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Summer of 23

July - October 2023
The long awaited honeymoon Read more
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  • Summer of 23

    Day 9 - Blessington, Ireland

    July 18, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    Today we drove to Blessington, stopping at Cahill for a coffee stop. Diagonally across the road from the cafe is Cahir Castle. Built in 1142, it is one of Ireland’s largest castles sited on an island in the River Suir.
    Imagine working in the cafe and looking at that view.

    I volunteered to find a place for lunch. I navigated us to The Big Blue Bus, in the Avon Ri complex by Blessington Lakes Wicklow, just a few kilometres from our Airbnb. The Big Blue Bus, located in the outdoor food court, sells organic pizzas, with quirky names. We went for Pick the Pear and Knockanstockan - delicious. They were cooked on the bottom deck of a converted blue double decker and eaten on the top deck of the bus.

    Dinner was at West Wicklow House with a superb meal. I tried the local hazy IPA & Katie supported a Guinness made cider.

    The evening was capped with drinks with our lovely Airbnb hosts, Muriel and Tom, where Glendalough Gin was the drink of the evening.    Read more

  • Summer of 23

    Day 10 - Dublin

    July 19, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Today we have planned a full day of sightseeing, discovering historical roots, eating Irish food and drinking plenty of Guinness in Temple Bar (Dad and I have been saving ourselves for a Guinness or 2 or, as was the case 3 pints each).

    Our Airbnb host, Tom, drove us to Tallagh to catch the Luas, a light rail to get into Dublin. It proved to be a very smooth and quick way of getting in to Dublin central. Our stop was Smithfield from where all major points of interest, be they the Jameson distillery, Guinness Brewery, Temple Bar amongst the many other attractions were an easy walk away.

    Once at Smithfield, Katie & I went our own way to find the street where Katie’s nan lived, and nice walk 30 minutes away through Dublins hustle and bustle. Once we had finished in Shelbourne Road, we made our way to Jameson Distillery tour. This consisted of a walk through how they make the whiskey, then a taste testing of Jameson, Jameson Crest and Jameson Black. The Jameson Crest is not available in NZ or Aus so will be sorting out how we get some back with us!

    We then had a look at some shops and made our way to Temple Bar area.

    Temple Bar is what most tourists regard as Dublin’s most famous landmark. It is promoted a Dublin’s cultural quarter and as a centre of Dublin’s city night life. It’s colourful bars and restaurants, all adorned with impressive and colourful planter pots and hanging baskets, come alive to the sounds of live Irish music where many people flock to enjoy a pint and good meal and listen to or take part in live music.

    The 4 of us met for drinks at Fitzgerald’s Pub in Temple Bar, where live Irish and non Irish music was on offer. People were dancing in the aisles, singing along to the songs. Whilst ordering our 2nd round of Guinness pints at the pub, I met Jeff, a traveller from Quebec, Canada who had just landed in Dublin today and was about to embark on a 12 day Ireland tour. I invited him to join our table where we swapped stories of where we had travelled during our time in Ireland, which Jeff found informative and note worthy. We decided to move pubs and head to a pub across the road from the most famous pub in Temple Bar, known as The Temple Bar. It is the red and black pub on the corner which is depicted in all of the guide books and tourist brochures and get more expensive as the night draws on- they have so many tourists that come to the pub just to have a drink and get their photo taken outside the pub that they can charge whatever they want knowing tourists will pay the asking price(s).

    The Spire of Dublin, also known as the Monument of Light, also referred to as the Walk of the Dead, is a 121 metre high stainless steel, pin like monument located on the site of the former Nelson’s Pillar on O’Connell Street, the Main Street of Dublin. It cost a staggering €4 million to build.

    It is referred to as The Walk of the Dead, because party goers are attracted to its lights at night after pubs have closed, just like ‘zombies being attracted to light’.

    At the end of the evening in Dublin we made our way back to Tallagh Station on the Luas light rail where we were met by our Airbnb host, Tom, to take us back to the Airbnb to get ready for tomorrow’s flight to Malta. Needless to say we all “slept like the dead” till the alarm rang at 4 am. Here starts the Malta leg of our trip.    Read more

  • Summer of 23

    Day 11 -Valletta, Malta

    July 20, 2023 in Malta ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    We arrived in Malta at 12:30pm local time after waking at 4am to catch our Ryanair flight. Our friends, Charlie and Cornelia, were at the airport to pick us up to take us to our hotel in Valletta, The Grand Harbour Hotel.

