In anticipation of the opening of the Valletta – European Capital of Culture 2018 programme, the city of Valletta prepared a full list of activities for residents and visitors – local and foreign bands, an acrobat flown around by a giant balloon, interesting characters walking in the crowd, colourful projections and, finally, fireworks. As ugly as Mediterranean winters can be, …
Sustainable shopping in Malta at Tiffany’s SWAP
I thought it will be one of these events I click ‘interested’ on and never attend, but I was glad when a notification popped up as I was already in St. Julian’s. Tiffany Malta’s SWAP winter edition was the best shopping experience in Malta and I hope it will be repeated. If you follow my blog, you probably know that …
Chocolate festival in Hamrun
I will not touch any chocolate again for at least a week, I thought, coming home from a sweet tooth trap in the South of the island, cheerfully chatting with my companions in Japanese. Friends from other countries told me that the now-annual chocolate festival in Hamrun is something you see once. It’s enough. This being my first year in …
Halloween make-up inspiration
It’s that time of the year. Time to get ready. Make-up artist Sarah Doublet actually created this character in blue. It’s a captivating character that made me imagine a spooky touch on a teen prom movie scene or something similar. She’s waiting… maybe for the magic of this night to begin?
Building Friendships event in Msida
The first day of September was rich in intercultural events: Appogg (the governmental youth agency) and UNHCR Malta brought several communities together to share food and traditional music in Msida, targeting mostly families in their Building Friendships event, and Spark15, a young migrants’ NGO, publicized a contemporary music and games event in Valletta. It was a tough choice, but Msida …
Manoel Island – the overrated entertainment hub
Believe it or not, it took me half a year to go and explore Manoel Island, which is off the coast of Gzira town and is known for parties and events. In winter especially, it looked like the best parties take place at Funky Monkey, expats′s go-to bar on the island. On the other hand, I also knew the island …
Comino: when beauty and comfort go separate ways (but only 15 min apart)
Between the main inhabited islands of the Maltese archipelago lies a not-at-all hidden gem, the island of Comino. It has only three permanent residents and serves as a bird sanctuary. It is also known as a habitat for various reptiles. As such, it is not overdeveloped like the island of Malta, and tenting, heavily restricted on Malta, is popular here. …
New ‘Love in Malta is…’ series, musings with a graphic tablet
I wanted to draw this couple since March, when I saw them in Msida. At the same time, I′m trying to master a graphic tablet, which makes my drawings quite rough and primitive, compared to drawing by hand on paper. I am trying a mixed technique – drawing on a photo I took, inputting text with a text tool for …
Maltese festival, Armenian violinist and habitus questions
Social theorist Pierre Bourdieu famously defined the sum of acquired tastes and various dispositions as habitus – not exactly an over-structure where individuals merely participate, but neither an individual portfolio of competences, crafted upon a free choice among components. Although this theory is about everything and anything, I find it very useful both academically and in my own observations about …
Visiting the South-East of Malta: Marsaxlokk and Birzebbugia
The best excuse to explore more of one′s country of residence is teaming up with people who are there for a very short visit. This is how I set out to explore the famous South-Eastern areas on a warm and lazy Sunday. Specifically, the fish market of Marsaxlokk has become a popular tourist attraction, and as for Birzebbugia, I did …