A Taste of Malta...part 1

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 I'm back from my holiday, totally relaxed & ready for anything, well almost anything!

Something I love when flying is the amazing shapes of the clouds...

...& then the rush of excitement as land comes into view...

I thought you might like a little taste of Malta because, for such a small island, there is much to see...

 If you wander down the quayside in Marsaxlokk on a Sunday morning your senses will come alive. The smell of the sea, the hustle & bustle of the fish market...

& the vibrant colours of the traditional fishing boats called luzzus. Painted in shades of yellow, red, green & blue, & on their bows, the eyes of Orisis to ward off evil spirts...

As you can imagine, there are lots of fish restaurants along the quayside. We chose to eat in a traditional one called Il-Bukkett, (the bouquet - after the original owner because he was very handsome!).  Now run by his son, a lovely man called Mario Grech, who took time to talk to us about the fish & Malta. If you are ever in Malta, do try his restaurant, the fish was amazing.

I've been to Malta several times, (husband S used to live here), & something I loved were the old brightly coloured buses. Unfortunately, they have now been replaced by new modern buses. They may not have been very emission-friendly but they were such an icon of the island. The few that remain are now used as tourist attractions or mobile shops.

The island played a big part in WWII as a base for the allied forces in the Mediterranean. It suffered terribly from constant bombing & many historic buildings were destroyed, as well as countless homes. There was a huge loss of life but the Maltese were so brave & refused to surrender. The island was awarded the George Cross in recognition of their bravery. During this time, food was really in short supply and Victory Kitchen's were set up where inhabitants pooled their meager food rations so meals could be produced to feed everyone. I love the design of the signs they used...

As my son J is a budding pilot, we had to visit the aircraft museum. While he enthused over the planes, I had a coffee in the tea shop set up in one of the wartime huts, complete with lace curtains at the windows. Well, I suppose this is the home of the famous Maltese lace...

As we were leaving we decided to pay our respects at the war cemetery just up the road. Such a lovely peaceful place, with beautiful bougainvillea hedges adding colour & a view over to the local town of Rabat...

Muuuummmm!!! No more photos!!!

It's a shore thing!

There's nothing quite like a weekend at the beach, sandy toes, salty hair and the sound of the ocean, perfect! G and I took our friends from back home (and of course Peanut) to visit the bay of Arcachon on the West coast of France, not far from Bordeaux. 

This part of the world is home to the tallest sand dune in Europe - Dune du Pilat. The dune has a volume of about 60,000,000 m³, measuring around 500m wide from east to west and 2.7 km in length from north to south. Its height is currently 110m above sea level which makes the views over the Landes forest and the Atlantic just breathtaking.

We took our kite and spent a few hours enjoying the open space and the sunshine!

One of my other favourite things about the beach is Nautical fashion, or as the French (and Japanese) call it "Marine" fashion. I just love all things Red,White and Blue, stripes, dots, anchors and sailor hats, there is something very classic yet cheeky about it all.

Anyone seen my hat and sunglasses???

Bergerac en fête...

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Bergerac is looking very pretty at the moment, decked out with thousands of garlands of flowers hanging across the streets and buildings. The occasion is that Bergerac is hosting La Felibrée - a fête to celebrate of all things Occitan. Every year a different village in Perigord hosts this fête and the decorations are amazing, so colourful. For those that don't know, Occitan is the old language of  Perigord. Perigord is the name of the region of Aquitaine that includes Bergerac. A hundred years ago, most people in the region spoke Occitan, the local language but unfortunately very few speak it now. To my ear, it's a sort of mix of French and Spanish, similar to other local languages like Basque and Catalan. The red and yellow represent the Occitan and the blue and white la Feblibrée.

Every street & alley way has been decorated with canopies of garlands...

Even Cyrano de Bergerac is admiring them...

The squares are looking beautiful...

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& down on the old quay a gabarre has been decorated too.
A gabarre is a flat-bottomed boat traditionally used to transfer wine to & from Bergerac...

The old bridge across the Dordogne hasn't been forgotten with a curtain of garlands on each side, really pretty as you drive across...

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There will be lots of traditional events over the weekend to enjoy...

Walking back to the river, I noticed the other Cyrano was enjoying the shade....

& this water fountain tucked in a wall, providing wonderfully cold drinking water on such a hot day...

While we were in Bergerac we had a little promenade along the river, taking in the wonderful scenery...

watched a gabarre moving gracefully up the river...

& eyed up some houses too! Like these facing the old quay...

& my favourite, hiding behind the picket gate...

Harley and J enjoyed it too, although I'm not sure who was walking who!

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Next week I'm off to on holiday to Malta with the family - yippee! Can't wait!

Kelly is going to take over the baton for a week so watch this space!