I hate it when my entries suddenly end like that last one did and I don’t get to go back to them! I had to board the plane, and fell asleep as soon as I sat down. Entry forgotten. Sorry about that!
I am now in Malta, writing from a restaurant that Jocelyn and I discovered last time we were here. I came back solely for the amazing garlic-covered mushrooms. But before I dive into life in Malta, I know there was more to say about Portugal…if I can remember any of it. I think it was just a collection of random thoughts, like:
· Wow, the Portuguese are bad drivers. They are so fast. It’s a miracle we made it out of the country without either one of us getting hit.
· The Portuguese language was quite a surprise. I expected it to sound much more like Spanish than it actually does. Instead it sounded like a combination of French and Spanish and, of all things, Russian. I don’t know why I heard Russian in it. I think it had to do with the cadence, rather than the actual words.
· I heard “Sail” playing once when I was out walking. I was pleasantly surprised that it’s getting airplay outside of the US! It’s a bit of an acquired taste, but I love it.
· What I will not miss about Lisbon is the slipperiness. Odd complaint, I know, but it’s true…it was a seriously slippery city. The stairs in all the buildings were slippery. The curbs were slippery (I slipped off them several times). The streets and sidewalks were slippery…which really isn’t convenient in a city full of hills. I swear you need hiking boots to walk anywhere in Lisbon, or you’ll slide right down the street!
If there’s more, I can’t remember it…so let’s move on to Malta.
Ah, Malta. I love this silly little country so much. Although this trip has been a bit on the trying side so far.
It was early when we arrived, so we had a long wait before we could find a place to stay. We headed straight to Huggins, a restaurant we patronize frequently while here. It wasn’t open yet, but we sat at one of the tables outside and took advantage of the free wi-fi. When they finally opened, we indulged in a favorite tradition – the full English breakfast – and tried to find accommodations. It was not good (the trying-to-find-accommodations part, not the breakfast part…the breakfast part was delicious). Our usual place was all booked up, and that seemed to be the case all over town.
[Side note: My food just arrived. The mushrooms are amazing. And this smoked salmon is divine. And Malta has the biggest capers I have ever seen.]
We haven’t been here during high season before, so we didn’t know what to expect. For a country that’s generally so cheap, hotels are really expensive right now! Expensive and/or booked…it’s not a good combination. And to make things even better (a.k.a. “worse”), we found out that it’s probably going to cost us around €200 to get to Russia, no matter where we fly from. Yikes.
We ended up having to stay in a different town. Sliema isn’t terribly far away, but it’s just far enough to be a nuisance. We walked (2+ kilometers) to the hotel because it was still early and we had nothing better to do. Ugh…what an awful idea. We did not learn our lesson from Portugal: sun + hills + baggage = not fun. It is so hot here. As I said, we haven’t been here during summer before, and it’s way hotter than I expected. I will def be jumping in the Mediterranean at some point.
We had a late dinner at a place we’d never tried before in Balutta Bay (more Malta traditions: octopus and a seafood platter), and then trekked back to Paceville for a bit of the famous Maltese nightlife. It is so packed with tourists right now. There isn’t any room to breathe in the bars, much less dance. I’m not even sure how anyone has space to lift their arms and take a drink! I do not like being in crowds like that (not because I’m scared of it, but because I can’t handle that many people touching me), and I was tired and not in a party mood anyway, so we didn’t stay long. Had to fight with a bunch of cab drivers before we found one who would actually use the meter…it was good practice for the horrendous cab drivers of Russia.
To add to the list of unfortunate circumstances, our hotel in Sliema was only available for one night, so we had to do the torturous sun + hills + baggage walk again the next morning. No thank you. I have never been a very sweaty person, but God…I feel like I want to shower every hour here. No more Malta during summertime!
Random aside: just remembered that Armin is in Romania today and I’m not. L Tragedy.
Our new digs, though more money than we’d like to spend, are actually pretty nice. Good location, working Internet, and very spacious – we have a couch and a kitchen area with a small fridge and a table/chairs, and even a small outdoor patio space. Not bad at all! It was also only supposed to be for one night (and then we were going to have to do the awful walk AGAIN), but we found out this morning that we can stay. Thank God.
I had a lowkey afternoon on our first full day here, catching up on work, and sending out job applications. Have I explained that plan yet? I think that, after this trip and Burning Man, I’ll stay in New York through the end of the year. I’m thinking I can get a “real job” for a while, to save up some money for traveling/Oxford next year. And when I’m in one place, I can devote time to finding coaching clients! So that’s the plan at the moment.
But back to Malta. In between work sessions, I went for a bit of a wander. I browsed at the mall for a bit, and took a trip to the grocery store, and dunked my feet in the water for a while because STIFLINGLY HOT WEATHER. The real fun came at night, because we went out with Coreena. Let me tell you…a night out with Coreena is a night you will never forget, and by that I mean it’s a night you will never remember.
We started at Qube, the site of many a free shot last year (18 in one night, if memory serves). Turns out our free shot extravaganza left behind quite an impression, because the bartender immediately recognized us! Only 1 round of free shots this time, though. J
After Qube we went to Havana, which means all drinks on the house because Coreena works there. And once again, we found ourselves being warmly greeted by a bartender (Mario?) who remembered us! Coreena also introduced us to 3 friends of hers who each said they’d been hearing about us and our visit for weeks, and were very excited to meet us.
One in particular was so overwhelmed…you’d have thought she was meeting a celebrity! Apparently she’d never met an American before, so she was ridiculously excited about that. And then when she found out I live in New York…oh my goodness. I thought she was going to pass out from overexcitement. She was literally fanning herself and holding her hand to her cheek in disbelief and saying “I can’t believe this, I can’t believe this” over and over again. I told her I would be happy to show her around if she ever made it out there, and then she lost control completely. Just kept waving her hands around and shaking her head and saying “No, no, no, no, no” like it was all too much for her. It was like a teenage girl meeting One Direction.
So basically…Jon and I are famous in Malta. And I totally want that on a shirt: Famous In Malta.
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