    On the way we stopped at a local cafe to have lunch where I opted for a traditional Maltese tuna ftira, washed down with the traditional Maltese beverage, Kinnie. Ftira is a large thick crust bun, halved and filled with Mediterranean type ingredients such as olive oil, tuna, tomato, capers and olives - all the yummies I love. (Non existent diet - watch out). Kinnie is Malta’s favourite soft drink, and is a unique bitter tasting drink with orange flavouring and aromatic herbs. Katie wasn’t a fan of Kinnie and was happy with a coke.

    When we booked our hotel we arranged to have harbour view rooms, and WOW, what a view we all have. Facing us, on the opposite side of the Grand Harbour, lie Malta’s trio of cities- Vittoriosa (or Birgu in Maltese), Senglea (Isla), and Cospicua (Bormla).

    Known collectively as The Three Cities, they offer an insight into Malta’s maritime fortunes. Each was critical to the defence of the island, which explains their strategic position right across from Valletta, with Birgu and Isla being the most prominent as they jut out into the Grand Harbour.

    All 3 are enclosed by a huge line of fortifications, built by the Knights.

    After a much needed shower, Katie and I went on a short walk to find some bottles of water. We soon found a restaurant with all day happy hour serving 4euro Spritz and cocktails. We then retreated to the hotel to meet our guides (Charlie & Cornelia). they took us on a tour of Valletta. Measuring only 1km x 600m, with every street leading to the sea, Valletta’s walls contain stunning 16th- and 17th- century townhouses fronted by traditional balconies. In recent times Valletta has blossomed with exciting cafes, restaurants, bars, new galleries, museums, and an emerging nightlife scene.

    I can only describe Valletta as old (yet beautiful), steeped in history everywhere you turn, vibrant and oozing 21st century life.

    While we were in Valletta, the Malta International Food Festival was on in Triton Square, drawing huge crowds. We were taken to the prestigious Phoenicia Hotel for drinks before finding a place to have dinner.

    We walked a bit more before coming across a restaurant offering traditional Maltese food. I had the grilled octopus and to say it was amazing is an understatement. I gave Charlie the job of picking a nice red wine and it didn’t disappoint. Also he gave me a new app called ViVino which tells you about the wine and reviews - this will be used a lot from now on!

    At the end of the meal it was a leisurely stroll back to the hotel to view the cart skyline from the roof top of our hotel before going back to our rooms to get a much needed night’s sleep.    Read more

  • Summer of 23

    Day 12 - Valletta, Sliema & Birgu, Malta

    July 21, 2023 in Malta ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    The day started with us having breakfast at Cafe Jubillee, just a few minutes walk from our hotel.

    After breakfast we caught a bus to Tarxien, a small village that has The Hyergeum, a Neolithic subterranean structure dating to the Saflieni phase (3300 - 3000 BC). It is often referred to as the Hypergeum, which in Greek means “underground”. The Hypergeum is thought to have been a sanctuary and necropolis, with the estimated remains of more than 7,000 people documented by archeologists, and is among the best preserved examples of Maltese temple building culture. The structures in the Hypergeum were all dug underground using primitive stone or flint implements as this civilisation related the Bronze Age. They found the Hypergeum when digging a for a new house and a labourer broke through to one ove the areas.

    The tour underground revealed underground caverns, tombs and burial chambers which have withstood the test of thousands of years.

    Charlie and Cornelia took us to Marsaxlokk, a small, traditional fishing village. Known for its views, fishermen and history, it was used as a port by Phoenicians, Carthaginians and has the remains of a Roman-era harbour, St. Peter’s Pool and then lunch in Marsaxlokk at a cafe with a shaded area on the sidewalk by the beachfront. It was approx. 36 C and humid, and the slight breeze helped keep us cool somewhat.

    After lunch we went back to the hotel room to have another shower and a rest before venturing out again. The pint of the day was a Farsons Hopleaf Pale Ale.

