The alarm was set for 6am (eeeek), but we got ready slowly, finished the packing, and were on the road at 7.15. We got to Horsham before 9am, collected Heather and Dorothy, and drove to Gatwick. We dropped ourselves off, and Heather drove the car back to Horsham.
We found the right desk, and checked in easily, bumping into a couple of Rackers. It was then time for second breakfast, so we went through security, found a cafe, and I had a sausage, bacon, and egg bap, with Yorkshire tea, and Christian had scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, watching the big planes out the window, and listening to the annoying drilling that was happening either above or below.
We had a wander around the airport, looking for a lock-up bag for the camera bag (and failing), and looking at some shiny technology (but not buying it). There was a caviar, salmon/seafood, and champagne place that was insanely expensive, and I couldn't help wondering what it was like to have enough money to actually eat there. They had foie gras and all sorts of amazing stuff.
It was time to go to the gate, and we had a decent walk to get there. The Rackers arrived steadily, and we got on the plane, in a vaguely geographically located group. The flight was fine (very little turbulence). We could see some Swiss and Italian alps through the window, with a reasonable amount of snow on them. Then we saw the west coast of Sicily, which had a noticeable cloud shape over Mt Etna. The only turbulence we had happened here. We landed in Malta just after 4pm EU time - on the approach, all the fields were very brown. We got through passport control, and Sab (carrying his fins, as ever) failed to find our transfer people among the sea of signs being held up. Some of the rest of us found it (at a shopfront right at the back) and started to congregate in the right place. Once everyone was there, we walked out to the coach and headed out into Malta.
The first thing that struck me was its continued brownness. It was hilly, and there were a lot of small square buildings. More like the middle east than Greece. The first vegetation I saw was oleander, palms, and pampas grass. And then as we went along, we saw what was the more native cactus. All the buildings (with a few exceptions) were brown and boxy. Even the new ones were built in the same style. I was surprised that they drive on the left, and also that all the road signs were in English, despite Malta declaring as a republic in 1964 (though still part of the Commonwealth). We spotted sea after a while, and the coach pulled into the impressive frontage of the Radisson Blu. We filed off (not enough people to justify a coach), and were presented with a welcome drink in the foyer. It was brown and vile. It managed to give the promise of sweetness with every mouthful, but ending in a horrid bitterness. It was apparently a traditional Maltese drink, but I have no idea whether it was alcoholic.
Christian checked us in, and we took the lift up to the seventh floor, room 728. It was big and comfortable, with a balcony looking to the north-east (i.e., plenty of sea view, with lots of boating activity). We did a little settling in, and gathered our things to do a bit of exploring and socialising. I discovered that my sunglasses frame had cracked, but I didn't have any tape to stick it back together. So we asked the concierge for some sticky tape, and Christian won the engineering contest by taping the frame back up before putting the lens back in. We walked through the restaurant upstairs, then took the external stairs to the main pool area. There was a wet bar (that closed at 5.30) and loads of sun lounges, though the sun had gone down behind the hotel building by then. We walked to the edge of the pool area to look out over the sea, and then turned right to explore the rest of the property. There was a dive shop (who would only hire out fins to us for the princely sum of €15 pp), and two more pools (salt water, with a slide from one to the other), and a 'lido', which consisted of a ladder into the sea at the corner of the land.
We headed back up to the bar, where most Rackers were congregated, and ordered cocktails: me a frozen banana daquiri, and Christian a lavender G&T (which was apparently quite good). My slushy was huge and difficult to consume, but very nice all the same. We sat for a while, chatting a bit (I met a few more people), and at 7pm, went back upstairs to get ready for the night out. We all congregated again in the foyer for 7.30 (after another cheeky beer in the bar), and Ron and I had a chat about how good Christian is, and what a bright future he has ahead of him, then a fleet of taxis took us to Tapaz, which, unsurprisingly, is a tapas restaurant. Upon arrival, we were presented with a glass of bubbly. The restaurant was very classy, quite dark, and beautifully decorated.
