A weekend of feasts, fireworks and village fiesta!
After a late return from Sicily on Friday night, Saturday found us shopping with the locals for vegetables and drinks and clearing out the apartment. In readiness for the promised kiwi lamb roast dinner for Sue’s family. Preparing a roast in Malta in Summer is a little challenging…using the oven for the first time here, timing to have ready for a late (by kiwi standards) dinner after the sun goes down!
The family arrived around 8pm and all was ready…
Terrace dining area set up…and cleaned(again)…
The roast lamb (pre sliced into steaks?) ready to serve…
The wine poured
And dinner enjoyed to the sound and sights of the evening fireworks!
Then the much awaited Sue chocolate self saucing pudding…
Cousin Anna had brought the ice cream!
All a welcome feast (meat and veges) after the bread and pastries in Sicily!
That was the kiwi feast, and even the dishwasher came out to play to clean up after! Another appliance we barely use here!
Sunday became a day of rest…after two late nights (for the kiwis anyway) and book reading and Olympic Games watching were high on the agenda!
The fiesta in Paola was culminating in the evening…after a week of activities, and the afternoon was like the calm before the storm…all the flags were lowered from the flagpoles, which is unusual. Checking with the cousins, evidently this happens when a prominent village member passes away…
Needless to say around 8pm there was activity as people were all heading to the piazza…so off we went…just in time to catch the parade…
Lining the (closed) Main Street of Paola with the locals!
The Church was lit up and people enjoying family time drinking Coke and Kinnie (and the odd beer)
The inside of the church also lit up and full of visitors
The brass band hammering out music, while everyone (didn’t realise there were so many people in Paola) wandered around, as all the seats were well and truly taken!
Sampling the local sweets – nougat in rice paper for the kids and big kids…which was not really nougat as we know it…tasted like the white icing one puts on Christmas cakes – we graciously took a bite and said yum and wandered around the corner and deposited the rest in a bin…
As our rest day had made us tired, we wandered back to the apartment (to read more and watch olympics) as the fireworks cranked up again…this time in the night sky we could see the lights and not just weather the constant banging!
Finally at around 11pm feasts, fiestas and fireworks (and two kiwis) were put to bed!
All who wander are not Lost girls 