Sunday, July 20, 2008

Village life


After about 1.5 years here, I realized we never posted any photos of our little village. My walking route for most things takes me past the church in Balzan (technically not our village, we live in Attard, but it is close enough) For once, I remembered to bring the camera with me to snap some photos that illuminate our world.

These are traditional Maltese balconies. I have not heard a satisfactory explanation as to why they are designed this way.

You'll find ornate ironwork on many houses, whether it is grillwork, the door knocker, or a gate or fence. You will also often find cats in the most unlikely locations. Here are more photos (and yes that is a fish cart. There are fish stores but most mongering is done on trucks/carts).

Saturday, July 19, 2008

The strike is over.

The transportation strike that crippled the island has now ended. Actually, it ended yesterday. In a strange twist the hearse drivers pulled out of strike because they did not like the way the strike was going and how is was handled by the union. The hearse liberalization was the original reason the whole strike started. So the union has now accept that liberalization is the way of the future and the buses are starting to run again. It was very interesting to watch it play out but I am glad that traffic is returning to normal on the island.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Strike on the Island

A transportation strike is on in Malta. The government is liberalizing the license for the hearse companies. Basically they are allowing more companies to get licenses to drive hearse on the island. In a strange twist of fate the bus, taxis, and mini buses drivers are part of the same union as the hearse drivers. The drivers have been blocking road on the island to protest the liberalization of the hearses. This is cause major headaches in with traffic. Also with no public transportation on the island some Maltese are having a tough time getting around. One of the major roads on the island St. Anne Street that runs through Floriana to Valletta was completely blocked yesterday with mini buses and taxis. So far the protests have been mostly peaceful, but very annoying and disruptive. The Transportation Union claims they will not stop striking until the government reverses its position. The government claims it won’t reverse the decision and has removed the subsidies it gives the bus drivers (EU pressure might have something to do with that). Not sure who will break first. In the mean time, it is taking for ever to get to work and leave work since they are blocking the road in front of the embassy. Ah the joys of living overseas. Below are some links to local papers about the fun.

Photo is from the Times of Malta.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

She's a carnivore!

We hang out with some folks with slightly older kids, and it helps me get over some of my hangups ... one being the fear that Alex will choke on anything that is not pureed. So in the spirit of some day having a child who actually eats the same things I do at the dinner table, we cut up tonight's steak into very very small pieces. Oh man did she love it! we also mashed up some of the baked potato and she went to town on that too. Mind you, this is after more than 1 1/2 cups of largely pureed fruit, veg and oatmeal. She can EAT. Of course, she only weighs 15.5 lb at almost 9 months. Where does she put it???

In other news, because we were such slackers we never got around to finding babysitters for Alex, so we had to tag team the 4th of July party at the Ambassador's residence. This was only possible because we live a block away. So, when Terry put Alex down to sleep I headed on over, and about halfway through I said my goodbyes and went home so Terry could enjoy the party. There is a goodbye party this coming weekend for a high mucky-muck leaving next week and we are really hopeful that we'll have childcare lined up. One of our friends offered her teenage daughter if all else fails.

Another reason we really need to get child care lined up is that I'll be working at the embassy part time starting in a couple weeks. The job is the Community Liaison Officer and mostly involves keeping the spouses and other family members happy; for example, I'll be providing the welcome briefing and handbook, information about schools and realtors, etc to the incoming folks. I'm looking forward to putting on a suit once in a while and going into an office again. As much as I hate leaving Alex, I also think she and I will both benefit from a little time away from each other.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Summer is Here

Summer is here in Malta. Actually it has been here a while now. The pool is getting regular use and air conditioner use have sky rocketed. As will the electric bill in 3 months (when we finally get it). I am progressively hiding out more and more inside with shutters close to keep out any hot sun rays I can. Diaper only fashion statement is more and more the rage for Alex. Lynne is not really bothered. I am already looking forward to the late September rains to break the heat. For now I do my best to deal with the heat.

Couple of things going on here. There is a goodbye luncheon for my boss today. For whatever reason the dress code is business suit. Then on Friday is the July 4th reception. The reception is also business suit. Maltese summers are not a good time for business suits. You combine the heat of Malta with the extra clothing of business suits and you have a very hot and sweaty Terry. This is shortly followed by a stinky and generally grumpy Terry. It is odd because most people like to avoid the cold posts and go to place like Malta. It truly baffles me. Personally I would rather deal with 5 months of winter at sub zero then 5 months of constantly over 90 degrees Fahrenheit and often in the 100s. Hopefully that means there will be more cold post open for me. For now just I just have to curl up on the tile floor and do my best not to melt.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Malta in the Times (New York)

Sorry for the long gap. Not much is really going on. Everyday life of living in Malta is kind of boring like the states. We spend most of our time parenting Alex and doing the chores that are required. This does not leave a lot of fun time. But I will give you the headlines. Most are not that exciting. The frugal traveler reviewed Malta in the New York Times. Here is the link. So that is kind of exciting. The writer keeps talking about Horsemeat he had in a Bar. This is one of the many traditional foods of Malta, but it is not really anywhere near as big as rabbit or snails. Occasionally you run into a restaurant that serves it but it is far from everywhere like other foods of Malta. Two things that are everywhere is Pastizzi and Ġbejna. Neither of these items are even mention. Otherwise kind of an interesting article. I would like to thank Nate for send us the link.

