Road Trip, Malta Style

Every now and then the thought crosses my mind that maybe it would be nice to pop over to France sometime soon - even if just for one of our random day trips.

Then I remember that the Eurounnel is no longer on our doorstep* and while we could always go to Sicily instead, it isn't really as straightforward (or as cheap as we've recently discovered) as France was when we lived in England.

Of course the fact that we haven't gotten round to getting the little ones' passports done yet would have ruled out both options, no matter where we were, but it's nice to dream.

But there's always Gozo. And when it comes to quick, peaceful getaways, Gozo is always a winner.

So last month, we spent two days and two nights lazing around in a farmhouse that we rented for this precise purpose.

Our parents came up to spend some time with us too and it turned out to be such a huge success, we are planning on doing it every summer in future.

The last time she was on a boat, she was 5 months old. She wasn't too sure about it this time.

One of the best things about trips to Gozo is catching up with friends there. Namely, Maureen of Island Fairy. Despite Emily and Robin only being born 5 months apart, they'd never actually met so this was a first. It didn't look too good at the beginning, I think it's safe to say they pretty much hated each other, but time mellowed them and by the end of it they were swimming together at the other end of the pool exchanging toddler secrets. A friendship in the making, perhaps?

Robin, Maia and Emily - little bookworms

(Which reminds me, have you sent a book to Maureen for the book drive yet?)

Her first taste of BBQ'd marshmallows

A spot of stargazing. She loved it.

We all did.

I don't think I'd ever seen such a perfect blanket of stars.

What a chilled out little guy!

* By "doorstep" I mean the 45 minute drive it was which i also, ironically, the time it'd take to drive across Malta. Twice(ish).