this world…
Only very little rain came down on Belfast during our stay, a vast improvement over previous days! There’s one huge problem in this city, though: parking. I think we spent at least a quarter of a petrol tank cruising around in search for that elusive little space.
Belfast City Hall
From Belfast, our way took us further north, to Antrim Coast, where the lovely, quaint “Antrim Suite” at Ballygally Castle was our home for one night. The room was surrounded by windows on three sides, all of which had seaviews – I wished we could have stayed there longer!
Sheep on Antrim coast
Our final station was Londonderry – or rather Derry, as the Irish prefer to call it. The Everglades Hotel, where we stayed, is just under 2 km from the walled city centre. And when we woke up to snowy scenery we decided to walk, rather than drive. However, in Ireland there seems to be no law (as in Germany, for example) that owners have to keep sidewalks in front of their property ice-free. At times I was clinging to walls and railings for dear life…
Bridge leading into Derry
And then the drive back to Dublin… oh man! As it turned out, we’d chosen the worst winter in 30 years for our Ireland visit. That figures, doesn’t it?? I’m not sure I’d have gone for the hire car option had I known what was coming. Setting off from Derry in bright sunshine, the GPS insisted on leading us through all sorts of minor roads, and when we finally reached the M1 to Dublin, both hubby and I breathed a huge sigh of relief – only to be surprised by a tremendous flurry of snow just a few kilometres later.
Winter wonder land
Snowy nightmare on the M1 to Dublin (still frame of video)
But all’s well that ends well: we needed four hours to cover 200 km but arrived safe & sound in Dublin, handed back the car punctually without a scratch, and were greeted by dear Mick, who put us up at his house for the last night. By that time Dublin Airport was closed due to the “Big Freeze”, leaving us to wonder we’d make it home the next day! But instead of getting sick with worry, we headed for a last walk with Mick and his adorable dog Kola, bringing our holiday to a close.
Last evening beach walk in Rush
Again, luck was on our side… our flight at 6.25 am left on time – though unbelievably later that day, that airport was closed again!) A very enjoyable 20°C welcomed us in Malta. By now, it’s considerably colder though. I’m trying not to care LOL!
Twitter and its ramifications really brought me down to my knees… I had signed up a couple of years ago (I think) but only out of my usual curiosity. I quickly discarded it again because I found it plain boring (and I really didn’t need another social platform to spread out on!). Well, now I’m forced to be back in the twitter fold, if only to learn everything I can about it, so if you like, you can 
