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-   -   Sights,Bites and Maltese Delights. Malta September 2021. The Pre Trip Précis (https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1205150)

WileyCoyote 3 Oct 21 12:42 PM

Sights,Bites and Maltese Delights. Malta September 2021. The Pre Trip Précis
 
Or
Where have you been WileyCoyote?

Hello old friends, long time no trippy :wavey:

Yes, I know , I never finished the trippy from March 2020 . The next day is all written up , its just as the year progressed, and then the next, I kind of lost the mojo to put it up and haven’t been on here as much as usual. That story had a few twists at the end and well, it didn’t quite turn out how we had expected ... but that’s for the other trippy. ;)

Since the last trip in 2020 we spent our usual holiday time, money and energy on house redecoration. What started with a revamp of the bathrooms and kitchen turned into a whole house affair.

Peak chaos pics





Throw in a flood of the newly fitted kitchen and its been quite the 12 months.



It’s all starting to come together now





and maybe I should do a before and after thread when its all done . It’s certainly been quite a transformation. I wasn’t unhappy with how it looked before but wow it looks much more modern now. I am most pleased with our amazing radiators :d:

Sneak peak



We’ve experienced new grandchildren, graduations, the novelties and trials of working from home and just making it through the general COVID craziness of life and we were excited to be finally booking for Florida for September. A stay at Margaritaville followed by a lovely waterside condo in Palm Coast. This was booked at the end of April when we surely thought the travel ban would be lifted by the start of September. :nonono:

At the start of August we conceded defeat as the accommodation free cancellation deadlines were looming and then finally a few weeks later BA pulled the plug on the flights.:cry:

We started looking round for alternatives , changing the list every three weeks with the latest travel announcements. A number of people had recommended Malta and it was creeping up the list of possibles although I still had a hankering for somewhere Caribbean but wasn’t convinced we could manage the mask business on such a long flight. 😷

Our holiday dates were set so it was a case of wait and see what the travel announcement closest to our dates would bring. With the dawning realisation that a European holiday was on the cards, we checked our passports and discovered that Andy’s might be a problem with expiry dates and EU rules.:eek: A hastily arranged pick up appointment a couple of weeks later and new passport in hand - phew , we could book. :thumbs-up

I must have checked and double checked the travel requirements a bazillion times on every travel website. I still find it confusing that some refer to a health declaration form and a passenger locator form. We did both but in the end only the PLF was asked asked for.

Anyway, I skip ahead.

10 days out from the start of our leave period, we booked the Westin Dragonara.



It was a toss up between that and the intercontinental and an experienced Malta traveller advised us the IC was in a busy area - and having seen it’s location now for ourselves we deffo are grateful for his advice.

We went for a package deal with BA which ended up giving us some perks like lounge access, fast track security, speedy boarding and 100 euro hotel credit. We also picked a club level room to be guaranteed a sea view, slightly more space and the sundown drinks and canapés.

Seats were paid for in advance - mainly to secure aisle seats so I can sit in front of Andy and he has no one reclining onto his long legs. The exit row seats were in business class and despite multiple attempts at speaking with BA it seemed upgrading was impossible.

They were ok for me but a bit tight for himself.



It was all looking good. And even better when the latest announcement meant no fit to fly test and no test needed before coming back home. I had a minor panic after realising I had incorrectly completed the PLF form for Andy but it was easily corrected and its a relief that you can edit it right up to the day before heading off.


I triple checked the vaccine requirements and that’s where sometimes overthinking and over googling can let you down. On one of my searches a news story came up that Malta required a letter of vaccination and wasn’t accepting the NHS app. I almost had heart failure as we were only a couple of days out and I knew wouldn’t have time to get the letter. How could I have missed this ! But then I looked again, and it was a story from earlier in the summer and since then the NHS pass was being accepted but of course it gave me something to worry about none the less. :confused2:confused2

Having spent the last few holidays going digital , it was weird to be printing multiple copies of forms and travel documents !

And so there we are .

All set for 14 nights at the Dragonara.

No plan and no pre bookings.

Our first European trip for 7 years and our first ever to Malta.

Will it be a Malteser Pleaser or more of a Falter Malta?


princessnicki 3 Oct 21 12:50 PM

Yay cant wait for this, you two always have amazing food and cocktails- although i have seen a sneaky peak of some cocktails on your insta and they look fabulous!

JudeB 3 Oct 21 01:23 PM

Looking forward to reading your trip report. We had just one day in Malta as part of a cruise abs would love to go back sometime.

Loopylooloo 3 Oct 21 06:57 PM

Yay! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Great to see you back! Looking forward to reading 🥰

RachelM 3 Oct 21 07:03 PM

Looking forward to hearing all about it 😊

P&S 3 Oct 21 07:17 PM

Looking forward to reading along but I need you to finish March 20 :d:

Mary A 3 Oct 21 07:21 PM

Following with interest as we're off to Malta in 2 weeks!

Taffy1959 3 Oct 21 08:38 PM

Great start and I’m looking forward to reading along.
We’re off to Gran Canaria tomorrow and I won’t relax until we’ve checked in and on our way

Cutiepie 3 Oct 21 08:42 PM

Lovely to see you back Amanda. I hope you and your family are well. Looking forward to reading along:)

margyloveswdw 3 Oct 21 11:14 PM

Another one looking forward to reading along!


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