We walked around and chatted, mostly to Michael. We found a spot at a table, near Michael and Huegot, and were offered wine - a choice of two whites and two reds. Christian and I went for the local merlot, which was delicious. The staff then brought out a procession of the most amazing food I've had for a long time. Everything from sushi-style salmon, to marinated anchovies, to pate, to chorizo in sauce, to meat skewers, to calamari, to meatballs in pepper, to bread filled with pesto and topped with spinach and tomato, to patatas bravas covered in bacon, to asparagus wrapped in prosciutto. The wine was kept flowing at an alarming rate, and the service was excellent.
The food stopped, about which everyone breathed a sigh of relief, because everyone was full to bursting. But then they started bringing EVEN MORE FOOD out. I managed a piece of everything, apart from the pork ribs. The final dish, the paella, was amazing.
Then came the presentations. Each manager gave a speech singing the praises of each Racker there, and got them up on the stage. They got Christian and Michael up together, which was a bit of a fizzer, but then again, they aren't sales staff. Olaf started going on a bit, so another, even drunker Racker (Mark) got up and tried to stop him. He ended up going on even more, and they switched off the mic on him. They finally got through everyone, and moving on to the salsa club was announced. But then the staff brought out the ice cream! There was a scoop of pistacchio, a profiterole, and a chocolate mousse ball sealed and wrapped in vanilla ice cream. Stunning! And THEN they brought us some limoncello. The staff were trying to shoo us out by now as it was midnight, so I drank my limoncello a lot faster than I would have liked.
We were all finally out on the footpath, in the loud, crass St Julian's strip, and made our way down the road to the salsa club. They'd set aside a room for us, with the roof drawn back, and couches, and a screen with the Rackspace logo swinging around. It was a nice space, and was still lovely and warm out. The first drink (something red in a champagne flute) was even more horrible than the welcome drink at the hotel. I couldn't finish it. Christian had a vodka and tonic (much more wisely than me). Christian and I spoke mostly to Nathan and Ellie. Nathan had a go at taking some photos of us, and despite not knowing what he was doing, some of them turned out well.
As we were tired, we headed back to the hotel at about 12.30. It was a very short walk, past the beach in St Julian's harbour (so tempting to go in). Once back, we put on the air conditioning and fell into bed.
We found the right desk, and checked in easily, bumping into a couple of Rackers. It was then time for second breakfast, so we went through security, found a cafe, and I had a sausage, bacon, and egg bap, with Yorkshire tea, and Christian had scrambled eggs with smoked salmon, watching the big planes out the window, and listening to the annoying drilling that was happening either above or below.
We had a wander around the airport, looking for a lock-up bag for the camera bag (and failing), and looking at some shiny technology (but not buying it). There was a caviar, salmon/seafood, and champagne place that was insanely expensive, and I couldn't help wondering what it was like to have enough money to actually eat there. They had foie gras and all sorts of amazing stuff.
It was time to go to the gate, and we had a decent walk to get there. The Rackers arrived steadily, and we got on the plane, in a vaguely geographically located group. The flight was fine (very little turbulence). We could see some Swiss and Italian alps through the window, with a reasonable amount of snow on them. Then we saw the west coast of Sicily, which had a noticeable cloud shape over Mt Etna. The only turbulence we had happened here. We landed in Malta just after 4pm EU time - on the approach, all the fields were very brown. We got through passport control, and Sab (carrying his fins, as ever) failed to find our transfer people among the sea of signs being held up. Some of the rest of us found it (at a shopfront right at the back) and started to congregate in the right place. Once everyone was there, we walked out to the coach and headed out into Malta.
The first thing that struck me was its continued brownness. It was hilly, and there were a lot of small square buildings. More like the middle east than Greece. The first vegetation I saw was oleander, palms, and pampas grass. And then as we went along, we saw what was the more native cactus. All the buildings (with a few exceptions) were brown and boxy. Even the new ones were built in the same style. I was surprised that they drive on the left, and also that all the road signs were in English, despite Malta declaring as a republic in 1964 (though still part of the Commonwealth). We spotted sea after a while, and the coach pulled into the impressive frontage of the Radisson Blu. We filed off (not enough people to justify a coach), and were presented with a welcome drink in the foyer. It was brown and vile. It managed to give the promise of sweetness with every mouthful, but ending in a horrid bitterness. It was apparently a traditional Maltese drink, but I have no idea whether it was alcoholic.
