Memories of Gozo

It is almost a year since Steve and I left our lovely home on the tiny island of Gozo, which is part of the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean.  After leaving Gozo, we spent several months in the south of France, before moving to southern Spain where we have spent the last three months. We are about to move again, but that is another story. As we once again start packing up our belongings to move house; for the 7^th time in ten years may I add! I can’t help but think of Gozo and the happy five years we spent there.

Beautiful Gozo





I tried to put my finger on one thing I miss about Gozo, but I found I couldn’t narrow it down. I simply couldn’t name ONE thing about this island of magic, as there are so many things I miss. Instead, I decided to make a list; not a list of tourist attractions or things to do, but things I miss. So, here are the top five things I miss about Gozo.

   Friends; in the five years we lived in Gozo, Steve and I made more friends than we’ve ever made anywhere else we have lived. That remains true today. There are many ex pats living in Gozo and we quickly built up a core group of true friends who could be counted on in any event, no matter what time of day or night. We miss our friends; we miss the spontaneity of that knock on the door as they called to see us. No arrangements were required; it was just the accepted thing that people turned up, the frying pan went on and bacon sandwiches were made. We had friends who would do their weekly shopping, then visit us armed with donuts to share; things like that. I recall on many occasions, friends would call around lunchtime, and still be with us in the early hours of the morning! At regular intervals during that time, I’d rustle up some food, open a bottle of two of wine, and we’d just talk and laugh all day. Good times, such good times J

At one of our favourite places, the Cornucopia Hotel in Xaghra where we got married



Some of our friends left Gozo while we were still there, and we missed them. However, we could guarantee that when they came back to visit, we would all meet up, and pick up where we left off, such was the close relationships we were lucky enough to share. I miss going down to Smiley’s in Marsalforn, or Kozmo in Victoria, or the tiny café down at the Inland Sea. It didn’t matter where we met, what mattered was the company. Whether it was just us plus another couple, or the whole group of 10 or more, we laughed, we cried, we shared griefs and joys – after all, that’s what friends are for. Yes, we miss our friends and I am very saddened to say that some of them are never coming back. Make the most of it folks, we’re only here once.

Just some of the wonderful friends we made in Gozo

We also had many Gozitan friends, who embraced us and accepted us as part of the scene. One time, Steve and I had been on the bus and were chatting to the driver who we had come to know well. We knew that Gozo had become our home as he waved us off with a smile and said, “You’re locals now”. I recall another time we were on the Gozo ferry ,returning home after a trip to the UK. One of the workers on the ferry recognised us and simply said, “You’re home then” – I miss that.

   On the Gozo ferry





Xlendi Bay; Steve and I never lived in Xlendi, but our very first trip to Gozo in 2010 was to Xlendi, where we stayed in St Patrick’s hotel. I fell head over heels in love with the place and decided I needed to live in Gozo. Xlendi has a special charm and magic, which I have not found anywhere else on the island. Restaurants and bars line the sea front, the fish swim in their hundreds right next to where you sit, and are always grateful if you share your bread with them. It sends them into a feeding frenzy and used to keep me entertained while I drank my coffee. The water is a clear as glass and provides a safe haven for swimming and diving. However, if you visit on one of those blustery winter days where the rain comes down like stair rods, the sea will show its wild side and leap right out of the bay at you and onto the sidewalks, making it impossible to sit outside until it calms down. Many’s the time we’ve waded across the road in Xlendi after a heavy rainstorm, marvelling at the difference a few hours of rain can make.

Beautiful Xlendi




Steve and I had our own special place in Xlendi where we would go and sit. We would walk right along the side of the bay to the far end and sit on the bench there staring out to sea in simple silence. No words were necessary, such was the beauty of the vista. I miss that.

   Singing; Steve and I worked in Gozo as entertainers. Resident at The Captain’s Table in Xlendi, and regulars at many other places, we made many great friends through our singing. We performed on roof tops, on beaches, in squares, on the waterfront and of course in hotels, bars and restaurants. It was what we did, and we loved it. Our followers never ceased to amaze us with their creativity in ridiculousness. They loved to catch Steve out, and many’s the night he couldn’t sing for laughing. We both miss that.  

    Great times at The Captain's Table



The Simple Life; living on Gozo was so easy. We had left the UK due to never ending hassle in daily life. We’d had enough and were looking for an escape. We found it in Gozo. With a simple, slow pace of life, where everything seemed so straight forward, it was exactly what we needed. The sun shone most of the time, eating out was cheap and the food always good. Time moved at a leisurely pace, people were polite and friendly and life really was simple.  There was no crime that we were ever aware of, and you really could leave your car keys in the car and your handbag on a table without fear of theft. We were lucky enough to be in a position to pretty much please ourselves in what we did. If we wanted to go out, have a wander round the shops, a bit of lunch, a walk by the sea, then that’s what we did. We might pop to Marsalforn and enjoy the walk along the front; one or two coffees were always in order, along with lunch. 
   

