Travel to Malta with Susan Stephens

 

I returned recently to the beautiful Mediterranean island of Malta. Steeped in history, Malta is where I first met my husband forty-five years ago. Famously, we met on Monday, became engaged on Friday, and married three months later. You can imagine the horror of my family and his! But three children and eight grandchildren later, we are more in love than ever.

My eldest child was born on the island in the Blue Sisters nursing home, and was later christened in Valletta cathedral. 

The battlements surrounding Malta’s capital Valletta are awe-inspiring, with centuries of history contained within those walls.

One excellent trip I could recommend to you, would be to take a local water taxi across the harbour to appreciate the scale of the island’s defences.  

If you’re lucky you will have a friendly boatman who will act as an informal tour guide and explain everything you see, while you sit back in one of the colourful local boats, all of which have eyes painted on the prow to ward off the ‘evil eye’.

Food and flowers figure large in my memory of Malta And no wonder. 

The formal gardens in public spaces are a credit to the gardeners who nurture these plants in a hot and challenging climate. 

While the food…yum! My favourite snack is known as Hobz biz zeyt. This is basically scrummy local bread - soft inside with the crispest crust imaginable, stuffed with a mixture that varies from shop to shop, but which mainly consists of tomato and tuna, onion and olives etc etc and I can’t even write any more because just describing it is making me so hungry!!! So, here’s a pic instead. And yes, I did share it with a friend lol! Though if I had to - if you forced me to - I would have no difficulty eating the whole thing!!

And let’s not forget the cakes! There is a gorgeous cafe on Republic Street, the main pedestrianised thoroughfare in Valletta, called Caffe Cordina. This is the number one place to visit for your morning coffee, accompanied by a cheeky little cake (or 2) ;)

And finally, most important of all to me, are the lifelong friends I made in Malta. Lino and Marthese were indescribably kind to us when our eldest suffered from chronic asthma as a child. And the amazing, and truly wonderful thing is that each time we meet up, we pick up where we left off, as if we had never been apart. On our last visit Lino bought us a Maltese flag to remind us, he says, of where our hearts first met. What more can I say, than family and friendship are the most precious things on earth, and I wish you that same support, love, and happiness.

I hope you’ll join me on my travels later in the year, when I have Vienna in my sights…

With my love to you all,

Susan

Susan was a professional singer before meeting her husband on the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta. In true Harlequin Presents style they met on Monday, became engaged on Friday and were married three months later.

A menagerie consisting of dogs, cats, horses, a donkey, several guinea pigs, a husband and three terrific children, keeps Susan busy when she isn’t writing!

She enjoys entertaining, travel, and going to the theatre. To relax she reads, cooks and plays the piano, and when she's had enough of relaxing she throws herself off mountains on skis, or gallops through the countryside singing loudly.

Susan Stephens on the web:

Website     Facebook     Twitter      Instagram 

Susan has a new book out this month:

Kidnapped for the Acosta Heir (The Acostas! Book 11)

Alejandro Acosta:
Billionaire, enigma…father?The death of her beloved brother was the first of three shocks for singer Sienna Slater. The second was inheriting his half of a Spanish island…and the last was discovering her brother’s best friend, Alejandro, owns the other half!

Sparks fly as their worlds collide, until one unforgettable night leaves Sienna carrying a nine-month secret. But before she has the chance to confess to Alejandro, he discovers the truth and swiftly steals her away on his superyacht. Now, Sienna is about to realize how intent Alejandro is on claiming his child. No matter what it takes…

From Harlequin Presents:

 Escape to exotic locations where passion knows no bounds.



Read all the The Acostas! books:

 Book 1: One Scandalous Christmas Eve
Book 2: The Playboy Prince of Scandal
Book 3: Forbidden to Her Spanish Boss
Book 4: Kidnapped for the Acosta Heir

Buy on:

Amazon Kindle.       Amazon Paperback

Amazon UK.            Amazon Aust