    Dad, Katie, Desma and I went to the Malta Experience, a short walk from the hotel, where the history of Malta from the earliest inhabitants to the many sieges that have occurred by a number of invaders over the past 4 thousand years or so. To say that Malta has undergone numerous attempts to seize control by invaders, some successful, some not, is no understatement. Malta was invaded by the Phoenicians, Carthaginian’s, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese, crusaders, French, British, with the last being the German/Italian axis during WWII. Malta is in a strategic location due to its location close to the African coast and also its location for sea passage via the Suez Canal. The island was continuously bombed for over 60 days in succession during WWII, in an attempt to cause as much damage as possible, and to also starve the inhabitants.

    As part of the tour a guide explained how the Sacra Infermeria played an important part during WWII.

    We then caught a water taxi from the Valletta harbour to Birgu which is directly across the harbour. Walking the streets with their traditional stone buildings, many with traditional balconies, the curved streets and preparation for their upcoming festa in honour of St. Laurence. Preparations commence weeks prior with streets transformed into colourful avenues with statues, flags, banners and festoons. All of the work is done by a team of dedicated volunteers, and when the festa comes around the whole village turns out for the festivities and parades.

    We then returned to Valletta to prepare for a drive to Sliema and St. Julian’s, referred to by Cornelia as “the Gold Coast of Malta”. We found somewhere to have dinner & Gelato seeing the weather was very warm.    Read more

  • Summer of 23

    Day 13 - Gozo

    July 22, 2023 in Malta ⋅ 🌙 29 °C

    Today we will head to the second largest island in Malta, Gozo, where my grandparents come from. Dad also spent the first few years of his life here & was here 40years ago.

    Breakfast was at Cafe Cordina, the oldest cafe in Malta and the number one place to do for a morning coffee. The building is very ornate with decorated ceilings and cakes and pastries which looked very yummy - not sampling any today.

    Not far away is St. John’s Co-Cathedral, a unique monument with Baroque art, with its stunning architecture, paintings, statues, adornments and much more. It is Malta’s most imposing church, having been built by the Knights of St. John in 1577, soon after the Great Siege. For many years the church was where the Knights of the Order of St. John gave praise. They donated gifts of highly artistic value and made enormous contributions to enrich it with the best works of art by leading artists available to them, including their most famous piece by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, known as Caravaggio. The altarpiece which depicts the beheading of St. John the Baptist, is the largest painting he produced and the only one known to be signed. As a result, The Order dedicated this church to St. John the Baptist. The Co-Cathedral contains tombstones and monuments, artefacts, museum collections, tapestries, sacred vestments, choral books, and a silver collection.

    The only way to describe it would be stunning, stunning, stunning. We spent a good hour in the Co-Cathedral, during which time there was something new to see around every corner.

    Dad and I visited the world’s oldest music shop, D’Amato Records, which is situated near our hotel. Vinyl records not found elsewhere, DVDs, and even some VHS cassettes can be found here.

    We planned to catch the car ferry to Gozo this afternoon, so we drove to Mdina, also known as the Silent City. It is a fortified city in the northern region of Malta, and is still confined within its walls. It is also one of the main tourist attractions in Malta.

    While in Mdina we had lunch at Is-Serkin, the most sought after pastizzi producer on the island. At the time we were there, they were experiencing a power black out, yet customers were queued our the front door. They were the best pastizzi I have had in a very long time. In order for Katie to become “woggyfied” Dad set her the challenge of eating a couple of pastizzi, which she did admirably. She has also eaten a traditional dish for lunch, ‘Hobz biz zejt’, which translates to bread with oil. Actually it contains much more than that.

    Then it was off to the car ferry to go to Gozo (Ghawdex in Maltese). The 45 minute trip was uneventful, with a rural character and brown landscape as far as the eye could see, with limestone buildings also evident. Also known for its scenic hills, it provides stunning views in all directions.

    We are staying with Dad & Desma’s friends, Charlie and Cornelia, who have rented an apartment in the trendy seaside village of Marsalforn. We have the penthouse which is 4 floors up and there was no electricity at the time we arrived - neighbours had told us the power had been out for about 20 hours. So what does one do in such circumstances? Yes off to the local beach for a dip and cool off.

