Finding Warmth in Winter: South Turkey and Malta

Bodrum:

We decided we needed a holiday in Turkey and set off for Bodrum. It turned out to be money well spent: we went off season and the weather was good. As I have said before off season travel has alot of perks and many pitfalls. We gained perks this time. And managed to pull off a vacation with a two year old and a two month old.
Bodrum is a major tourist site. Over two million of them visit this city of about one hundred thousand. It used to be an area of artists and a small fishing village style. But the artists have since moved on and the fishing village, whilst visible in the cobble streets and architecture, has transformed into a city. It is not sky scraper like so still quaint, but its built up and sprawled. We stayed in Bodrum proper. There are many bays around the area each with their own personality.

Our focus was a holiday so we did something unusual for us, we stayed at a five star hotel. Since it was off season we had the hotel all to ourselves. El Vino hotel turned out to be beautiful. Stone cobbled walk ways greet you with paths leading around the garden of flowers and lemon trees. The suites are extremely comfortable and we had one in front of the pool. The pool is large and natural, with a jacuzzi nearby also tastefully done with natural stone. Ruya relished both pools morning snd evening. They had ample stairs for her to play on and mama got to lounge in the jaccuzi with her. With no one around I could breastfeed easily and my toddler swam naked happily. Breakfast was amazing. Jams, lemonade, cheese, yoghurt, fruits, nuts, eggs, dried pears, breads and so on, with muchmade on site. The olives though we're our focus. I have never Tasted such good black olives. We were well pampered.
I also have to mention the ice cream. I am not an ice cream person but this stuff was incredible. Ruya had vanilla, I had almond honey and Emrah had pistachio. It was sticky, sweet but not to sweet and just really words do not do honor to the experience. Its local and a must if you visit Bodrum no matter what your diet is.

Mostly we just relaxed, walking the cobbled roads, playing in the play grounds, stumbling into a little natural earth store, exploring places to eat something vegetarian. It's is not a vegetarian friendly place so you have to look around. The walk way along the ocean with boats and stores. cats and people mulling around, was just right for an afternoon stroll. 

Being in a hotel did make us a bit claustrophobic with two babies, but since it was a short trip we made it work. I would never want to be in Bodrun in high season, so whilst we had a bit of rain, mostly the weather graced us, and we managed one day at the beach for Ruya.

Malta:

This was one of the best holidays we have ever had as a nomad family. It was due to a mixture of place, age and practice. Aziz Elan was 16 weeks during this trip so just old enough to start checking out his surroundings with big interest. Ruya Lilly at two and a half was old enough to chill out on the place ride a bit, and help us as we moved through the day. Malta is tiny, gorgeous and off season, local comes to the fore. Our gear was super light, only carry on, and we moved through challenges with much more understanding of each other. This nomad adventure just gets better.
I opted for Gozo Island as our main location, because it is less touristy and developed. The ferry runs every forty five minutes between the main island and Gozo. We rented a car, the tiniest car we have ever driven, and drove on and off the ferry with ease. Ruya and I named it lady bird. It surprised us by handling rough terrain and cost, with petrol, only $100. On our arrival and departure nights we stayed at hotels in Saint Julian. I would highly recommend Hotel Valentina. It was well priced, parking and breakfast included, and offered us a great room with a double bed and single bed, both very comfy. The George Hotel is old, offered less for what you pay and people were less friendly. Saint Julian is touristy but fun. We walked the promenade and Ruya loved climbing the stairs. We played a game of finding Jesus and Mary pictures, which you see on most doors to houses. They are beautiful and ornate. In general the architecture is gorgeous, with ruins and history at every turn.

We stayed at an amazing Airbnb on Gozo: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5867055

The hosts are warm, engaging and truly want you to feel at home. And the place is a home, the place they spent summers and weekends with their children. It's an old stone building, so very cool. But we cranked up the wood burning stove and heated our main living area perfectly. Not to mention offered us all visual and experiential delight. We cooked most nights. The aubergine, carrots, onion and veggies in season were amazing. Not much fruit grows on the island so we focused on the best offering we found, the cheese. I sing praises to the makers of Malta cheese. Not only them but the cheese you find there. The goat cheese is sublime. We don't eat meat so this was our heaven. The other big food offering we partook in was the fish. It's fresh and every where. Breads are usually white but I found a lovely flat, brown, seeded loaf for Ruya and some local Gozo honey. 

We spent days exploring. Victoria is the central hub of Gozo and a great place to have coffee, buy produce and walk around. Afternoon's were spent on the beach, with the red sand and ocean smell. Ruya stripped naked and relished every minute of it. She handled the average 17 degree day and colder ocean well, focused on her play and joy. 
When not on Gozo we did drive around the island a bit. The roads meander with tons of turning circles. I was the navigator and had a big learning curve in managing to get us to our destination. Luckily I broke through some old beliefs in my less than optimal navigation techniques. Emrah counseled me and was very patient. I learned to focus on territory more than the map. The map became a general guide rather than the final word. And started each trip with an idea of general direction. Sounds simple but in practice it took me some time to get my head around the ideas. 
Mdina was beautifully ancient but not nearly as silent as described in our research. Valletta has great restaurants and shopping and we enjoyed this area more than Saint Julian.

I finished this six day excursion feeling expanded and energized. Ruya has a deep blue Malta dress to remember the experience. I have an itch in my feet for more. For off season travel I would say Malta topped the list and Mid January is the time to go.