Some bigger news is that the lots of the embassy community are rotating out this summer so it will be a whole new flock of people to meet. By September probably more than half the Americans here will be new. We will be the old kids on the block. Kind of crazy. Seems like it was not long ago we were just arriving. Hopefully some nice people come to post. For now that is all.

Thursday, May 1, 2008

culinary adventures at the Arches

A friend of ours who must be nostalgic for her 6 year old's babyhood offered to watch Alex so Terry and I could go out. We jumped at the offer before she could change her mind, and decided to go to The Arches, a fancy restaurant recommended by several people.

When we got there we were offered either going straight to the table or reading the menu and having a drink in a small lounge area. The house red wine was by far the best Maltese red I have had, although it was too fruity to legitimately be called a Cabernet Sauvignon; however, that was apparently the grape used. We had heard rave reviews of the Chateaubriand, so went with that, and shared a duck starter.

We first received an amuse bouche (small taste complimentary of the chef). Although we missed hearing what it was, the shot sized glass of soup was clearly a curried cauliflower with a rich chicken base. Yum! The duck was one of the best I have ever had. Flavorful, juicy, just the right amount of crispy fat still attached to each sliver. They somehow managed to slice the Chateaubriand so I had the rarer pieces and Terry had the more medium pieces, which is exactly how we like it. The end piece I had was overcooked even for medium, though. I also realized that I prefer cuts with more fat - and therefore more flavor - to them. It was an incredibly high quality cut of meat, but there is only so much you can do to a plain piece of meat with no fat and no seasonings.

Too full for dessert, we opted for cappuccinos. They were truly perfect and a nice way to end the meal. Folks just arriving from the USA will love this place - the service is incredibly attentive and courses arrive practically on top of each other. Anyone who has gotten used to the languid rhythm of European meals might find it a bit rushed. I think we ran 2 hours from walking in the door to paying the check.

All in all, I would definitely return, but get the duck main course and maybe the Kobe beef starter.

We have also been cooking more lately, and making some of Alex's baby food. More on those adventures another night.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

White nights, vodka and Kirov ballet!

Yippee, we're heading to St. Petersburg, Russia some time in early 2009. Of our family of 4 (two adults, one baby, and one furry) one of us can tolerate heat - me. So everyone is ecstatic about the news.

Now we just need to learn Russian :-(

Friday, April 4, 2008

Orange Juice

When we went home for R and R we had to hire a gardener because there was no way we'd keep up with this jungle after being gone a whole month. The guy did an amazing job (with Terry's promotion maybe we can hire him more often!) and one thing he did was pick all the oranges off our trees and leave them in bags for us. The oranges are a bit bitter but incredibly juicy, so one afternoon while Alex and I took a nap, Terry went and juiced the whole thing. He'll post photos of his hard work.

The experience prompted him to go buy an electric juicer. This will also help with our massive lemonade campaign during the summer.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Finally made it to Gozo!

Terry and I realized chores will always be there and never be completely done so we decided over this long weekend we were finally going to get to Gozo, Malta's little sister island. According to most Maltese, everything is better in Gozo (better food, fresher air, less traffic, etc, etc). We kept holding off partly because Terry can't be off the island if his boss is away, and partly because we feared it would be a huge time-consuming painful process - which we hear it is in the summer.

Well, traffic and air are certainly better. When we boated to Gozo last summer we anchored by Fungus Rock. This trip we ended up taking a walk/hike in the same area, which is called Dwerja. Our walk/hike along the cliffs was nicer than anything we had done in Malta, but only by a little. The ferry to Gozo was a highlight in some ways - it is the first thing we found in Malta that was completely efficient and smoothly run. We happened to arrive at the ferry just a few minutes before boarding began on our way there, and from the time we left the house to the time we sat down for lunch in Rabat (Victoria) - after wandering around the center a bit - was 2 hours.

Otherwise we really didn't see the draw. Of course, we really didn't see or do much, we wanted to focus on the festival and outdoor things because the weather was so good, so we didn't stay long in Rabat or see any of the sights. Then when we got to Gharb where the festival was, it turns out we hit in the afternoon lull when nothing was going on. So that's why we got such good parking! The village itself is reported to be a sight itself because it is still very traditional but we didn't see much that was so different from in our own village in Malta.

We'll be back at least a couple of times - we need to see the Citadel and Ggantija and we want to do some snorkeling by the Azure Window - but we certainly won't be every-weekend visitors unless the next trip really wows us.