    The beach was Wied il-Ghasri, which was not too crowded given 2 nearer beaches were available also. The water here is very salty, even ,it’s so that’s the beaches we are used to back home.

    Dinner was in Ghajnsielem, where traditional Maltese food was once again consumed by all (I had the chicken parmigiana to sample how the Maltese do it).

    After Dinner, Charlie & I dropped the everyone off back at the apartment and we went to Sannat Festa. This is a local village festa that is called ‘Feast of St. Margaret the Martyr’, this has local Brass Band playing, food trucks, an air display of fireworks then a ground display of Fireworks on structures made for the festa (see the video)
    All villages have these and it is when the village is on show and the church is all don’t up with the streets. Only way to put it, Chinese New Year Malta Style!    Read more

  • Summer of 23

    Day 14 - Gozo

    July 23, 2023 in Malta ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    It was an early rise this morning (5:30am), so Dad, Charlie and I could attend 6:30 mass (in Maltese) in Nadur, the village where Dad’s family are from. It would also be an opportunity to meet Fr. Saviour Muscat who is my Dad’s aunt Carmen’s husband’s brother, making him part of Dad’s family. Fr. Saviour is the parish priest in Nadur.

    Once back from Mass and the world wasn’t falling apart seeing I went to Mass, Charlie was itching for a swim. He took myself and Katie to Hondoq ir - Rummien Bay for a cool down in the ocean. I decided to be adventurous and do some jumps off the rock ledge while getting Katie’s attention to make sure she was watching.

    Fr. Saviour invited us to his house for refreshments later in the afternoon, where we also got to meet his sisters Rita and Maria. Prior to leaving we were given a rosary to take back with us, and a little push to be a good and go to church with out saying it straight out right!

    The rest of the day was fairly low key in comparison to other days, as I was not feeling well, which I think is me reacting to the constant change of climate from hot and humid outside to air conditioned buildings and car. Katie is also getting first hand how well I don’t do in the swelling heat - amazingly she is feeling hot but unaffected by all the heat & aircon!    Read more

  • Summer of 23

    Day 15 - Victoria, Gozo

    July 24, 2023 in Malta ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Today we dropped Dad off to see his Aunt Rita in Hospital. While he was there we went to Victoria the centre of Gozo to look around and buy a few things. Victoria is tight little laneways, lots of scooters and Cats lazing to beat the heat! Once Dad was back we grabbed supplies for lunch from various shops and headed back to the apartment.

    Lunch was another traditional Maltese feast consisting of local delicacies such as lampuki pie (lampuki is one of the most popular fish for Maltese during the season - it is also known as dolphin fish or dorado), ftira, torte al corned beef, and ricotta and pea torta.

    We went to Xlendi Bay for a swim to cool off. This is a very popular beach for swimming and other water sports. It is very picturesque yet crowded.

    We went to another beach on the other side of Nadur, Dad’s home village, called Dahlet Qorrot. It was much smaller and devoid of the multi-storey apartments that Xlendi has, as a matter of fact no dwellings could be seen. Instead of cafes, a small caravan sold drinks, ice creams and snacks. Despite this the beach was still popular.

    Dinner was a BBQ in the apartment with yet again more traditional Maltese food - some say it was a feast to feed the townships around us!

    After dinner it was a short walk into the local seaside village of Marsalforn for ice creams. The place at 10:30pm was alive with people, singers with every cafe and restaurant open. Marsalforn, with its small sandy beach, is one of the most popular tourist resorts on Gozo.    Read more

  • Summer of 23

    Day 16 - Gozo to Valletta

    July 25, 2023 in Malta ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Today was a slow start, I became I.T wizard and fixed Dad & Desma’s phone SIM cards while having some breakfast.

    After Breakfast there was time for the last swim in Gozo, we went back to Wied il-Ghasri, the water was much clearer than previous mostly due to hardly anyone being there & no sunscreen running off people. I’ll eventually do a video of the area and post it up.
    Charlie and I swam close towards the opening while Katie stayed near the beach area.

    We went for another walk of Victoria & had a beer in a bar (more like a corner shop!) We got some pastizzi from Sphinx in Victoria. Peas & ricotta were the two flavours.

