My best ever trip…

I made friends with the oldies and got drunk on Jameson with a pensioner. It was then my turn to get obnoxious

A 2,700-km road trip in a classic sports car, starting from Rome and ending in Eastern Germany just in time for New Year’s Eve celebrations with the boys. We made our way back with a detour in the Czech Republic.

I felt most relaxed in…

My travel choices are usually very much inclined towards busy metropolitan destinations in Europe.

After three days of the Tuscan countryside, for instance, I get bored stiff. That said – a little chalet in the jungle near the Thailand-Burma border had made me reconsider, if only for a minute.

Waking up in the early hours of the morning to the sounds of the flowing river and animals I never knew existed; opening the terrace doors to witness extreme nature and breathing in fresh jungle air was somewhat spiritual – as clichéd as that may sound.

I lost my cool in…

Dublin, Ireland. I was stuck in a crowd of yuppie Irish folk in their late 20s who were so materially obsessed that the scene was somewhat reminiscent of the 1990s TV series Beverly Hills 90210.

As much as I had been looking forward to attending an Irish wedding, I realised too late that I was in the wrong company – and from Beverly Hills 90210 the scene soon changed into Trainspotting. I am severely allergic to the obnoxiousness of people on cocaine, so I considered leaving to prevent a flare-up, but soon enough, I made friends with the oldies sitting at the side of the hall and got drunk on Jameson with a pensioner. It was then my turn to get obnoxious.

I felt so welcome in…

San Benedetto del Tronto, in the Italian region of Le Marche. Many close friends of mine hail from this fishing town on Italy’s picturesque Adriatic coast.

People from Le Marche are most charming and gourmet culture is popular beyond belief in San Benedetto, even by Italian standards.

Combine that with heartfelt southern-central Italian hospitality and place an Italophile chef in the mix. Enough said.

I couldn’t wait to leave…

Tripoli, Libya, after a fruitless business trip. I was in a taxi on my way back to Tripoli airport when my then girlfriend called to break the bad news that my friend Julian Manduca had suddenly passed away. I couldn’t control my tears.

The taxi driver – who albeit well-meaning could hardly speak any English – tried to find the words to console me, but he clearly had no idea what was going on.

Upon our arrival at the airport, he managed to construct a sentence: “Do not be sad my friend. You will have another opportunity to come back to the Great Jamahiriya”.

I partied hardest in…

Ankara, Turkey. I was there with a Maltese contingent for a training conference. The organisers referred to ‘Team Malta’ as the hangover crowd. No, the booze was not government-funded, and technically neither was the conference.

I cringe when I think of…

The price of street food in St Tropez.

I laughed so hard in…

Dresden, Germany. At a dinner party, two friends – one from Italy and the other from Spain – were trying very hard to impress a German lady.

Looking at the table centrepiece, the Italian told the girl: “I would even eat this candle for you”, nibbling the end bit to show off. The Spanish guy, feeling threatened, grabbed the candle from the Italian guy’s hands and gobbled up a sizeable bit. A candle-eating competition ensued.

The girl was forgotten, as a grand total of eight centrepiece candles were eaten, with most guests joining in the frenzy.

My longest stint abroad…

Korçë, Albania, where I had spent a good part of my summer as a 15-year-old doing voluntary work with disabled children.

A candle-eating competition ensued and the girl was forgotten, as a grand total of eight centrepiece candles were eaten, with most guests joining in the frenzy

I wish I could live in…

Trastevere, Rome – the mecca of little restaurants run by rude front-of-house staff with a hilarious sense of humour and a religious dedication to fantastic food.

I treasure the memory of…

A farmers’ pub in Keswick, where I had the most delicious lamb shank I ever bit into, instantly shedding any prejudices I had about English food.

The most delicious food I’ve tasted was…

In Colonella, Abruzzo. A simple sautéed asparagus shoot rolled in paper-thin slices of super-aged pork fat. Tasting is believing.

The hardest part of travelling is…

Saving up for it.

Travel has taught me to…

Appreciate the fact that the world does not revolve around Malta. Travel has also taught me to look at the world as a global village, where people of diverse backgrounds and culture will ultimately all have the same objective: the pursuit of happiness.

I dream of one day visiting…

Tokyo, Japan. I am immensely fascinated by Japanese culture and food. I have a nagging feeling that Japan is the kind of place that would tempt me to never catch the return flight.

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