Christian checked us in, and we took the lift up to the seventh floor, room 728. It was big and comfortable, with a balcony looking to the north-east (i.e., plenty of sea view, with lots of boating activity). We did a little settling in, and gathered our things to do a bit of exploring and socialising. I discovered that my sunglasses frame had cracked, but I didn't have any tape to stick it back together. So we asked the concierge for some sticky tape, and Christian won the engineering contest by taping the frame back up before putting the lens back in. We walked through the restaurant upstairs, then took the external stairs to the main pool area. There was a wet bar (that closed at 5.30) and loads of sun lounges, though the sun had gone down behind the hotel building by then. We walked to the edge of the pool area to look out over the sea, and then turned right to explore the rest of the property. There was a dive shop (who would only hire out fins to us for the princely sum of €15 pp), and two more pools (salt water, with a slide from one to the other), and a 'lido', which consisted of a ladder into the sea at the corner of the land.
We headed back up to the bar, where most Rackers were congregated, and ordered cocktails: me a frozen banana daquiri, and Christian a lavender G&T (which was apparently quite good). My slushy was huge and difficult to consume, but very nice all the same. We sat for a while, chatting a bit (I met a few more people), and at 7pm, went back upstairs to get ready for the night out. We all congregated again in the foyer for 7.30 (after another cheeky beer in the bar), and Ron and I had a chat about how good Christian is, and what a bright future he has ahead of him, then a fleet of taxis took us to Tapaz, which, unsurprisingly, is a tapas restaurant. Upon arrival, we were presented with a glass of bubbly. The restaurant was very classy, quite dark, and beautifully decorated.
We walked around and chatted, mostly to Michael. We found a spot at a table, near Michael and Huegot, and were offered wine - a choice of two whites and two reds. Christian and I went for the local merlot, which was delicious. The staff then brought out a procession of the most amazing food I've had for a long time. Everything from sushi-style salmon, to marinated anchovies, to pate, to chorizo in sauce, to meat skewers, to calamari, to meatballs in pepper, to bread filled with pesto and topped with spinach and tomato, to patatas bravas covered in bacon, to asparagus wrapped in prosciutto. The wine was kept flowing at an alarming rate, and the service was excellent.
The food stopped, about which everyone breathed a sigh of relief, because everyone was full to bursting. But then they started bringing EVEN MORE FOOD out. I managed a piece of everything, apart from the pork ribs. The final dish, the paella, was amazing.
Then came the presentations. Each manager gave a speech singing the praises of each Racker there, and got them up on the stage. They got Christian and Michael up together, which was a bit of a fizzer, but then again, they aren't sales staff. Olaf started going on a bit, so another, even drunker Racker (Mark) got up and tried to stop him. He ended up going on even more, and they switched off the mic on him. They finally got through everyone, and moving on to the salsa club was announced. But then the staff brought out the ice cream! There was a scoop of pistacchio, a profiterole, and a chocolate mousse ball sealed and wrapped in vanilla ice cream. Stunning! And THEN they brought us some limoncello. The staff were trying to shoo us out by now as it was midnight, so I drank my limoncello a lot faster than I would have liked.
We were all finally out on the footpath, in the loud, crass St Julian's strip, and made our way down the road to the salsa club. They'd set aside a room for us, with the roof drawn back, and couches, and a screen with the Rackspace logo swinging around. It was a nice space, and was still lovely and warm out. The first drink (something red in a champagne flute) was even more horrible than the welcome drink at the hotel. I couldn't finish it. Christian had a vodka and tonic (much more wisely than me). Christian and I spoke mostly to Nathan and Ellie. Nathan had a go at taking some photos of us, and despite not knowing what he was doing, some of them turned out well.
As we were tired, we headed back to the hotel at about 12.30. It was a very short walk, past the beach in St Julian's harbour (so tempting to go in). Once back, we put on the air conditioning and fell into bed.
*Hugo
ReplyDeleteExcept he spelt it for me. It had more letters than that.
ReplyDelete