    Katie, Desma, Dad and I packed up our things (Dad & Desma an overnight bag) and Charlie and Cornelia took us to the Gozo fast ferry so we could go to Valletta as we are flying to Italy tomorrow. A goodbye to Charlie & Cornelia for their hospitality and acting as our tour guides, (6 out of 5 star rating) a little wait in the blistering heat and we were on the fast ferry to Valletta.

    Once you get to Valletta, you get a ticket to take the Upper Barrakka lifts up instead of walking uphill - in this humidity, downhill is bad enough! The Upper Barrakka lifts opened in December 2012, linking the Grand Harbour to the Upper Barrakka Gardens and Valletta city centre. It is located on the original site where its predecessor, which was dismantled in 1983, operated between 1905 and 1973.

    We checked back into the Grand Harbour Hotel, then went to dinner at Nenu the Artesian Baker, this is where we went first night in Valletta and it delivered the goods again!

    Seeing we were all pretty tired, we called an early night seeing Katie & I were getting up at 5.30am for our next stop.    Read more

  • Summer of 23
    11

    Day 17 - Travels To Amalifi Coast, Italy

    July 26, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Hello my names Matt, and this is my story!

    This morning was an early start for Katie & I, 5.30am to get ready to fly to the next part of our trip - Italy!
    Dad & Desma woke at 5.45am to wish a cheerio and bon voyage on our next leg of the trip. Katie & I have thoroughly enjoyed travelling with Dad & Desma, I have learnt my father may be a math wiz but technology has a fair bit of a way to go! It was a great start to our trip and having someone been to Ireland before creating the route & seeing Malta with Charlie & Cornelia was amazing to start the trip off instead of diving into our own plans head first. I also now have bragging rights over the 3 sons, as I currently am the only one to have travelled to Mum’s home town with her and now Dad’s home town with him.

    After the farewell we jumped into a cab and headed for the airport. Once baggage was sorted and sitting on the plane, Ryan Air made the announcement we would be running late - 45minutes. No bother on our front just a very hot Matt sitting in a tin can, on a runway waiting for take off & also myself annoying Katie!

    Once in Naples we headed out of the airport to find the bus to get to Grand Central Station. While walking I had a few offers of ‘taxi’ at the same price as the bus - these were not in the taxi area and I wasn’t getting fooled!

    From Naples we travelled to Salerno, the gateway to the Amalfi Coast, by train. Train was running 10 minutes late, again no bother again as everything seemed to be coming in our favour with the delays.

    Got to Salerno, headed for the ferry to take us to Minori. As we were walking Katie was having trouble keeping her dress down due to wind, we also found out wind causes rough seas, rough seas causes cancelled ferries! Can’t win them all!

    So off to find the bus stop, as I brought the bus tickets I got a good luck from the lady, yep was going to need it. First bus we saw just kept driving past us full. So we walked to the first stop on the line and joined the masses. We got on the next bus. Everyone got on but he stopped at the next stop and only let two on!

    Hour and a half later, a lot of views and laughs watching the bus take very tight corners and take both lanes to do it we made it to Minori.

    Pretty stuffed from our travels we checked in, showered.
    Went for a walk and got a drink at California Beach cafe, decided on Dinner at La Locanda Del Pescatore - great food, arsehole of a waiter! - then bed time for us!    Read more

  • Summer of 23

    Day 18 - Boat Day along Amalfi Coast

    July 27, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Today we had organised a boat day along the Amalfi Coast.

    After breakfast we caught the ferry to Amalfi and we went to our favourite shop - the pharmacy - with Katie drugged up on sea legs we headed to meet the tour.

    The tour took us along the coast towards Positano with only 10 people on the boat. We got two swims in before getting to Positano. We are still getting used to the saltier Mediterranean Sea!

    Once at Positano we got transferred by water taxi to walk around the town for 2 hours. Grabbed some lunch from a bakery, katie got a lemon slushie drink on the way down to the boat.
    We are glad we are staying in Minori considering the crowds in Positano at this point!

    Once back on the boat they took us down the coast to Minori & Maiori and another 2 swims. At this point my back had found a nice pink colour Katie had made me aware of.

    Once back in Amalfi we headed for a bite and a few drinks and found the town very busy, so we opted to head back to Minori to get a pizza and sit on the beach.    Read more

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