    






  Everything came with a sea view of course. Other days, we might go down to the famous Azure Window in Dwerja and marvel at this well-known monument and wonder that it hadn’t fallen into the sea yet!  What we did not know was that one day, we would shoot a video here and sing right up on top of this most famous Gozitan landmark!

And here we are; rockin on the rock!





We always loved a trip into Victoria, where we would make our way through the lovely new park in the centre, and up to the market. We’d stop and talk to the stall holders. They would shrug their shoulders when we asked how business was, and tell us it was too quiet, or too busy. We’d bump into people we knew, stop to chat, or agree to coffee – there was always time for coffee. I miss that.

   Everything! It’s no good, I can’t narrow it down to 5 headings. I miss the lifestyle we had in Gozo, which I know we can never replicate anywhere else, because there IS nowhere else like Gozo, or should I say there was nowhere like the Gozo WE lived in. It wasn’t perfect, nowhere is. The winters could be wet, cold and fairly miserable. I certainly don’t miss that, but everything else ……………………..

When it rained, it REALLY rained!




It may be different now in Gozo, but the life we had for those five years was wonderful. We sang, had great friends, I wrote 2 books, we did car boot sales, which were so much fun. Hell, we even got married there! 

Our wedding day with 20 year old Ollie the lurcher as our best man!






I miss the beauty of the place, the colours, the cliffs, the sea, the ferry ride over to Malta. I miss the locals sitting on their doorsteps after the heat has gone out of the sun. I miss the lizards darting about, the flowers in May, the sound of that musical singsong language. I guess I just miss it all, so thank you Gozo, for everything. Things change, people change, and places change. But Gozo was just what we needed for the time we lived there. It was a time of healing, of simply being. I miss that and I know we can never have it again.

You can read all about our life in Gozo in my book, Gozo Is the Grass Greener? This is not a tourist's guide to Gozo, neither is it an exhaustive narrative about the pros and cons of the island. It is simply about our lives while living there, along with anecdotes and observations of life in general.  

Available from Amazon and published by Faraxa. Gozo Is the Grass Greener was awarded an Honorable Mention at the 2015 London Book Festival.

Visit my website; www.freyabarrington.com or find me on Facebook and give me a like J https://www.facebook.com/FreyaBarrington/

Freya

Hit the Road Jack

I have finally had the opportunity to catch up on my blogging :) sorry for the long absence, but we've been just a tad busy!

After six months in France's Tarn Et Garonne, it was time, once again to move on.

Steve and I had found a cortijo in Spain, in a place about an hour and a half north of Granada. However, before we got to that, we were heading back to the UK for Christmas. But before we do THAT, we were off to Brittany’s Cote D’Armor, specifically to Dinan for a three night break in a hotel.  It had taken Steve the best part of the previous day to load all our stuff in the Land Rover. I must take a moment here to reflect and ask myself why, WHY did we think we could buy more and more stuff here in France and still expect to be able to cram it all in when we left. Bearing in mind that the Land Rover had NO space to spare when we got here. Sigh.

Hmm, full up?

It was touch and go at one point as to whether or not I would actually be able to accompany Steve or whether I would be on the train!

Ooops, forgot this lot!

After much standing and staring and thinking – Steve not me – he of course got it all in. Once again, I was not permitted to assist in this most manly of tasks, and pretty thankful I was about that I can tell you. Actually, when we looked around, we realised that he only thought he’d got it all in. There were still loads of other things we’d failed to allow for. After much sighing and muttering; it was done and it WAS all finally in, THEN we were set.

Once loaded, all that remained was to bid au revoir to our hosts Polly and Howard, and all our four legged friends. Grolsch the German shepherd came into the cottage for the last time and went into a state of shock to discover Steve stood at the sink. This was a sight he had never witnessed before, and one, which I assured him was unlikely to happen again for some considerable time!

Don't worry Grolsch, he's not ill

The goodbyes were said, and we hit the road at 8:45 am, only 15 minutes behind our deadline. By 9:00 precisely, I was eating! I honestly do not know what it is about road trips, whether it’s boredom, or genuine hunger, but I seem to spend the whole time consuming food. Mind you, I had warmed up 2 of those delicious French quiches from the local bakery, the ones with leeks in, and knowing they were there, wrapped in foil was too much to resist. “Want one”? I asked Steve, secretly hoping he’d say no. He regarded me for a moment and then shook his head. YES! I thought, now I can have them both.

