I was looking again on the Choice Hoildays Direct website who claim to be specialists on long stay holidays to Malta in the Winter. I’ve written about it before, but it’s worth stressing that spending a month or three in Malta during the winter period is a fabulous idea not only because it’s mild (being right in the Mediterranean) but also fairly cheap.

Add to the mix the perk of a free flight, and you’ve got yourself a deal! That’s what is being offered at the moment

http://www.choiceholidaysdirect.co.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=00825

Worth checking out if you’re thinking about a long stay in Malta.

Another alternative if you want to spend longer than 6 months on Malta is Dhalia.com which allows you to search through rental properties. Be aware though that the minimum rental period for these properties is 6 months. That website also has plenty of properties for sale which may be of interest.

What’s more depressing than that old question “chicken or beef”? Start talking about airline food and someone’s bound to roll their eyes and start groaning. It’s rare to have a good culinary experience in the sky – partly because catering at 35,000ft is difficult but also because our taste buds aren’t as receptive at that altitude.

The site www.airlinemeals.net is a somewhat impartial gallery of airline food snapped by savvy travellers. Spot the difference between Air Lingus “lobster omlette” and some of the less palatable offerings from other airlines.

It’s pretty interesting, but leaves me thinking that the big advantage of sitting up front (i.e. business or first) is that you get proper crockery and cutlery. It’s not the food that I find so objectionable about eating in the cheap seats at the back, it’s the fact that there’s depressingly little space to manoeuver your cutlery.

Anyway, check it out – it’s interesting to compare different airlines.