Steve’s reluctance to have one was in part based on the fact that they contained particles of vegetables. In this case, leeks. The French word for leek is poireau, so to me, the little quiches were always “Hercule’s” – get it? Hercule Poirot J ah well, moving on.

There is always so much lovely food to be had!

The sun was shining and there was that low mist hovering in the valleys, giving the day a mystical Magickal feel (yes there IS a k in Magickal) the birds came to see us off, including an unusual buzzard wearing white plumage, which I took as a good omen. Herons stood in the fields, kestrels fluttered overhead and we even saw an eagle way up high.

I continued to munch, and noted that Steve had gone onto automatic pilot; eyes focused, mouth in a determined line, and his gloved hands gripping the wheel. He had one goal, and one goal only; to get this overloaded beast to its destination 410 miles away, with as few stops as possible. Dinan, here we come.

Okay he took a hand off the wheel to wave

Of course, following the tasty Hercule pastry I naturally needed coffee. Unfortunately this was out of the question for quite some time yet. In cramming everything in, the three flasks – yes three; sigh – had been packed tantalisingly out of reach. So why three flasks I hear you ask; well, I like filter coffee, Steve drinks decaf, and then we needed the hot milk in another one – voila, three flasks.

Putting thoughts of coffee from my mind, I gazed out of the window at the beautiful French countryside as it whizzed by. Soon, we were in the flat broad landscape North of Bordeaux. With the Bee Gees, Tina Turner and The Beatles, to help us on our way, we sped along with the Land Rover eating up mile after mile on the wonderfully clear peage (Motorway).

We finally stopped just after passing through Niort and I almost fell out of the door in my haste to get to the coffee. We had a picnic on the bonnet of the Land Rover and bought an 82 sticker to show the solidarity we feel for the Tarn et Garonne region we had left behind. As I packed up the picnic, Steve looked wistfully in the direction of the shop we’d just come out of, “There are burgers in there” he said with a trace of sadness as he eyed the cold boiled egg and half a left over quiche options. 

Moving on.

We hit the road again ……………… wait …………………. Is that hunger I feel!

So far, Steve had eaten half a quiche and a piece of chewing gum. Mind you, it was a fairly big piece of gum and it did have a liquid centre J

We finally reached Dinan in the late afternoon. The hotel was one of the Mercure chain, and set right by the river, it was just perfect. We threw our stuff into the room and headed straight out to explore. Up and up and up we climbed along the quaint cobbled streets, until we reached the centre of the town.

The Hotel Mercure in Dinan

Right by the river









Dinan captured our hearts with surprisingly little effort. Both of us felt an immediate affinity for the place. Its age, its history and its overall charm. We felt at home and our three days there went by all too quickly. 

Looking down on Dinan

Such a quaint little town

The old 13th Century bridge

And a stunning viaduct

And coffee of course

There is ALWAYS time for coffee

Being Christmas helped as there was a market, the streets were gaily lit and the atmosphere was one of joy and happiness. 

The stalls at the Christmas Market

Posting my letter to Santa. What? I've been a good girl

Plus as a huge bonus, we found the best burger bar in the world EVER.  Run by its wonderfully eccentric chef, the place could seat 14 people at a squeeze. Thankfully, we’d booked and quickly realised why this was a must. Within five minutes of opening, the place was full to capacity and people were being turned away.

Ahh, a heart attack on a plate!

There is one item on the menu – burgers. Mind you, there are then over a dozen varieties, and we went for a fairly straightforward burger with cheese, mushrooms and onions. Oh boy, it was quite simply the best ever. No wonder this place is so popular. The choice of dessert was as varied as the main menu – cheesecake or cheesecake. We went for the cheesecake, and again, it was heavenly. Needless to say, we went back for more the following evening J

Steve with chef and waiter

The delicious cheesecake - we were too slow with the camera!

Our time in this town of delights went all too quickly, and before we knew it, it was time to hit the road once again.

Goodbye Dinan, we'll see you again

We made the relatively short two hour trip to the Caen ferry in readiness for setting sail for Portsmouth later that day. The ferry was large and comfortable, but we had our own cabin, so after some exploring, we stayed “home” and got some much needed sleep. Well, that is, after we'd done a bit of duty free. I have no idea what Steve meant when he said  "that's not very fair".

My goodies

Steve's goodies - what's not fair? He he

Me at 5.30 am the next morning before we disembarked, looking happy as I have coffee and pastry. I see all that face cream didn't help then

It had been a busy few days, with more to come, and so with many happy memories floating in my head, the rhythmical rocking of the boat lulled me to sleep.

Good night everyone, next stop the UK, a lot of visits to family and friends, plus 2 gigs xx

Freya